Tag: education

Keeping the fires burning

The kiln is kept alight all night.

Sarah’s blog 16/8/23

There is a huge amount of work happening currently. The foundations are being laid for the next classroom block…. no machinery….just hard work. Bricks have been made by hand and, after drying, have been stacked into kilns ready to burn. All the wood was gathered – ox and cart had to be hired as the area was inaccessible to the truck.

Last night, a group of men stayed up all night, each being responsible for keeping one of the many fires going under the brick structure which was then covered in mud. The fires are now out and the bricks will take up to two weeks to finish baking and cooling down. Thank you to everyone who has donated towards Bright Futures Secondary School phase 2 project. We appreciate all your help. We had grants towards phase 2 from The Rhododendron Trust, The Archer Trust and The Inverclyde Trust for which we are very grateful.

However, we haven’t reached our target yet and would love it, if you are able, to make a donation to our fundraiser https://gofund.me/ece5753a We still need a roof, windows, a door and text books.

In addition to this, work has started on digging the trench to take water from Chambo Health Centre to Chambo Primary School meaning the children will have clean drinking water for the first time. The funding for this project is thanks to The Kitchen Tables Charity Trust who gave us a grant to help the primary school. There is also money to make some desks and benches too.

Yesterday, I received word that The Eleanor Rathbone Trust had kindly given us £1,000 towards building latrines at Chambo Primary School. We are grateful for all the people who are trusting us with their money to improve the lives of hundreds of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi.

Enjoy the photos and video of the progress from the team in Malawi, Sarah x Lots of hard work!

Bright Futures SS – Phase 2 -Foundations

So much hard work as it’s all done without machinery
The bricks are made and left to dry, then stacked with gaps at intervals. The structure is covered in mud and fires lit making a kiln to bake the bricks. It will take up to two weeks for the bricks to cool down enough to use.
Each fire has a man responsible for ensuring it burns all night

Lots of hard work!

lots of hard work being done to ensure the bricks are fired and the foundations are laid for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School.

Sarah’s blog 13/8/23

Here are some photos and videos of the work progressing on phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. The builders have worked so hard to lay the foundations for the next classrooms. There is no machinery. Everything has to be done by hand. They have now started pouring the cement to fill the foundations….this will take a few days to do….here a cement mixer lorry would be able to do this job easily.

Bricks have been made by hand and have been drying. They now need to be baked in kilns. The bricks are being stacked, leaving holes underneath where fires will be set after the kiln structure is covered in mud. The fires will burn all night and then it will take up to two weeks for the bricks to be cool enough to use.

A large amount of wood is being gathered to ensure the fires are kept alight. Unfortunately, where the wood is being gathered, the terrain is not suitable for the truck, so oxen have had to be hired to help transport the wood. Nothing is straightforward and is extremely labour intensive with everyone working as a team. https://gofund.me/ece5753a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

As the classrooms are built in a block of two, the foundations are being prepared for classrooms 3 and 4. However, as funds are limited we are potentially just building classroom 3 and completing classroom 4 at a later date. Planning is difficult when we are so dependant on the generosity of people supporting us and, therefore, supporting the orphans & vulnerable teenagers in Malawi.

If you are able, please give to our fundraiser to ensure that education continues for the next class of teenagers wanting to start at Bright Futures Secondary School next month. These are some of the most vulnerable teenagers in Malawi, living in extreme poverty. Education is their best way out of such poverty, giving them choices and chances for a brighter future. https://gofund.me/ece5753a Enjoy the photos and videos and please support this project if you can. As we are volunteers, all money donated goes to the projects we support, so you can be sure you will be making a difference and helping us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x

Bright Futures SS – Phase 2 -Foundations

Brick Making Videos

https://videopress.com/v/1pwog8gE?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Bright Futures SS – Phase 2 -Foundations

work has started on the foundations of phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School, however we still need your help to reach our target https://gofund.me/ece5753a

Sarah’s blog 10/8/23

Today’s blog is a bit of a photo & video dump to share how busy it has been during the last few days. Because the new school term starts in September in Malawi, there will be another intake of vulnerable students wanting to continue their education if they pass their primary school leavers exams.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far….work on phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School has started. However, we haven’t reached our target yet. We are taking a leap of faith that by the beginning of September we will have enough funds to buy everything that is needed. Work had to start otherwise, should we reach our target, work would never have been completed in time for the new school year.

Using bricks left over from phase 1 last year, the builders are starting on the foundations. The thousands of bricks that have been made over the last few weeks will begin to be fired at the weekend and we will share photos of that.

If you are a business or an individual wanting to support the education of some of the most vulnerable young people in Malawi, then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . A donation of £500 or above can have your name written above a classroom door or on the building. Without your help, these young people cannot achieve their potential and will not find their way out of poverty to a brighter future. These young people, most of whom are orphans, have experienced loss, hunger, extreme poverty and missed periods of school to work for a pittance to try to feed themselves. We CAN help them.

Please consider being part of the team around these young people and future students who will benefit from Bright Futures Secondary School. The link to our fundraiser to help us ensure that classroom 3 is ready by the start of September is: https://gofund.me/ece5753a. Please give if you can and share this post. Young people are depending on us to help them out of poverty. Education is the best way to do this. Help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x

Joanne’s July Journey

Please show your support for Joanne who is fundraising for a new classroom for Bright Futures Secondary School. Read today’s blog to find out how brave and strong she is.

Sarah’s blog 31/07/23

My sister is amazing. My sister is strong, brave and determined. She has been through so much in the last few years; finding out she had breast cancer, having her breast removed, several operations, lots of infections, not to mention the mental trauma of all of that.

Whilst she was waiting for her original surgery, she raised money towards the shower block by doing a walking challenge. Now, whilst she is waiting for reconstruction surgery and needing to reduce her BMI slightly, she has taken on another challenge for us. Thank you Joanne.

Bright Futures Secondary School opened last year with two classrooms. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi and none of the teenagers we help to support could afford this. There will be another intake of vulnerable teenagers wanting to start at Bright Futures Secondary School in September, but we need to build another classroom. As there will be more students, we also need to build another toilet block. Will you help us?

She set herself the challenge of walking 200km in July….she’s almost finished…5km left to go and this is her last day. It’s pouring with rain here today, so she would welcome some support. Can you help?

Joanne’s fundraising link is here: https://gofund.me/91721cad If you could spare a few £££ it would be much appreciated. Joanne has taken photos from her walks round the village of Killearn where she lives. If you are a business in Killearn who would like to support Joanne we will give you lots of mentions on social media. We welcome businesses partnering with us to help support the hundreds of orphans we help in rural northern Malawi.

Hope you enjoy Joanne’s photos and please support her if you can. Thank you, Sarah x

Thank you Allander Rotary

Thanks to Allander Rotary Club for their generous donation

Sarah’s blog 30/07/23

I was invited to speak at a meeting of The Allander Rotary Club last month and the response to the photos and videos I showed was really positive. They were really interested in the progress that is being made in Malawi through the various projects we help to support.

One way that they have been able to help us is by donating a laptop and three ipads, all of which are nearly new. These were delivered yesterday along with some football kit.

We are extremely grateful for this support and the laptop and ipads will be used to support learning at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Our fundraiser for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School is https://gofund.me/ece5753a and if you can spare a few £££ towards the next classroom and toilet block to ensure the next intake of vulnerable students have a classroom we would be very appreciative. Thanks for supporting us, Sarah x

Some orphans learning how to use the computers in Emma’s Rainbow Library at The Foundation. The laptop and three ipads will be great additional resources.

More bricks!

so many bricks for classroom 3

Sarah’s blog 16/7/23

These are great photos that Levison has sent. Thousands of bricks are being made for classroom 3 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Also, hopefully, a toilet block and staff bedrooms if we raise enough money.

Students are excited seeing the bricks being made as they now believe an s3 classroom will be built to ensure their education continues. They had been worried they wouldn’t be able to progress to S3. So thankfully there has been enough money raised for classroom 3 – thank you to everyone who has helped make this happen. We couldn’t help these vulnerable teenagers without your support. https://gofund.me/ece5753a

Now the students need your help with providing a new toilet block please. Due to the extra numbers of students who will be starting school in September, the latrine blocks aren’t enough for the number of students. Also, as the other latrines are used by the nursery children too (with an adult waiting outside) it will be far better to have separate facilities for the different age groups.

200 people donating just £10 each will provide a new toilet block for Bright Futures Secondary School. Since yesterday’s post, 5 people have donated for which we are very thankful. So that’s £60 since yesterday’s post. Please can more people donate today? https://gofund.me/ece5753a

Every child deserves toilets which provide safety, privacy, dignity and good hygiene. Please help us ensure that happens for the orphans and other vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. https://gofund.me/ece5753a

Thank you for your continuous support. We are all a team, each doing our little bit to help some of the poorest children and young people in rural Northern Malawi. We need you on our team of supporters please.

Thanks for reading & supporting, Sarah x

Update – Bright Futures Secondary School – phase 2

Update – Bright Futures Secondary School – phase 2

https://gofund.me/ece5753a We really need your help to have phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School ready for the next intake of students. Please help?

Sarah’s blog 15/07/23

Thousands of bricks are being made for classroom 3 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Classroom 3 needs to be completed and ready for the new term starting in September 2023. Land is starting to be prepared today. Foundations will be done for classrooms 3 and 4 but, currently, we only have enough funds for classroom 3. As long as classroom 3 is built then classroom 4 can be completed at a later date. Thank you so much to The Inverclyde Trust for their generous donation of £4,000 towards phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School.

We also need funds for latrines and more teachers’ accommodation, so need to raise approximately £10,000 for these to ensure there are enough toilet facilities for the extra intake of new students and also accommodation for the extra teachers that need to be employed.

Will you help us to ensure this happens please? Can your company help sponsor this? Your name can be painted on a building. Can you donate £500 or more and you can have your name (or someone else’s name) above the classroom door? or above the doors of the teachers’ accommodation? or how would you like to sponsor a toilet? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com £10 x 200 people will pay for a toilet block…. will you donate £10 or more towards new toilets? Privacy, safety, dignity and hygiene are priceless and something every teenager deserves….especially the girls need to have safe, adequate toilet facilities. Will you help us help them? https://gofund.me/ece5753a We cannot do this on our own. We always say it takes teamwork. Will you be part of our team? Can you spare a few £££? Please? If enough people will help then we will reach our target. The students need us.

During the first year of opening it was decided that there would only be very vulnerable students who wouldn’t have to pay school fees, or for uniform, school supplies or school lunches. The majority of places at Bright Futures Secondary School will still be for these vulnerable students. However, from September 2023 there will be ten places in each year group for fee paying day students which will help towards expenses at the school. These fees still won’t be as much as other schools charge but will provide an option for those who can afford to pay to send their children to Bright Futures Secondary School if it is nearer than the other secondary schools. Bright Futures Secondary School has smaller class sizes than other secondary schools and offers computer lessons and encourages practical agricultural classes in addition to the core curriculum subjects.

Please help us to provide a brighter future for up to 120 of the most vulnerable teenagers (3 classes x 40 students). These teenagers receive a substantial and nutritious school lunch each day which is their only proper meal of the day. School lunches are helping them concentrate in school and supporting their overall development. This is a big commitment we have made to these students but they need people to believe in them. They need people to give them choices and chances. They need opportunities to thrive and to shine. Will you help us continue Changing Lives Malawi? Please email me on contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like more information or you would like to help with ensuring Bright Futures Secondary School is ready to welcome more students and teachers in September. The link to our fundraiser is https://gofund.me/ece5753a these vulnerable teenagers really do need your help. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Bright Futures Secondary School – We are Changing Lives Malawi

some of the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School with their solar lamps enabling them to see to study at home as it is dark year round at 6pm in Malawi. (solar lamps were bought with money donated by The Souter Charitable Trust)

students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting sweet potato vines

This rugby kit was kindly donated by Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh – students are outside the first classroom block – classrooms 1 & 2

Let’s make some bricks & build a school!

the first bricks have been made for classroom 3

Sarah’s blog 06/07/23

Brick making has started ahead of classroom three being built. An area had to be cleared, the trees will be used for wood for the kilns and new trees planted to replace them. It’s a long process to make the bricks as so many need to be made. They need to be left to dry then stacked in a kiln. The kiln is fired and takes two weeks for all the bricks to cool down again.

We don’t yet have enough money for classroom three but had to start making the bricks in the hope that we do have enough funds in place once the bricks are ready to use.

We were very thankful to receive a cheque today from The Archer Trust for £3,000 towards phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. We appreciate the support they have given towards ensuring there is an extra classroom in place for the next intake of students in September.

Please could you contribute to our fundraising page? https://gofund.me/ece5753a The vulnerable students we help to support deserve a brighter future full of choices and chances. They deserve a quality education to be the best they can be. Please help us to help them. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x

clearing the ground to start making bricks
these bushes will be used to fire the kilns
making the bricks by hand and then leaving them to dry

Let’s build a school!

Sarah’s blog 22/06/22

The brick making is due to start for the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. There will be a team of 15; four will ferry the water, five will be digging and six will be making bricks. They will be making 60,000 bricks. Once the bricks are made they are left to dry and once dry they are stacked to make a kiln. Fires are lit under the kiln and, after firing, the bricks take two weeks to cool down. So this is a huge undertaking…we’d love your support https://gofund.me/ece5753a

At least one new classroom is needed for the new intake of students at the start of September. One classroom is costing approximately £10,000. We also need to build some extra accommodation for teachers and a new latrine block. We need your help please. We don’t yet have all the money we need for a third classroom. Will you help us please? Can you make a financial donation to our fundraiser? Or could you do a sponsored event or organise your own fundraiser eg a bake sale or an afternoon tea for your friends? here is the link for our fundraiser and we will be very grateful for any assistance you can provide https://gofund.me/ece5753a or email for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading & supporting the vulnerable young people, Sarah x

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2023/04/27/bright-futures-secondary-school-phase-2/https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2023/01/21/phase-2-0f-bright-futures-secondary-school-classrooms-3-4/

students at Bright Futures Secondary School doing exams

one of the previous kilns being made

the signwriter putting the finishing touches on phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School

Bright Futures Secondary School – phase 2

Grateful to the student who made these short videos for us.

Sarah’s blog 27/4/23

We always knew that, if we were to help to build a school in Malawi, it would have to be done a bit at a time as, unfortunately, there is no big pot of money either here or in Malawi. But, time and again, thanks to hard work and our very generous supporters, we manage against the odds.

It is a struggle when there are hundreds of malnourished children who need feeding too, but we cannot spend all the donations on food or there would be nothing in place for their futures. Crops are planted to help provide vegetables. The fruit trees that were planted a couple of years ago are starting to produce fruit. No children are being fed in primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Everyone is hungry and malnourished. If you would like to support the feeding programme which feeds 500 children a substantial meal once a week then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We are a very small charity, run by volunteers who are passionate about helping to improve things for the most vulnerable children and young people in rural northern Malawi. As we are volunteers, we have no salaries or admin costs so 100% of all donations go to the projects we help to support.

Phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November 2022 and the vulnerable students have been benefitting from free uniforms, school supplies food and education. Secondary education usually has to be paid for in Malawi which means that it is usually out of reach for the young people we support.

The Form 1 and Form 2 classrooms were built, along with some staff accommodation. There were already latrines, a clean water supply, a shower block and a library that had been previously built, thanks to generous donations. Now we need to start thinking about phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. The rainy season is almost over so it is the ideal time to start building in preparation for the new term in September.

Two more classrooms are needed for Forms 3 & 4. The Form 3 classroom is essential for September when everyone moves up a year and the new students start Form 1. More latrines are needed, more staff accommodation and hopefully a dormitory for these most vulnerable girls who have the furthest to walk. Will you help us please? These young people deserve our help. They deserve chances and choices. They deserve a brighter future.

Will you donate to our fundraiser? https://gofund.me/ece5753a Or could you commit to donating a monthly amount? our charity bank details are Sort Code 80-22-60 Account Number 21081462. Or you can email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

Can you do a sponsored event for us? Will you host an event for your friends in aid of our charity? Could you invite us to speak at your club or church? Anyone who donates £500 or over can have their name, company name or the name of a loved one painted over a classroom door. Or how would you like to have a whole building named after your family or business? Or something painted on the roof of one of the buildings? As a team, we can do this together. Do you have a jar or coins that you’ve never got round to counting? We’d love to have them….every little helps.

I’m delighted to have another short video to share with you, made by the student who has been using his skills to help us. We’d be grateful if you were to share this with your friends and contacts on social media. I look forward to hearing from anyone with any ideas of how to raise some funds for phase 2. Thanks for your continued support, Sarah x

First Day of Bright Futures Secondary School 07/11/22

Agriculture Lessons at Bright Futures Secondary School

School Lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School

https://videopress.com/v/H2ta6Zyd?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&autoPlay=true&loop=true&playsinline=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Great News for Chambo Primary School

We are delighted to have received a grant.

Sarah’s blog 22/4/23

Yesterday was a day for good news. To be honest, I haven’t stopped smiling every time I think about this.

Yesterday our small team of volunteers finished the challenge to travel the same number of kilometres as the boxes we send to Malawi on a container ship. If you’d like to donate to help us build phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School then the link is here https://gofund.me/ece5753a and here is the link to yesterday’s story From here to Malawi – The challenge is complete! – Changing Lives Malawi we would be so grateful for any donations.

As part of trying to raise funds for our charity, I am regularly applying for grants. I’m not just thinking about The Foundation but about the whole community so when I saw a grant that the criteria was for a primary school, I thought of Chambo. However, lots of other charities are applying for the same grants so it isn’t often that good news comes back from an application. Thankfully this time the answer was ‘YES’.

Chambo Primary School, which is nearest to The Foundation we help to support, has only one classroom with desks and chairs. The children sit on the floor in the other classrooms. There are not many resources. We have already provided 17 boxes of books to help the students become more confident readers.

Lots of these children are orphans and make up the 500 children and young people we help to feed every weekend. This is the only substantial meal many of them get each week as no big charities are feeding children in primary schools in this area. At Chambo Primary School there is no water supply. There are no toilets.

We have secured a grant of £6,000 from The Kitchen Table Charities Trust, a small charity set up by John Humphries, to help the students at Chambo Primary School. This grant will provide them with a clean water supply and also two more classrooms will have desks and stools. We are so delighted as having clean water to drink will help their concentration and they will also be able to wash their hands. Thank you so much to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for enabling us to help the hundreds of vulnerable children at Chambo Primary School.

I will keep everyone updated as this project progresses and there will be lots of photos coming regularly from Malawi. The headteacher, staff and students at the school haven’t even been told about this yet….Levison is looking forward to sharing this wonderful news on Monday morning.

So thank you again to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for trusting us and helping make a difference to very vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. There is still much to be done but, bit by bit, we are Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Students in p8 at Chambo Primary School. We paid their teachers to run a study school during the Easter holidays to prepare them for their national leavers exams. We also ensured they were fed each lunchtime.
Children at Chambo Primary looking at some of the books we sent to help them become confident readers.
The 17 boxes of books we gifted to Chambo Primary School. Many of these were preloved books donated by our supporters. We are now supplying other primary schools with boxes of books.
The Health Centre which is near to Chambo Primary School. They have a clean water supply and have kindly allowed this to be used to pipe water to Chambo Primary School.
A water tower at the Health Centre. We paid for a survey to be done to ensure that this project was feasible. Staff at the health centre are delighted that the clean water can be shared.
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School. These two classrooms were built as part of phase 1. We are now fundraising for phase 2.
Feeding the 500 orphans and other vulnerable children are fed a substantial meal once a week

Appeal for help to feed 500 vulnerable, malnourished children

We need your help. We need 100 people to commit £5 per month to provide more food for the 500 malnourished children we help to support.

Sarah’s blog 12/4/23

I’m very grateful to have had the help of a student to make a short video about the Feeding Programme. As prices have risen, and maize has become more scarce due to the rainy season and supplies being rerouted to the cyclone victims in the south of Malawi, we are appealing for help.

As a small charity, run by a group of volunteers, passionate about making a difference, every penny you donate goes to the projects we support. So if you want to help the 500 vulnerable, malnourished children and young people who attend the Feeding Programme each weekend, you can be sure that all your money will go towards feeding them.

Most of these 500 children and young people are orphans. All are malnourished. None are being fed in primary schools. All don’t eat at home every day. Some walk up to 20km to attend the weekly Feeding Programme. Can you help us to provide more food please? Can you help us to run the Feeding Programme two or three times a week instead of just once?

We need 100 people to donate £1 per week (£5 per month) or £10 per month to make this happen. Can you spare the price of a meal deal, a takeaway coffee or a bottle of wine? These children and young people are never going to reach their potential without our help. Please will you help us help them? Or could you donate £100 to sponsor a Feeding Programme day? We can give a shout out to your business if you could help us with this. Please help?

contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to send me a message or you can text FEEDING to donate £5 or an amount of your choice. Or you can commit a monthly amount to our charity bank account. Sort code 80-22-60, Account Number 21605268.

Enjoy watching the video and I look forward to hearing from you if you would like to help some of the most vulnerable young people in rural Northern Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x