Well what can I say apart from a HUGE thank you to Jack Mphande who is Malawi Rugby Union’s Rugby Development Officer. Jack has continued working with more young people this week, ensuring that the adults he trained on Monday have had opportunities to coach their students with Jack supporting them. There have been lots of excited children who have embraced the new opportunities and new skills.
The young people Jack has been working with over the past couple of days have been from Chimwemwe Primary School, Model Primary School, Lwakwa Primary School and Nyabughi Community Rugby Club which was set up after Jack’s last visit.
Today is the final day of Jack’s visit – a tournament between all the teams from the second week. I will post photos from that later. But in the meantime, enjoy these photos of children having fun, learning new skills and having an opportunity to play together at a new sport just like children anywhere. This has all been possible because of your generosity. Thank you, Sarah x
After a hugely successful first week of rugby with the rural schools, culminating in a tournament on Friday, Jack Mphande, rugby development officer, is working with the primary schools in and around town.
Yesterday, two teachers from each school as well as local sports coaches spent the day learning the rules of touch rugby from Jack. They were classroom based in the morning and having fun playing some touch rugby in the afternoon.
Today, Jack visited his first two schools;
The students really enjoyed themselves and were keen to learn a new sport. The newly trained teachers were able to help run these sessions as they will be the ones continuing this rugby initiative once Jack returns to Lilongwe.
Jack will visit more schools this week and there will be a tournament for these schools on Friday.
There are lots of people to thank for the success of this rugby development programme. Firstly, to Jack for his commitment, hard work, organisational skills and enthusiasm with which he delivers these sessions and makes them fun for the participants. We are so glad that you made time in your busy schedule to visit again.
Levison, you work so hard mostly in the background, ensuring that you help and support as many vulnerable people as you can. You worked really hard with Jack ahead of time with planning for this event. You hosted visitors last week and you were delighted at how many young people took part… all in addition to your regular ‘to do’ list. Thank you.
To clubs and individuals who donated sports kit – thank you. Having matching kit helps these vulnerable young people’s self-esteem and saves pre-loved kit going to landfill – reuse, recycle, repurpose.
And to our wonderful supporters who have donated an amazing amount of money to ensure that these vulnerable children can learn a new sport and have opportunities they wouldn’t usually have had – thank you. You are all amazing! It was quite a big undertaking for a small charity like ours to facilitate a big event like this two week rugby tuition and tournament – but with your help and support we did it.
Jack’s transport, expenses, accommodation and food have been paid for from your donations. Teachers and sports coaches being trained have had a cooked lunch. Children in schools who were taking part in training have all had a snack and a bottle of water. Everyone on tournament days have had/will have a proper lunch, snack and bottled water. All the students taking part have been gifted pens and pencils too. This is just the start of rugby in schools in the far north of Malawi. The enthusiasm is brilliant. These teachers will continue to coach touch rugby at their schools.
Students will remember taking part in this event for the rest of their lives. They aren’t used to having opportunities like this. Thank you for making a difference. Enjoy the photos from yesterday and today. Katitula Primary School is wearing blue and CCAP Primary School’s uniform is purple. Thanks, Sarah x
We are really fortunate to have Christine Cresswell as one of our trustees. Christine is a talented artist and donates the proceeds of her artwork to our charity to help fund the projects we support in Malawi. I will do another separate post with a selection of paintings soon.
As well as being a talented artist, Christine is also my mum. We have had cards printed from some of her beautiful paintings. I have spent a couple of hours at mum and dad’s dining table today. Dad was tasked with counting cards, mum was counting envelopes and I was putting the two together in cellophane bags.
These cards are blank inside so are suitable for any occasion, or a pack could be given as a gift. They are a bargain at £5 per pack of 8 cards (same design) plus p& p of £2.50 per pack. (I can check postage rates for multiple purchases).
My parents also, very generously, paid for the printing of these cards, so every penny from the sale of each pack will be going towards the projects we help to support. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to order some cards.
Yesterday was an amazing day for the rural cluster of schools who have been learning to play touch rugby. All the schools came together for a tournament. These vulnerable children and young people will remember this experience for a very long time as they don’t get opportunities like yesterday.
On Monday, Jack Mphande Malawi Rugby Union’s Rugby Development Officer, worked with two teachers from each school to train them up to be able to continue teaching and coaching touch rugby within their own schools and to more students. This is in line with some of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals; #SDG3 Good Health and Wellbeing, #SDG4 Quality Education, #SDG5 Gender Equality and SDG11 Sustainable Communities.
We too are working towards some of these goals in all of the projects we are helping to support, keeping these in mind as we try to ensure that children have more to eat, have clean drinking water, quality education as the community works towards self-sufficiency. #SDG1 no poverty, #SDG2 zero hunger, #SDG3 good health and well-being , #SDG4 quality education, #SDG5 gender equality, #SDG6 clean water and sanitation, #SDG8 decent work & economic growth, #SDG10 reduced inequalities, #SDG11 sustainable communities, #SDG13 climate action, #SDG15 life on land are the ones we are concentrating on but all of them are relevant and important.
During the week, Jack visited each of the schools to work with the teachers and students and yesterday was tournament day! Each school taking part was given a new (to them) sports kit that we had sent via Bananabox Trust who organise the container. We have had several individuals and clubs who have generously donated sports kit to us to share where it is most needed. This is extending the life of the sports kit and keeping it from landfill. Also, it is making the recipients extremely happy. Some people to thank for the kit I can see in these photos (and please do let me know if I have forgotten anyone); Merchiston Castle School, Bromley & Beckenham Hockey Club (via Wear a Sports Shirt Day), Fakenham Town FC (via Wear a Sports Shirt Day) Seafar Villa Cumbernauld (via Paul Goodwin). Many thanks for these donations. As you can see your generosity is making a big difference to these young people.
It was important to us that all children taking part in the rugby development had something to eat and drink. There are no organisations feeding children in primary schools in this area in the north. All of these children are hungry. Many are suffering from malnutrition. Thanks to the generosity of individuals who have supported this initiative to introduce rugby in the far north of Malawi, we were able to send money for the children to have snacks and water each day they were playing at their schools. Yesterday, at the tournament, all children and young people had a nutritious, cooked lunch, a snack and bottled water. They were also given some pens and pencils as a gift to take back with them.
All of these things, we take for granted; easy access to sport, new clothes, food and clean water, school supplies and organised events. For these children, none of this is taken for granted. None of these things are ‘normal’. So yesterday would have meant the world to them. So we thank you all very much for enabling yesterday to happen. All children and young people should be able to learn new skills and take part in sports and we are very glad that Jack Mphande was able to visit and give these vulnerable children new opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
So, this is far more than just a few games of rugby. It is someone spending time with these children who (until recently) were largely ignored. It’s making them feel special. It’s helping their self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s about teaching them new skills and discipline and teamwork. It’s about having fun with their friends. It’s allowing them time to be children and forget about the trauma they have experienced with family members passing away and the extreme poverty they are living in. And the fact that they have had a good lunch and pens and pencils to take home…. we cannot possibly know or understand how much yesterday meant to these children and young people.
Jack, thank you for your hard work and enthusiasm. We look forward to your photos from next week when you repeat this week with different schools. And, on your next visit, it will be interesting to see how rugby is developing and how many young people are enjoying playing rugby regularly in school and also as a pass time with their friends. Thank you so much, Jack, for investing time in the children and young people we help to support.
By the end, everyone was tired but happy. There was no transport to get everyone to the tournament so all had to walk there and back as well as playing which is another reason we wanted to ensure they were well fed. Also, I just wanted to remind people that although these are primary schools, some of the young people are teenagers desperate for an education. They have missed lots of school to work for a pittance to buy food. The older they are, the poorer their family.
Enjoy the photos and videos and thank you again everyone who supports us to support these vulnerable children and young people, Sarah x
The tournament winners – Malawa PrimaryChambo PrimaryChisenga PrimaryKayilizi Primary SchoolKalanga Primary School
Yesterday, Jack Mphande, visited Chambo Primary school to work with some of the students teaching them how to play touch rugby. This was the last school in this cluster that he visited ahead of the tournament today. All schools from this week will be involved in the tournament and we are looking forward to seeing those photos.
A big thank you to everyone who has helped to make this rugby development visit happen and give vulnerable children opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have had. We appreciate all your support, Sarah x
We are very grateful for the donations of preloved sports kit we have received from clubs and individuals. As I posted yesterday, one primary school have football shirts that are years old and are ripped and falling apart. Thankfully, because of these generous donations, all schools taking part in the rugby development tournament will receive rugby balls and sports kit to take back to their schools.
New (or new to them) sports kit will make such a difference to these vulnerable young people who are living in extreme poverty. They can be proud of their team all looking smart and they know that people whom they’ve never met care about them. These young people are used to making do with what they have, even if it is ripped and falling apart, they aren’t used to being gifted new sports kit. They will be delighted, on tournament day, to receive new sports kit thanks to the donations of kit we have received.
One organisation who have been very generous with the amount of rugby kit and rugby balls they have donated to us is Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. They have given us a huge amount of sports clothes as well as rugby boots and rugby balls. We are very grateful for all this support which, as you can see from the photos, is making a huge impact on the vulnerable young people we help to support.
We have facilitated a second visit from Jack Mphande, Sports Development Officer for Malawi Rugby Union, to introduce rugby in the far north of Malawi where we work. Jack is based in Lilongwe and travelled 15 hours by bus to work with the orphans and other vulnerable children during these two weeks.
A bit of information for those who are new to my blogs;
No big organisations are feeding children in primary schools this far north.
Most of children in primary schools aren’t eating a proper meal every day.
Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi. So, unless families can afford to pay for secondary education, many children’s education does not advance past primary school level.
Many primary schools do not even have clean water and toilets. Nor do they have enough educational resources. We have been donating boxes of preloved reading books to primary schools to help raise literacy levels.
The students (in today’s photos) attend Bright Futures Secondary School, the second phase of which has just been completed. None of them could afford secondary education as many are orphans living with extended family. Most don’t eat every day so all students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive a free cooked lunch each day as well as their free secondary education.
Many of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are older than they should be. They’ve had to miss big chunks of primary school to work for a pittance to try to buy food for themselves and their families. The older a student is when they start secondary school, the poorer the family as they’ve missed more school. Often older siblings miss out on education so younger siblings can go to school while the older siblings work long hours. Many of the children and young people we help to support are suffering from different levels of malnutrition.
Whilst we are very grateful for donations of goods, we also need funds to cover the cost of sending these items. It costs us £17.50 per box or sports bag on the container and then there are also costs in Malawi when Levison and team travel to collect all the donations.
Thank you to all who contribute, to all who share our posts, to all those who have donated to this rugby event to ensure that these young people got to experience a new sport and learn new skills whilst having fun with their friends. They are able to forget about their traumatic lives whilst playing team sports. They will remember Jack’s visit as a highlight of their time at school.
So, as we grow and are able to help more of the most vulnerable people living in dire poverty, please consider fundraising for us to help us continue to change lives in rural northern Malawi. Can you donate money along with your gifts of goods? Can you have a bake sale for us? Or do a sponsored event? Our charity is run by volunteers, so all money goes to the projects we support in Malawi. Eventually, the aim is that the community will be self-sufficient but things have been so bad that they need a helping hand until they are at that point.
We are also looking for people to commit to £5 or £10 per month to help pay for school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School.
Can you pay for a box of preloved books to get to a primary school as part of our School Literacy Project? £17.50 will help children become more confident readers.
Can you give a vulnerable young person the gift of education at Bright Futures Secondary School? The more sponsors we have then the more students we can support. If you have £25 per month to spare (or split the cost with a friend) you will be able to sponsor a young person to attend secondary school. Education is their way out of poverty and young people want to work hard and have new opportunities for a brighter future.
Any fundraising you can do for us or monetary donations would be very much appreciated. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com our charity bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, a/c 21081462, s/c 80-22-60.
Enjoy looking at these photos of the young people at Bright Futures Secondary School as they learn to play rugby. Thank you everyone who supports us, Sarah x
Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to help make it possible for Jack Mphande, Rugby Development Officer from Malawi Rugby, to visit the far north of Malawi to spend time with teachers and young people sharing his love of rugby.
Secondly, a HUGE thank you to Jack for making the 15 hour journey north from Lilongwe. We know that you are a busy man and very in demand, so we are very happy and thankful that you have agreed to visit for a second time. Jack said how much the Foundation had changed and grown since his last visit! There was no Bright Futures Secondary School then!
Today, teachers from Bright Futures Secondary School, and four local primary schools, and the District Education Sports Officer had theory lessons from 10am-2pm. After that, they were joined outside by students from Bright Futures Secondary School for practical learning. Tomorrow, Jack will start visiting local primary schools who sent teachers to the course, to work with the teachers and students there. Then on the last day there will be tournaments between the schools.
The commitment, concentration and the passion from the sports teachers was great. We did the Get Into Rugby session, basic requirements in Rugby Coaching and what to do to sustain the programme. Coaches had a learning experience with the kids and I gave them an assignment to demonstrate how they will be delivering the session starting tomorrow at their own school. They did well and the kids had fun too.
Jack Mphande, Rugby Development Officer
There will be many more photos and videos documenting Jack’s visit along with the learning journey and fun that everyone will have. I love the photos of the teachers who were also doing practical learning! Many thanks again to everyone who has helped to enable this visit to happen. Enjoy the photos and videos, Sarah x
Today, Stuart and I started packing boxes ready for the next container going to Malawi. We’ve had these amazing kids football strips from Riverside Football Club in Stirling. They were donated to Replay Sport Scotland who passed it to us for use by the vulnerable young people we help to support in rural northern Malawi.
Replay Sport Scotland have already donated sports clothes to our charity which are currently on their way to Malawi. We look forward to seeing photos of those clothes and also the Riverside Football Club kits when they arrive in Malawi.
Thank you Riverside Football Club and thank you Replay Sport Scotland. These donations will make a big difference to the young people who love playing team sports. Thanks, Sarah x
“We are delighted to be supporting you and congratulate you on your work.” The Clive Richards Foundation
Sarah’s blog 26/09/23
After a difficult couple of weeks, can you imagine my surprise and joy when I opened an email yesterday from The Clive Richards Foundation .
I had first contacted them regarding a grant a few months ago. We made it through the first round of applications, then I had an online interview with one of their trustees. I then had to produce more information to be shared with the rest of their trustees at their next meeting. That meeting happened last week and we are so pleased to be chosen as a recipient of a grant.
It makes such a difference when we know people trust us to carry out projects with their money. This grant will pay for a teachers’ accommodation block and teachers’ latrines. They recognise the fact that we have to have accommodation in place to attract teachers to Bright Futures Secondary School. The poverty levels are such that there is nowhere suitable for staff to rent locally. We are very grateful for this money to support education for some of the most vulnerable teenagers in rural northern Malawi. Hopefully, this can be built before the rainy season comes.
Here are some quotes from the letter I received informing me that Changing Lives Malawi had been successful and would be receiving money for our project.
Thank you so much to the trustee at The Clive Richards Foundation for believing in us and putting our project forward to the other trustees. It’s always about teamwork and I’m happy to play a small part in that team. No doubt, photos will follow over the next few weeks, Sarah x
“I’m delighted to inform you that The Trustees have agreed to fund the project to the requested amount of £11,000…..we were impressed with the work you are doing.”
“We are delighted to be supporting you and congratulate you on your work.”
This year’s S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They have received gifts of uniform, shoes and school bags.
Sarah’s blog 20/09/23
Firstly, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated school uniform and school bags for the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison said that one of them had said ‘we never expected to have such good quality clothes as this’. So thank you for making a big difference to them and helping them feel important and valued for a change.
Secondly, another huge THANK YOU to the charity Sal’s Shoes Our Story – Sal’s Shoes (salsshoes.com). We were gifted three big boxes of shoes for the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. We are very grateful for this support and we know the young people are delighted to have proper shoes to wear. It has such an impact on their confidence and self-esteem that people who don’t even know them have shown they care about the students by donating uniform and shoes. Now they all look smart and are able to have a sense of pride in their appearance. Proper shoes are also very important when the young people are walking the long distances to and from school across rough ground. Thank you again Sal’s Shoes for all that you do, all the hard work of your volunteers and for everyone who donates shoes to you to pass on to those who need them.
Here are photos of the new S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. All of them are vulnerable. All have been given shoes, uniform and school bags. The Only a few of them have sponsors to support their education through secondary school. If you are able to support one of these young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s £25 per month to sponsor a young person. Or you could commit to £5 or £10 per month to help pay for school lunches. Each student gets a nutritious cooked lunch each day at Bright Futures Secondary School….for many it is their only proper meal of the day. These young people cannot be expected to concentrate and learn if they have no food in their tummies. Your help would be very much appreciated. The more people who help us support these young people, the more young people we can help and then we can offer places at Bright Futures Secondary School to additional young people. Thank you, Sarah x
Martha, Mphatso and Aaron are choosing shoes from one of the boxes that Sal’s shoes donated New shoes for Aaron, Martha and Mphatso – thank youlooking very smart in their new uniforms and shoesJohn and Asante pose in their new uniform and shoesThanks to Sal’s shoes for these very smart shoes that John and Asante are delighted with
Eligible children were given polio vaccinations this week
Sarah’s blog 16/09/23
As schools and nurseries started back in Malawi this week, so did the Malawi Health Department’s National Polio Vaccination programme. It is the aim to vaccinate all children between the ages of 5 and 15. So, when health officials arrived during the week, the eligible children and young people lined up to receive their vaccines.
It has been such a busy week as Levison is juggling projects; builders, carpenters, new teachers and far more young people turning up to register for Bright Futures Secondary School than they are able to accommodate. However, teachers and students have all reported that they’ve had a positive first week and are pleased with the new classroom accommodation.
Lots more photos to follow next week. Thanks for your support, Sarah x
S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School deserved a treat for passing their S2 national exams
Sarah’s blog 13/09/23
Schools across Malawi started back on Monday. We were so thankful that the new classroom block at Bright Futures Secondary School was finished in time for the new term starting.
We decided that the S3 students deserved a treat for passing their S2 national exams. The whole class passed and this story was even picked up by the national news. An amazing achievement for some of the most vulnerable students in Malawi. Many of them are orphans. Most don’t eat properly every day (apart from their cooked lunch at school) and most have missed school at some point to try and earn a pittance to buy themselves and their families some food.
After lessons finished on Monday, the S3 students were given bottles of fizzy drinks and sweets. These are things they would never have. They also had a meal of goat meat, rice, beans and vegetables. Again, meat is something that they might only have once or twice a year at The Feeding Programme. Rice is far more expensive to buy than maize so they don’t usually have rice either. Everyone was really happy and delighted to have these unexpected treats. The students were telling their friends in S1 and S2 how they must work really hard to pass their exams too.
The aim at Bright Futures Secondary School is to keep class sizes smaller than the average to ensure that these vulnerable students get the attention they deserve. However, class sizes remain very small as we need more help to feed everyone. Food prices continue to rise and students must be fed as, for many, this is their only meal of the day. How can they concentrate if they have not eaten? If you can help by either sponsoring a teenager’s education or commit a monthly amount towards school lunches then please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . The bigger the team who are supporting school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School the more young people we can help to educate.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the school project; Bright Futures Secondary School is an amazing learning environment. There will be more photos and videos later in the week as school supplies are handed out. Thanks again, Sarah x
