family Archives - Changing Lives Malawi

A family in need – no food to give

Sarah’s blog 06/03/23

People in need arrive at The Foundation every day. Things are tough. The rainy season makes an already difficult existence even harder. Food is scarce and prices have rocketed. Some people Levison can help, others he can’t. Everyone is given time for a chat. Levison, as well as being a teacher and having a degree in Agriculture, is a trained councillor. His skills are regularly put to good use.

Mrs Ng’ambi arrived at The Foundation this afternoon with her three children. Her husband is ill and they are struggling. Mrs Ng’ambi cried and cried after she and her children were given clothes, blankets and soap. Look at the happiness on the faces of these children because they have some new clothes and some flipflops instead of bare feet. Christina is holding a pack of 4 bars of soap.

Levison said sadly there is no spare food at The Foundation so he was unable to give them any food. Prices of everything have increased hugely in Malawi. Food prices usually go up in the rainy season when food becomes more scarce. However, Levison has told me that maize, their staple food, has more than doubled in price. How can people, earning a pittance, continue to buy food? The situation is getting harder and we must continue to be able to at least continue feeding the 500 children once a week. Please help us. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Showing kindness in small ways makes a big difference to people like the Ng’ambi family. That’s why we need people to sign up to commit £1 per week to help us to continue to feed the 500 vulnerable children at the Feeding Programme which runs once a week. Children of all ages receive a nutritious, substantial meal once a week. Some children walk up to 20km for this meal. There are no charities feeding children in primary schools in this area. Children are malnourished and hungry. We need your help to continue feeding the 75 nursery children to give them a better start in life. We need your help to continue feeding the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. We need your help to have some ‘emergency food‘ for people in need like Mrs Ng’ambi and her family.

If we can get 100 people committing to £1 per week, that will help us ensure the Feeding Programme keeps running as well as ensuring that the pre-school children are fed. The students at Bright Futures Secondary School need breakfast and lunch to help them study properly as they don’t eat when they go home. And we need some ‘extra’ food for families like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children.

Will you commit to £1 per week please? That’s not much at all to us…. to Mrs Ng’ambi and her children, it means the gift of a meal. Will you please join our team and commit just £1 per month to feed the hungry? Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

New clothes and flipflops for Benayi and Christina

as you can see, the children’s clothes no longer fit and they are barefoot

Mrs Ng’ambi cried when she and her children were given clothes, a blanket and soap

Such a happy face even though Christina is hungry and her dad is ill

please, please give £1 per week to help us feed these vulnerable children

100 x £100

Sarah’s blog 24/08/22

Firstly I want to share with you something one of our sponsors has written;

“We sponsor a student through this charity. In a world where some are born into families with many opportunities and benefits and others are born where opportunities are scarce and life is more challenging, it is essential we notice, commit, care and seek to share what we have been given so others can dream and hope and have an opportunity to make a difference in the world. May all these students dream and hope and make the best of the life they have been given.”

We need your help to raise the rest of the money we need to open Bright Futures Secondary School in rural Northern Malawi. Without this school, the most vulnerable young people will miss out on education. Please help us.

We have our fundraiser https://gofund.me/44a92444 where you can donate but we are also asking 100 schools, nurseries, colleges, universities, businesses, churches, clubs, families or individuals to raise £100. Are you up for a challenge? Can you raise or donate £100? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Let’s give the gift of education and help these very vulnerable young people out of poverty and to a brighter future! Let’s build this school! Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Good News for Ketti & Temwa – these sisters have been matched with sponsors!

Sarah’s blog 7/6/22

Today has been a good day for matching vulnerable children with sponsors. Changing the lives of these children and giving them food, clothes, education and opportunities is such a privilege to be part of. We always say it’s about teamwork and we cannot support The Foundation to help these children without you. To each and every sponsor we thank you and are very glad you have agreed to help the child you support.

The Mlenga family consists of a mother on her own, struggling to bring up her 6 children. Rodrick and Lucia were photographed in October 2021 at The Foundation. They had turned up in rags…Rodrick with no top. You can see by their tummies that they suffer from malnutrition. They were fed and given new clothes and I put out an appeal for sponsors. It wasn’t until recently, however, that a sponsor came forward asking to be matched with Lucia. Levison visited the Mlenga family home to tell Lucia and mum the good news and that they would be receiving a food parcel every month. Mum was very grateful.

Looking at the ages of the 6 children and the classes they are in at primary school, we can see that the older children have had to go to work and miss school to help mum try to feed the family. The younger children have attended school whilst the older children’s education has suffered. Now, thankfully, I have managed to match the two older girls with sponsors so there will be three monthly food parcels going into that home to supplement the meagre amount that they manage to earn. I can’t imagine how difficult life must be for this family but thanks to three generous sponsors their lives have just changed for the better. We are so grateful to every sponsor who agrees to be a helping hand to one of the vulnerable children we help support.

Now 89 children and young people have a sponsor to give them opportunities they would not previously had. These children know that someone cares about them. They know that they haven’t been forgotten. They now have hope for a better future. There are also a few children who are the most vulnerable who do receive help despite not being sponsored. I will feature them another day to see if we can match them with some help. Thank you sponsors for making this happen. To Ketti and Temwa’s sponsors….thank you again for changing these sisters lives.

There are lots more children waiting to be matched with a sponsor to help improve their lives. Can you be a helping hand to one of them? You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends can share the £25 monthly cost. Or your club, business or church could sponsor a child or family. Who will be sponsor number 90? Please do get in touch if you think you might like to join our team of sponsors email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thank you for reading and for your support, Sarah x

A family – homeless & in need of help

Sarah’s blog 20/02/22

I know I’m always asking for help and support. I’m sorry… but there are so many people who are in real need and we are trying to support Levison and his team to help them out of their dire situation.

A mother, twice widowed, and her three children are homeless. The roof of their mud home has blown off in the wind and rain. Levison visited them and was able to help them find temporary accommodation. The house belongs to someone else and really doesn’t look much better than their previous home.

They are being given blankets and clothes and some food but what I am asking of you, our supporters, please is that we get at least two of these three children sponsored so they have regular food and support going into their home. The children, especially Angela, are showing signs of malnutrition. They will know someone cares about them and it will make their lives a little bit better. It costs £25 to sponsor a child. An individual can sponsor a child, or two friends can share the cost, or a family or a business. This family is desperate and I really want to help them. As I always say, it’s teamwork. We cannot help The Foundation to do what they do without help from our wonderful supporters.

Ideally, we would like to be able to rebuild or repair houses but, unfortunately, we don’t have money for that. Maybe that’s something we can look at doing in the future. Climate change isn’t going to be kind to these homes. As you can see we have a great deal to do!

So if you can find it in your heart to sponsor Moses, Blessings or little Angela then please get in touch. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com If you can’t sponsor then please, please share our posts so that we do reach more potential sponsors. Together we can continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Tag: family

Good News for Ketti & Temwa – these sisters have been matched with sponsors!

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