Tag: feeding programme

Sustainable Projects

Sustainability and Self-sufficiency are the end goals. Please read today’s blog about how we are trying to help achieve this.

Sarah’s blog 3/7/24

Every day I want to wave a magic wand to do progress all our projects asap. Clearly that doesn’t work and my magic wand has been sent for repair!

One big issue that we have is that no big charities are feeding malnourished children in primary schools that far north. We cannot ignore this issue. We are feeding 500 of the most vulnerable children once a week. They have a substantial, nutritious meal. Some of them are walking 15km-20km for this food. It’s not good enough but all we can afford. We need your help and support with this please as costs keep rising.

We are trying to help set up sustainable projects for a better future for all of them. By planting fruit tree saplings, they will have future food and a sustainable income – being able to sell surplus fruit at the local markets. The same is happening with a chicken project and a pig project – providing future food and income. There are other small projects that will be set up providing jobs, income and food for families. The community needs and wants a hand up not a handout.

We have started using a fundraising site called DonorSee. We have a page on there with several projects posted. The idea is that the more people who donate to your projects, the more visible the projects are to other potential donors. We are conscious that we are asking a lot of our supporters, so this is one way of trying to find new supporters. The majority of the people on DonorSee are in USA.

What I would be really grateful if you could do please… is I need 15 people to each donate £5 (or $5) just a small amount. Login or make an account on DonorSee and just give a small amount and we will move further up the page that others will see our projects….we’ve already received over £1,000 and fully funded 4 projects. Please? It’s always about teamwork and we need you on our team.

https://donorsee.com/project/23894?share=1 is the link to the Pig Project.

https://donorsee.com/project/23627?share=1 is the link to donate to our Fruit Tree Sapling Project.

https://donorsee.com/project/23035?share=1 is the link to help feed the vulnerable children each week.

Thank you for all the support we receive, Sarah x

The Feeding Programme

https://donorsee.com/changinglivesmalawi Please do have a look at our projects by following this link to DonorSee and donate if you can. Every little helps as the saying goes!

Sarah’s blog 16/06/24

What are you having to eat today? Have you eaten already? Will you eat tomorrow? Will your children have lunch at school tomorrow and for the rest of the week? Yes, prices have gone up here but the vast majority of us won’t ever know what it’s like to go to bed hungry, wake up hungry, go to school hungry and so on.

In rural northern Malawi there are thousands of orphans and other vulnerable children who are really struggling to find food and are malnourished. Unfortunately, there are no big charities working in that area yet. So all children are hungry. No children have lunch at primary school.

While we try and support the community to self-sufficiency and sustainability, we can only afford to feed 500 of the most vulnerable children once a week at the feeding programme. THIS IS THEIR ONLY BIG MEAL OF THE WEEK. THIS IS THE MOST NUTRITIOUS MEAL THEY HAVE. Once a week is not enough but all we can afford. Teachers have noticed these children have started concentrating a bit better at school from just this one meal a week. Imagine they had five or more meals a week. Some children are walking up to 15km or 20km as they are so hungry and desperate to be fed.

So here are some photos and videos from today’s feeding programme. Thankfully, it’s no longer the rainy season. These children have a tough life. They love coming to the feeding programme. As well as being fed, it’s a safe place for them to meet with their friends and chat and play.

We really do need your help to support to keep feeding these children. We have planted fruit tree saplings and will be planting more, and are helping to set up some sustainable sources of income but these children need our help and we cannot ignore their immediate needs. https://donorsee.com/changinglivesmalawi This is the link to our fundraising page on DonorSee. Please do have a look at the projects and donate if you can. As the saying goes, every little helps! Thanks so much, Sarah x

https://videopress.com/v/RDUfTdGS?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
children are fed in age groups, starting with the youngest

The Feeding Programme

Sarah’s blog 10/3/24

Today the team fed hundreds of hungry children. Most are orphans. All are very vulnerable and suffering from malnutrition.

No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in rural northern Malawi. Most of these children do not eat properly every day. They go to bed hungry. They go to school hungry. They are tired. They cannot concentrate.

We are a small charity, run by passionate volunteers. We can only afford to feed 500 children a nutritious meal once a week. Some walk from as far as 15km-20km to receive their one proper meal of the week. Life isn’t fair. We need to do more. But we need to build our team as we cannot do everything by ourselves.

If you can commit £5 or £10 per month to support the feeding programme then please set up a monthly payment with these bank details: Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Sort Code 80-22-60, Account Number 21081462 or we would be grateful for single donations too in order that we can keep feeding the children each week as prices are constantly rising and maize is very scarce. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

You will notice that I have zoomed in on one of the photos as a girl has a baby on her back…her younger sibling. Lots of children and young people carry babies to the feeding programme. This baby refused food as he is sick and we hope that the parents have enough money to take the baby to the health centre. As it is the rainy season, malaria is very common from the huge amount of mosquitos.

I’ve struggled to write this tonight as it’s Mothers’ Day here in the UK and I’ve had breakfast, been out for lunch and had a lovely dinner cooked for me and had gifts from my three boys.

The contrast between our lives here and children receiving one proper meal per week is stark. It’s not enough. We must do more. But we need your help. I’ve borrowed some words from others which I thought would help get my message across. Please help if you can, Sarah x

‘Hunger is not an issue of charity, it is an issue of justice.’

Jacques Diouf (former Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation)

‘If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.’

Mother Theresa

‘Hunger is an outrage in a world of plenty.’

Antonio Guterres (Secretary-General of UN)

‘Poverty is a very complicated issue, but feeding a child isn’t.’

Jeff Bridges (Actor)

‘There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.’

Mahatma Gandhi

Stuck in the mud – the daily struggle

Sarah’s blog 17/02/24

I wanted to share this photo with you. I wish I had a magic wand I could wave to make things better. This is the reality in rural northern Malawi for the team supporting over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children.

There are no ‘proper’ roads. In the rainy season, they turn to mud. There is no maize to buy….. the situation is serious…no big charities are feeding children in schools in the rural far north so most children are malnourished. We can only afford to feed 500 children once a week – of course it’s not enough – but we are trying to help set up sustainable projects for a better brighter future.

Levison heard about some maize for sale 40km away….. in the towns that would be quite straightforward….not in the rural far north ….. Levison sent this photo….stuck in the mud. It’s a labour of love looking after these children. It would be easy to say that they aren’t able to fetch maize with the road conditions….but the team care about these children so much. They are living in extreme poverty and they are going to bed hungry each night.

If you can spare £5 or £10 per month to commit to helping us with the feeding programme, it would be so appreciated. Rice is available but it is more expensive than maize. The situation is dire. The charity bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Account no 21081462, Sort Code 80-22-60. Or could you make a one off donation to help towards sustainable projects like buying fruit tree saplings or sweet potato vines or other vegetable seeds? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed today and feeling like a huge responsibility for feeding these children is on my shoulders. Life is such a struggle in that part of the world. Please help us build up a bigger team to feed and support hundreds of very hungry children living in extreme poverty. Thanks, Sarah x

Trying to fetch maize to feed the children. Maize is scarce and expensive and the team have had to travel 40km today…. ‘roads’ turn to mud in the rainy season…life is a constant struggle

Two little boys

Look at the difference in these two little boys. Having sponsors to give them a helping hand has changed their lives. Could you make a child smile by being their sponsor?

Sarah’s blog 1/1/24

Firstly let me start by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. May we all be healthy and happy and have enough to share with those who are in need.

I want to start 2024 off by sharing photos of two little boys. You will see the difference in them.. The reason? They both have sponsors. This means that a monthly food parcel goes to their home to supplement whatever food the family have. They also receive clothes, shoes, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste.

Of course, they have access to the weekly feeding programme where 500 of the most vulnerable children are fed a substantial and nutritious meal. For many, this is their only proper meal of the week. Unfortunately, we do not have enough money to run the feeding programme more often and no big charities are feeding children in schools in that area, meaning most are suffering from malnutrition.

When we first met Brighton, he was in rags and starving. He had to be showered as he was dirty and his hair was covered in lice.

Elijah was also wearing rags and malnourished and his parents were very embarrassed that they couldn’t feed him or his siblings properly.

Thanks to two kind sponsors who came forward in answer to our appeal these two boys are doing so much better. Elijah and Brighton both have lovely smiles. They are attending school regularly and doing well.

This is the difference having a sponsor can make. Wouldn’t you like to give a vulnerable child a chance at a better and brighter future? Wouldn’t you like to make a child smile?

It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child or young person. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends can split the cost. It might be the most important decision you ever make for a child like Elijah or Brighton. Hundreds of children & young people need a helping hand. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thank you to all our sponsors for the difference their help is making. Levison started taking photos of the sponsored children and young people yesterday, so hopefully we will have a new photo of all of them very soon. Many thanks, Sarah x

At last Elijah has something to smile about…and what a lovely smile!
Brighton looks so much better & it’s lovely to see him smile.

A recap of 2023 in pictures

Please read about our successes and challenges and look at all the great photos of the children we help to support.

Sarah’s blog 31/12/23

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in 2023. As I always say, it’s teamwork. We couldn’t do what we do without our generous supporters. Much has happened in 2023 and we need you even more in 2024 and need to reach more supporters to ensure that the hundreds of vulnerable children we support continue to have brighter and better futures.

Here are just some of the success stories of 2023, thanks to teamwork;

  1. 75 preschool children continue to meet five times a week at nursery and are fed at each session. They each receive a bag containing; a blanket, two red t-shirts, three pairs of pants, toothbrush & toothpaste and soap. They are now also receiving two picture books as part of our School Literacy Programme. This will ensure that all homes have at least two books and that children have daily opportunities for reading and becoming confident readers.
  2. Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November 2022 with two classrooms. Classrooms 3 and 4 were constructed and ready for term starting in September 2023 thanks to fundraising and donations. Education is free to students and they receive a free school meal each day, the only meal for many of these teenagers as they don’t have food at home.
  3. A grant was received for a teachers’ accommodation block for four teachers has been built. Once plastering and painting have been done, will be ready in mid January.
  4. Two plots of land, adjacent to the current land, have been purchased. One for the teachers’ accommodation and one for future building.
  5. Over 100 more fruit tree saplings have been purchased are will be planted by young people during the next couple of weeks. Other projects promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability are being put in place too.
  6. Solar panels were bought with grant to provide electricity to the library and the classrooms and teachers’ accommodation.
  7. Clothes, shoes and books continue to be sent to provide for the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support. This helps to reuse preloved items to gift to those who cannot afford clothes because of the dire poverty they live in.
  8. Thanks to our supporters, we sent lots of sports kit, paid for and facilitated a two week rugby festival for the local schools led by the Malawi Rugby Union sports development coach, Jack Mphande.
  9. Chambo Primary School had no clean water for drinking or washing hands. They had no toilets. Only one of their eight classrooms had desks and chairs. Thanks to two grants we applied for, they now have a girls’ latrine block, clean water for drinking and washing hands and desks and chairs for another two classrooms. We also donated exercise books and pencils and stationery for the teachers. To date, we have donated twenty boxes of books as part of our School Literacy Project. Bit by bit, life is improving for the most vulnerable children.
  10. We continue to send money for The Feeding Programme. No charities are feeding children in schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Children are being taught to grow crops which are then used to feed them at the feeding programme.

As you can see, there has been a great deal happening and much success. We are so grateful that we have been supported to achieve the above for the children and their community. 

However, the Feeding Programme has got to be our biggest ongoing challenge as, despite having asked for help from several big charities with feeding, none are helping us. Most children are suffering from malnutrition as they do not have enough to eat, the situation is getting worse. We can only afford to send money to feed 500 children once a week. Even this is getting harder as food prices continue to rise and food is scarcer. Children are walking up to 20km for this one nutritious meal of the week which includes vegetables grown by the children. We need your help to feed these children as families are really struggling. If you could commit £5 or £10 per month, it would make a huge difference to us and to them contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 16

Sarah’s blog 16/12/23

Every day people like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children come to the foundation asking for help. They have no money, no food and, much of the time, are dressed in rags. It is heart breaking to see the amount of poverty that many in the community are living in. Children with their extended tummies are showing visible signs of malnutrition and are so hungry. Unfortunately, there is not enough money to help all of these vulnerable people.

Sometimes they can be given some new clothes or a small amount of food. They are able to have a shower. Sometimes they are given a small amount of money for doing some piece work like helping to weed a field. Life is so difficult, beyond what we can imagine.

Eventually, the aim is that the Foundation is self-sufficient and has enough food to feed the children. There will be more people employed meaning that more money is going back into the community. Until then, they need our help. Can you make a one off donation to support feeding malnourished children please? Or could you commit £5 or £10 per month to ensure the most vulnerable are fed despite food scarcity and prices continuing to rise?

People like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children deserve some happiness and to be healthy and to know that people care about them. If you can help please donate to https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can make a difference and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 6

Sarah’s blog 6/12/23

For day 6 of the advent calendar we are highlighting good health and wellbeing. This is my favourite photo from a few years ago. An holistic approach is taken to supporting the children. There will be photos similar to this from all over the world. Children are relaxing, chatting, playing and having fun with their friends. You can see the enjoyment the girls are having from skipping with a piece of rope. This is what childhood should be like all the time. Things are improving for these vulnerable children but there is still so much that we need your support with. Together, as a team we can continue making a difference.

Hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children know that the Foundation is a safe place for them. They have all experienced trauma and very difficult childhoods. Until recently, they felt like they had been forgotten. All are malnourished. All do not have enough to eat. All are living in extreme poverty. Very basic mud or brick one room housing which let in water during the rainy season. All sleeping on the bare floor. If they are lucky they have a sheet or a reed mat to sleep on. None of the families have spare money for clothes or blankets so the children sleep in their clothes which are rags. Many are orphans, living with a grandparent or extended family if parents have died. Most have missed periods of school whilst they try to earn a pittance to buy some food for themselves and their families.

The Foundation is a place where they can just be children for a little while. Where their worries go away whilst they play with their friends. The Foundation is a place where adults will listen if they need to talk. It’s a place where they can have a shower to get clean. They receive new clothes from time to time. We send small blankets to be given to as many as possible. Some of our supporters have knitted hats for the children which helps to keep them warm at night.

They learn skills for life like planting & looking after vegetables, making mats, knitting & sewing and looking after the chickens and goats. The library is open to the children and young people and quite often teenagers will be seen reading fairy stories and other books for younger children….they have missed out on all of that. Team sports are an important part of life at the Foundation and most enjoy playing football, rugby and netball.

And of course, 500 children are fed a nutritious meal once a week. That number is expected to rise to 700 as food is scarce and costs keep rising. This is why we need your help please to keep this vital feeding programme going. We need your help to plant more fruit tree saplings to give future food security and an income when selling surplus fruit. This project will, of course, help the planet too. We need your help to get the pig project up and running so that piglets can be sold to bring in an income. And we need your help to feed the orphans. Please, if you can, will you help us? https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 4

Sarah’s blog 4/12/23

Today, 4th December we are highlighting food poverty and our feeding programme. I know I do go on about feeding children and education but it’s something I’m passionate about. So here are a few facts to read and we really would appreciate any help you can give.

  1. Did you know that there are no big charities feeding children in schools in the area we are supporting in the rural far north of Malawi?
  2. We send money to feed 500 orphans and other vulnerable children once a week. That’s all we can afford.
  3. This feeding programme was just intended for malnourished children in the immediate area, however word spread and the need is so great that some children will walk up to 20km for this one nutritious meal of the week.
  4. Teachers at Chambo Primary School have noticed an improvement in the concentration of these children even from one meal per week. Imagine if we could feed them more?
  5. Food prices are going up all the time and food is getting more scarce now the rainy season has started.
  6. Children are taught how to grow crops as agriculture lessons are a core subject on the curriculum, and important life skills to learn.
  7. Maize, sweet potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables are grown to be used to feed the children. However, these do not last long for 500 hungry children.
  8. Fruit tree saplings were planted a couple of years ago. Some bushes had fruit for the first time this year. However, the nursery children were so hungry that they picked the fruit and ate it. We have sent money to plant more fruit tree saplings now the rains are starting. This will provide much needed food and an income in the future and will, of course, also help the planet.
  9. Children in the nursery are fed 5 times a week.
  10. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School are fed 5 times a week.

Please will you help us as the situation is serious. Children are malnourished and hungry. Can you donate money for food please? or commit to £5 or £10 p/m towards the feeding programme. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Thank you, Sarah x

World Food Day 2023

Sarah’s blog 16/10/23

Today is World Food Day. What does that mean? It will mean different things depending where you live in the world. For most, it will be just another day….if you have plenty of food, you might not even be aware of World Food Day. If you are hungry and do not have enough to feed your family, you may be working hard all the daylight hours you can to try to make a small amount of money.

The vulnerable children and families we support in rural northern Malawi fall into the second category. There are children with stunted growth due to lack of food and nutrition, most are suffering from malnutrition, most don’t eat properly every day. These children deserve more. They deserve our help.

As yet, there are no charities feeding children in schools in this area. Children are hungry when trying to sleep. Children are hungry when trying to study. How can we expect them to concentrate and retain information?

Children and young people miss chunks of school to try to earn a pittance to buy food. Children are walking 15km to the nearest maize mill, with someone else’s maize, with no food or water, risking attack along the way.

We send money to feed 500 children once a week. It’s not enough but it’s all we have funds for. Food prices are constantly on the rise. Children are walking up to 20km for this one nutritious meal of the week.

We need help to feed these children in the short term, and we also need help to feed them through sustainable means. Crops are being grown to supplement buying food, however it’s not enough. Fruit tree saplings have been planted to provide future food and a future income. However, it’s not enough. Hens eggs are being hatched in the incubator but this is taking time to build up the flock.

The end goal has always been sustainability for this community but, with food prices going up and up we need help, feeding so many children. Please help us?

Soon the rainy season will start and this is the perfect time to plant more saplings. Can you help us buy more fruit tree saplings to plant in the orchard to provide food security in years to come? Can you help us to buy banana tubers? And more sweet potato vines? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Or could you commit to £5/£10 p/m to help pay for more food at the feeding programme/school lunches? Or to sponsor a teenager’s education at Bright Futures Secondary School it’s £25 p/m which includes a nutritious cooked lunch each day.

Our bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, a/c 21081462, s/c 80-22-60. Your help would be very much appreciated as we help support this community towards a brighter future where all children have food to eat every day.

We keep the Sustainable Development Goals in mind for all the projects we help to support. However, just related to food in this project we are aiming for all these Sustainable Development Goals; #SDG1 – no poverty, #SDG2 – zero hunger, #SDG3 – good health & wellbeing, #SDG4 – clean water & sanitation, #SDG10 – reduced inequalities, #SDG11 – sustainable communities, #SDG13 – climate action. Please be part of the team that helps these vulnerable children towards a brighter, sustainable future? Thanks, Sarah x

Maria was in real danger of being married at age 11 as her grandparents could not feed her. We found her a sponsor and now she is thriving. Could you sponsor a young person like Maria?
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting sweet potato vines as part of their Agricultural Classes… could you commit to £5/£10 per month to provide food security?
one of the lemon tree saplings that was planted two years ago and is growing well…can you help provide more fruit tree saplings please?
Children at the weekly feeding programme. Could you commit £5/£10 p/m to support food security please
These two older siblings carried their one year old twin siblings a long way to the feeding programme so they could all have nutritious food. Their parents are peasant farmers and, despite working very hard, cannot earn enough to feed their family. Can you help us either by sponsoring one of the older children for £25 p/m or by helping support the feeding programme for £5/£10 per month?

Please help the Kasonda children

please read about this family who really do need our help

Sarah’s blog 09/07/23

Sometimes when Levison sends me photos they make me happy when I see the children and young people smiling, having fun, achieving and benefiting from learning new skills to enable them to have a better future.

At the end, it’s not about what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.

Denzil Washington

Other times, like today, when I look at photos I am sad and I am upset. I’m also angry that we don’t have a magic wand to be able to help everyone more than we are. Let me tell you about the Kasonda family.

Mum and dad are, in Levison’s words, peasant farmers. They are very poor and neither of them is in the best of health. Levison and team have been helping clothe the children and the older ones come to the feeding programme. Their home is 5km away and today Logical Kasonda (age 9) and her brother Kumbukani Kasonda (age 11) each carried their one year old twin sisters, Selida and Queen, the 5km to the Foundation, fed the twins before themselves, and carried them the 5km home again.

My heart is breaking for these children (and the many, many more like them). As you can see, Logical and Kumbukani are both in p3. This means that Kumbukani has missed 4 years of school to work to try to bring in a pittance to help his parents, and Logical has missed 2 years of school for the same reason. NO BIG CHARITIES ARE FEEDING CHILDREN IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN THE FAR NORTH OF MALAWI. We send enough money for the feeding programme to feed 500 children once a week. This is the biggest meal they have each week. Some children walk up to 20km for this food and then 20km home again.

Crops are being grown at the Foundation but it’s nowhere near enough to feed all the children. We have 80+ of the most vulnerable children matched with sponsors. This costs £25 per month. This helps pay towards school lunches for the older sponsored children at Bright Futures Secondary School and the younger sponsored children receive a food parcel at their home each month. All children receive clothes, school supplies and a meal at the weekly feeding programme.

As The Foundation that we are helping to support is in a very rural location, we are trying to do everything. We need people (and other charities to partner with us). Please help?

Why should Kumbukani and Logical each carry a one year old sibling 5km for food and 5km back again? Why should they only get one decent, nutritious meal a week? How can we expect Kumbukani and Logical to be able to learn at school with sore, empty tummies? How are the twins expected to grow properly and not be stunted and suffer from malnutrition by only having one proper meal each weekend?

These children deserve food, clean water, safety, warmth, clothing, rest, education, play etc etc just like our children. These children have names; Kumbukani, Logical, Queen and Selida. These children need sponsors. Can you please sponsor one of them for £25 p/m? you can share that cost with a friend. Or why not help us run the feeding programme more often than once a week by committing to £5 or £10 p/m? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Our bank account details are Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, S/C 80-22-60, A/C 21081462. Or could you make a one off donation? Just put ‘feeding’ as your reference please.

My heart is with these vulnerable children and I know that together we CAN make a difference. Together we can give these children brighter futures. Together we CAN continue Changing Lives Malawi. Please get in touch today. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Appeal for help to feed 500 vulnerable, malnourished children

How far should you walk for lunch?

These children are desperate for help. How can they thrive without food?

Sarah’s blog 14/6/23

How far do you think is an acceptable distance for a child to walk to get some food? How far would you let your child or grandchild walk to have a meal? What if you had absolutely nothing to feed your family?

We help to support a feeding programme that runs once a week. We wish we could afford for it to operate more often. 500 orphans and vulnerable children are fed a substantial and nutritious meal each weekend at the feeding programme. This is their biggest meal of the week. Some days these children do not eat at home and are left to fend for themselves, to forage for food or beg for scraps. All of these children are malnourished. THERE ARE NO CHARITIES FEEDING CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS IN THIS AREA OF RURAL NORTHERN MALAWI. We need your help. We cannot do this alone. It is too big a job for us to ensure that 500 children have enough food every day of the week.

Crops are being planted to supplement the feeding programme. Vegetables that the children have helped to grow are being served at the feeding programme. Fruit tree saplings have been planted for future food and for future income as the surplus fruit can be sold at market.

The sweet potato crop is doing well and will be ready in another 6 weeks. But how many sweet potatoes will a field produce? How long will this crop last divided by 500 children and young people? A few days maybe…..

We need people to partner with us. We need people to invest in the future of these very vulnerable children who don’t eat every day. To start a pig project at Bright Futures Secondary School, as part of their agricultural classes, to breed pigs to sell (and also pass on to the community) will only take £300 to set up. This will bring in money to help pay for school lunches for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, helping them become more self-sufficient and giving the students skills for life.

They need to plant more fruit tree saplings in the orchard. Each sapling costs approximately £2.50. Banana tubers cost approximately £2 each. We could pay for these project start ups but we cannot continue paying to feed the children at the feeding programme each week AND invest in these projects….unfortunately it is either one or the other and we are not going to stop the feeding programme as it is the only one proper meal that these children receive each week. How can these vulnerable children and young people be expected to thrive on one decent meal a week? It is heart-breaking. They deserve far more and they deserve our help and support. Please help us? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I have said several times that some children walk up to 20km for this one proper meal of the week at the feeding programme. I can’t comprehend what that must be like. Energy levels must be at a minimum already as the children haven’t eaten, then to have to walk up to 20km for a meal and 20km home again…they must be absolutely exhausted and any calories they have from their lunch will be used up on the long walk home. Can you help us help them please?

Levison sent me photos of 6 children who each walked approximately 18km to be fed on Sunday….so a total of 36km for their one proper meal of the week. Levison wanted me to show you these children. They, and others like them, are really struggling and we cannot expect them to thrive unless we give them a helping hand. Will you help us help them? Tasiyana, Praise, Atusaye, Kalebu, Esther and Nema all are hungry and malnourished.

All of them would benefit from having a sponsor. It costs £25 per month to sponsor a child and they will receive clothes, extra food and welfare visits. Two friends could share the cost of sponsoring a child. Or you could commit £5 or £10 per month to help support the feeding programme and help us to make it more sustainable by being able to plant more crops and fruit tree saplings. What will you do to help today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thank you for reading and for your support, Sarah x

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2023/06/12/the-sweet-potato-crop/ https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2023/06/11/activities-for-the-kids/

Praise looks so tired and is suffering from malnutrition

Tasiyana looks so hungry and exhausted
Atusaya is wearing one of the navy cord pinafores donated by Sinclair House Prepatory School in London
you can see by Esther’s tummy that she is malnourished