An amazing third day of rugby! Tournaments all day. Lots and lots of happy children!
Sarah’s blog 15/10/24
What an amazing day! It was a school holiday today in Malawi for Mothers’ Day. Many of these children are orphans living with extended family so have mother figures looking after them. All have all come together for a great day of rugby, fun and friendship. As many of these children are malnourished, certainly all are hungry, and no big charities are feeding children in primary schools that far north, we always ensure that children have a nutritious meal when they come together for a day of sport.
Today’s post is going to show photos of the teams that took part and, in a separate post, I will be able to show action photos and videos…there are just too many to share all at once and it has been a very long day for Jack and Levison who were organising the event.
Jack Mphande is the Malawi Rugby Development Officer whose enthusiasm shines through. Thank you Jack for sharing your time and talents with the orphans and other vulnerable children. You have shared your passion for the game with them and, once again, given them such a positive experience. Until recently, these children never had anyone come to spend time with them. You have given them confidence, skills, friendship and raised their self-esteem. These are priceless and they will remember days like today for the rest of their lives.
Jack writes on the Malawi Rugby Union Facebook page (MARU) “Rugby is in safe hands here in Chisenga, Chitipa. I have witnessed raw talent of rugby which, if nurtured well, Malawi Rugby will never be the same.” Jack always writes at the end of his posts “Rugby Rise Malawi”. Rugby is indeed on the rise in Malawi and we are grateful for his visit.
We are also grateful to Arnold Clark cars for their financial donation towards this event and Jack’s travel expenses. Arnold Clark is a new Scotland Rugby Team sponsor.
We have two tickets for the Scotland v Fiji game on 2nd November courtesy of Arnold Clark. For a donation of £5 you could be in with a chance of being at this game! details are in the attached post from day 1 of the rugby.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated sports kit that we have been able to gift to each school that has taken part. They have matching sports kit that they are proud of and can dream big about being stars of the future, like children everywhere do. Thanks, Sarah x
Everyone who took part in today’s tournamentBright Futures Secondary School – girls (wearing Merchiston Castle School & Bromley & Beckenham Hockey)Bright Futures Secondary School – boys (wearing Seafar fc, Cumbernauld & Poole FC)Kalanga Primary School – boysKalanga Primary School – girlsChisenga Primary School – boys (wearing Chelsa fc)Chisenga Primary School – girls (wearing Liverpool fc)Chambo Primary School – boys (wearing Hardinxveld, Holland)Chambo Primary Schools – girls (wearing Seafar Villa, Cumbernauld)Kayilizi Primary School – boys (wearing South Africa)Kayalizi Primary School – girls (wearing Seafar Villa, Cumbernauld)
Day 2 of the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative. Jack Mphande has been busy visiting local primary schools. Thanks to Arnold Clark cars for supporting the event.
Sarah’s blog 14/10/24
Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer has had an extremely busy second day of the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative. He has visited 4 different rural primary schools, delivering rugby training sessions and supporting the teachers from each of those primary schools with their new coaching skills from yesterday’s session. Thank you Jack for encouraging and inspiring everyone.
Tomorrow is a school holiday in Malawi – it’s Mothers’ Day. Teams from each school will come with their teachers to take part in a day of rugby matches and tournaments. Children will receive a nutritious meal and a drink which will be a great treat for each of them. No big charities are feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. So many are malnourished, all are hungry. We cannot expect them to take part in a day of sport without feeding them so we are very grateful to Arnold Clark cars for supporting us financially with this rugby event.
Here is the link to yesterday’s rugby session for teachers.
And here is the link to our fundraiser to try to raise money for a football tournament to happen (similar set up to the rugby) https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1 and we would be really grateful if you could help make this happen. The young people would be even more delighted! Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Children living in extreme poverty are learning to play rugby and can forget about their hardships whilst they learn new skills and grow in confidence and have fun with their friends.
Sarah’s blog 13/10/24
Firstly, I would like to thank Malawi Rugby Development Officer, Jack Mphande, for once again making time to travel the long distance north to spend time with teachers and students. This is the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative.
Secondly, I’d like to thank Arnold Clark car dealership for providing the money for this rugby initiative. The money Arnold Clark have given us has paid for Jack’s travel costs and his expenses as well as providing food for all teachers and students who will be taking part in training and the tournament on Tuesday. We are so grateful for this money as without it we would have had to raise funds and this Rugby Initiative probably wouldn’t have happened until next year. Thank you Arnold Clark who are new sponsors of Scottish Rugby.
Also, a big thank you to Levison Mlambya, Director of Bright Futures Secondary School who works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything happens. Levison isn’t often found in front of the camera so doesn’t get as much credit as he should for the huge amount of work he puts in coordinating and facilitating people and activities.
Until Jack Mphande’s first visit, rugby had never been played in the far north of Malawi. Now it is being played at school, along with football and netball. Jack’s visits are really welcomed and there is great excitement amongst the students. When he first visited, the young people we help to support were surprised that he wanted to spend time with them. They were used to being ignored and not thought to be important. Their self-esteem and confidence has grown so much since that first visit. Girls and boys have learned new skills and love playing team sports with their friends. They can forget about their problems for a while.
Today, teachers from local schools in the Chisenga Zone, including teachers from Bright Futures Secondary School, attended a theory class at Bright Futures Campus and then tested their new coaching skills on some of the students from Bright Futures Secondary School. You can see from the photos and videos that Levison has just sent how enthusiastic and engaged everyone is.
Competition Time. We also want to thank Arnold Clark for providing two tickets for the Scotland v Fiji match at Murrayfield on 2nd November. As well as being able to win two tickets, there are other perks like entry to the Legends Lounge. For a £5 donation, you can choose a number. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . The draw will take place on Friday evening, 18th Oct…so email or contact me via social media for your chance to be at the game! https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/10/02/win-scotland-v-fiji-rugby-tickets/
We are also trying to raise funds to have a football training & tournament initiative and with your help we can make this happen https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1
Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer (white shirt) training teachers
Teachers from Chisenga Zone learning theory and practical skills at Bright Futures Secondary School.Thank you to Arnold Clark Cars for the money they donated to pay for this rugby eventTeachers putting what they’ve just learned into practice
Sam the driver is asking for help to fix the truck
The truck driver, Sam, is asking for your help to get the truck back on the road. Sam works really hard and goes above and beyond to support Levison and the rest of the team. He is wearing a football top donated by our local football team – Strathendrick Football Club.
Here is a link to all our small fundraising projects on DonorSee . We need at least four donations before the end of September so that our projects are still visible to potential donors in October. So any donations, big or small, will really help us. Thank you so much for your continued support, Sarah x
Great progress is being made in supporting hundreds of orphans and other very vulnerable children. However, when there is an issue like the truck breaking down and no spare money to fix it, it sets everything back and impacts on all the other projects. No supplies can be bought without the truck. Can you make a small donation?
These photos and video are some of the ways the truck is used. It is needed every day as the community we help to support is in a very rural location, in the far north of Malawi. The truck has broken down and needs a new alternator and two new batteries (hopefully that is all it needs). It broke down whilst on the way back from town with building supplies so they had to pay for someone else to come with their truck and take everything back. They also had to pay to have the truck towed and for a mechanic to come and diagnose the problem. It is a very stressful situation when they are so dependant on the truck for transport and there is no money to fix it. Please help.
As well as raising funds for the above, money is needed for the two batteries which can be bought at Chitipa town over 40km away. The alternator will have to be ordered from Mzuzu and sent via courier and collected in Chitipa. Nothing is easy. Then the mechanic will have to return and hopefully the truck will be fixed. All of this costs money and they need the truck fixed as soon as possible.
A man with ox and cart is being paid to transport water from the river to where the teachers’ accommodation is being built. The truck was being used to transport bricks and other supplies as well as water in addition to the journeys to town for building supplies and of course food supplies for the orphans.
Several times a year the truck is used to collect the boxes we send from Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. This is an overnight trip due to distance and having to drive slowly on the poor roads.
Will you help please? You can donate via the button on the website, or via the DonorSee link above. Or you could email for our bank details. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x
Such excitement when the truck returns with the boxes that we have sentbringing bricks to where they are needed for building the staff accommodation blockAt Ekwendeni collecting the boxes that we have sent via the Banana Box Trust ContainerNothing about day to day life is easy. During the rainy season the tracks turn to mud and the truck was stuck in the mud on this hilly road. People come together to help.
So much organising to do this week ahead of schools reopening in Malawi on Monday 16th. Preloved kit from Riverside Football Club in Stirling will be gifted to Chambo Primary School next week.
Sarah’s blog 9/9/24
It’s been a busy few weeks and this week is even busier as we prepare for the start of the new term in Malawi as all schools return on Monday 16th September.
For Chambo Primary School, where many of the orphans attend school, we are gifting them with sports kit that belonged to Riverside Football Club in Stirling. They will also receive a new football. The school will be given some bars of soap to help with handwashing. There are also books for Chambo as part of our School Literacy Project. We look forward to seeing these photos.
For Bright Futures Secondary School, there are boxes of preloved school uniform to sort through…hopefully there will be enough shirts and skirts but I’m not sure there are enough trousers and there certainly aren’t enough shoes for all the students. If students don’t receive uniform this time, they will be first on the list next time. We really do need more donations of white shirts/blouses/polo shirts for teenagers as well as black/navy/grey school trouses and skirts in teenage and small adult sizes. Flat shoes/trainers for males/females in adult sizes would be really good to have (if you are local to us) as well as any thin rain jackets please. It does cost £17.50 per box on the container so a contribution towards transport would be very helpful please.
Exercise books are being bought and supplies for teachers like registers, preparation books, chalk and pens. We’ve sent water bottles for the S1 students that I filled with pens, pencils, toothbrushes, toothpaste & soap…so each student will have the supplies they need as well as exercise books. There are enough school bags for each s1 student to receive one each and also underwear for all students. As you can imagine, this all takes time to sort out for the students but all costs money which is why your help and support is most appreciated. We always say it takes teamwork to support these children and young people.
We still have 9 students who want to take up their place in s1 who do not have a sponsor yet. All of these students are vulnerable and live in extreme poverty. As well as school supplies and free education (which needs to be paid for in Malawi) we insist that students have a nutritious, substantial school lunch. This, for most, is their only meal of the day. It also means that their family have one less mouth to feed. All these lunches cost money and sponsorship helps us pay these costs. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a student. You can sponsor as an individual, as a business, or share the cost with your friends. Will you give the gift of education today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Here is the link to my previous post about the students needing to find a sponsor:
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School are wanting to grow their own food to help supplement their school lunches. As agriculture classes are a core subject, practical lessons will also give these vulnerable students skills for life. Will you help them to buy seeds to plant crops? https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1
Preloved football kit from Riverside Football Club in Stirling will be gifted to Chambo Primary School next week
On International Day of Charity will you join our supporters by donating to one of our projects. You will be helping some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi.
Sarah’s blog 5/9/24
“Show kindness and compassion to others” is the slogan of the International Day of Charity set up by The United Nations.
As you might know, because we are supporting a whole community living in extreme poverty. Support in the rural far north of Malawi is minimal so we are trying to work with the team there taking an holistic approach. Which is why you will see me doing so many appeals for different projects. However, they all lead to the end goal of self-sufficiency and sustainability.
Currently, there is new accommodation being built for teachers as there is nowhere locally for them to rent. It’s really difficult to get teachers to come to such a rural location and of course they need to be paid!
We still have nine young people who have passed their primary school leavers exams who are desperately looking for sponsors so they can attend Bright Futures Secondary School. Secondary Education needs to be paid for in Malawi. None of the young people we support can afford to pay. Being sponsored ensures the student gets free secondary education, free stationery and uniform and a free school lunch. This is, for most, their only meal of the day and means at home there is one less mouth to have to feed.
Ensuring young people get to secondary school also means that there are far less teenage pregnancies than there would normally be and also less risk of girls being married off far too young. Even if students do not pass their final exams (of course we hope that they do), being in school has avoided these risks and students will be far more literate and numerate and have more life skills than if they hadn’t attended secondary school.
So please would you sponsor one of these 9 young people to go to Bright Futures Secondary School? It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a student. You could sponsor as an individual, or split the cost with a friend…or even 5 friends each paying just £5 per month. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like to give a vulnerable young person a brighter future.
Or could you help with core costs of running the school each month? Or make a one off or monthly payment towards the expense of food for school lunches? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Here are some of our projects that we are hoping to get funded on DonorSee
With your help, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. But it’s always about teamwork and we need to on our team to support hundreds of the most vulnerable children in Malawi, many of whom are orphans. On International Day of Charity, will you help a child? Thank you for reading and supporting our work, Sarah x
Lots of the children arriving at Bright Futures Campus to be fed – it’s their one proper meal of the week. It’s not enough but all we can afford while we help set up sustainable projects.
Clothes and soft toys for the children at Bright Futures Nursery
Vulnerable students were delighted to receive new school uniform when Bright Futures Secondary School opened in Nov 22.
Some great photos of Agribusiness Group 1 and how hard they are working to get their first crop planted. Will you help us fund another group?
Sarah’s blog 4/9/24
We have partnered with DonorSee, who are in USA, to raise funds for some of our small projects. Thanks to several people who donated to help a group of women start their own Agribusiness enough funds were raised. The women were delighted and were gifted tools, watering cans, fertiliser and maize to plant.
They have had a bit of support to start them off, as they’ve never done this before, but they are so happy to have this opportunity to do this themselves. The aim is that they are going to grow maize as their first crop. Sell some of the harvest and buy more seeds to plant their next crop. Hopefully, this will really help them to provide for their families, give them confidence that they can work hard and achieve and that things are getting better for their community.
Here are some photos and videos from when they received their gifts and of the ground clearing and planting. What we would like to do now, is to keep raising these small amounts of money so other groups of people living in extreme poverty can also help themselves to have a better, brighter future.
Imagine a time where we no longer needed a feeding programme as more and more families were able to provide for their children. That is the end goal – for the community to be self-sufficient and sustainable. If you would like to help a second group (only £150) to start their own business then please either email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate at https://donorsee.com/project/24574?share=1 .
We are so grateful for all the support we receive. We always say it’s about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without your help. Thanks again, Sarah x
Thanks to those who funded Agribusiness Group 1, we’d love to be able to fund another group and give more people the opportunity to earn their own money and be self-sufficient.
The Rotary Club of Allander, which is in Milngavie north of Glasgow, have been supporting us for over a year now in a variety of ways. They’ve introduced us to new people, supported us to raise awareness and some funds at Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games and they’ve had a variety of fundraisers during the year and Changing Lives Malawi is one of their chosen beneficiaries.
At the end of last week, we received a generous donation of £1,410 from them. This is from all the fundraising they have been doing. We are really grateful to the Rotarians and to everyone who contributed. The money will be put towards income generating projects…we will do a separate post when planning is well underway for these.
Also, we are delighted that the Allander Rotarians have decided to support a young person’s education at Bright Futures Secondary School. Sabina, has passed her primary school leavers exams but, without help, wouldn’t be able to attend secondary school. In Malawi, it is only primary school that is free.
As well as not having to pay anything for her education at Bright Futures Secondary School, Sabina will have school uniform, stationery and free, nutritious school lunches. This is one of the big expenses – feeding all the students each day – but it is vital as, for most, it is their only meal of the day and it saves their families having to feed them. It is £25 per month to sponsor a young person so please do get in touch if you would like to help. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks again to the Rotarians at The Rotary Club of Allander…we are very grateful to you and delighted to be working with you to make a difference, Sarah x
Great donations of preloved football kit from Feniton Women’s FC and Crediton Youth FC via ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ charity – thank you!
31/08/24
Once again, we are delighted that ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ charity has donated preloved football kits to the young people we help to support in rural northern Malawi. We are very grateful to Julian who spends a lot of his free time visiting football clubs to collect preloved kits that are no longer needed.
So today, as well as thanking Julian, we say a big THANK YOU to Feniton Women’s Football Club and also Crediton Youth Football Club for collecting their preloved kits and giving them to Julian to send to vulnerable children and young people in Malawi.
The young people love team sports, especially football and netball. They can enjoy being with their friends and forget about all the problems in their lives. Now they have smart, matching kit with no rips and tears. They can feel proud to belong to a team, their self confidence and self-esteem is better. They can dream about being famous footballers….and they know that people, whom they have never met, care enough about them to make their lives a little bit better.
We are going to organise football training and tournament for the nearby schools in the rural Chitipa area once we have enough funds in place. As no big charities are feeding children in primary schools that far north, we must provide each child taking part with food and drinks which obviously adds to the cost of any event. If anyone would like to contribute then you can either donate via our bank account with the reference ‘football’ Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Account Number 21081462, sort code 80-22-60 or donate via our fundraiser https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1 .
Thank you again to everyone who has donated preloved kit and to Julian at ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ charity…. on behalf of all of the young people…Thank you for making a difference, Sarah x
Here is a short animation which explains nicely what Vets with Horsepower does. https://fb.watch/u6FarSjyvT . A group of motorbike enthusiasts, who also happen to be equine vets at the very top level, plan a journey each year and give lectures at various points on their tour. A huge amount of planning and organisation goes into these trips each year by the team at Vets with Horsepower and the people organising all the events en route.
As well as us being hugely grateful to Vets with Horsepower, we are very thankful for all of their sponsors too. So I would like to say a big THANK YOU to the following;
SKOPES Menswear ❤️
Boehringer Animal Health ❤️
IMV Imaging ❤️
Equine Medical Solutions ❤️
Nupsala ❤️
PODOBLOCK ❤️
Audevard ❤️
MedEquus ❤️
Coppax – EVC ❤️
ARIAT ❤️
Baker McVeigh ❤️
Rossdales Equine Hospital ❤️
and, of course, everyone else who made donations to this year’s event and to the vets for giving of their time and talents, thank you. We enjoyed following your journey on social media and looked forward to all the photo updates on the Facebook page.
£15,000 is the amazing donation that we received – we were blown away by how much we received and what that money will help us achieve. THANK YOU again. We will now be able to go ahead with the £33k expansion of Bright Futures Secondary School. I will tell you a bit of background to BFSS for those who aren’t familiar with our charity.
We support a community in the rural far north of Malawi. Everyone is living in extreme poverty and there are many orphans as some families have been affected by HIV and AIDS. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools that far north so most children are malnourished. We have been sending money to facilitate a feeding programme once a week. Over 500 children of all ages come to receive their one proper substantial meal of the week. Some children and young people walk up to 15km or 20km from their homes. It’s not good enough, but all we can do currently while we help set up sustainable projects for their future.
We match the most vulnerable children and young people with sponsors. Whilst they are at primary school, they receive a monthly food parcel to supplement the food that they have at home. Secondary Education has to be paid for in Malawi, so sponsored young people who had passed their primary school leavers exams, were attending nearby secondary schools. The system in Malawi is that the young people with the best grades are chosen to attend secondary school. If they are not offered a place (even if they have passed their exams and have a sponsor to pay their fees) then they cannot attend secondary school. That is the end of their education. We found ourselves in this position with 11 sponsored young people who had passed their primary school leavers exams with no places at secondary school. So Bright Futures Secondary School was born.
After lots of fundraising, Bright Futures Secondary School opened with two classrooms on 7th November 2022. Then the next two classrooms were built in time for the new school year in September 2023. By then there were three year groups. Next month, September 2024, there will be four year groups at Bright Futures Secondary School for the first time. More teachers need to be employed and, as it is in such a rural location, more accommodation built to ensure that teachers have somewhere to live.
This latest project, costing £33,000, will provide further staff accommodation complete with solar power and further latrines/washing facilities to allow the school to expand to have four years of students. Work is well underway on the motel style accommodation which will give six teachers their own private sitting room and bedroom. New textbooks have been ordered for the new s4 as well as other supplies being sourced ready for the start of term on 16th September.
I am still trying to find sponsors to enable some students to be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School. One of the big costs at school is school lunches. We insist that students have a substantial and nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day. It saves their family having to feed them. So we must ensure that they are fed. They also receive uniform, shoes and stationery so they are well equipped for school. If you would like to support a young person’s education it is less than £1 per day – only £25 per month. You could sponsor as an individual or split the cost with your friends. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I could continue writing as I am passionate about the young people that we help to support being able to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. To have the choices and chances that we take for granted for our children. Education is their way out of extreme poverty and they are desperate to learn. Each of them want a brighter future. I’ve probably said enough but, once again, a heartfelt thank you to Vets with Horsepower and all their supporters and sponsors for helping us continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. I hope you enjoy these photos and having read a bit about Vets with Horsepower and also Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x
There are so many things that are happening and I am just hoping they all come together in time for the new term starting.
Everyone in Malawi is working hard on building staff accommodation and checking supplies for the new term as well as setting up income generating projects as well as planting vegetables to eat. Applications for the new teaching positions have been received and are being reviewed. This is in addition to the pastoral work that Levison does for the most vulnerable children and continuing to source supplies for the weekly feeding programme.
Here, Jackie is doing an amazing job with crunching numbers and making the donations we have received go far. There is never enough money for all the wish lists and requests that are needed to support 500+ of the most vulnerable children and young people but we are trying our best. Currently, Jackie is ensuring there is money to buy more text books as well as all the various supplies needed for the accommodation block build, wages and other monthly costs. We really are grateful for all she does.
What am I doing? Sometimes that is difficult to answer lol. Some days, caring responsibilities take over and I don’t have as much time to give as I’d like to our charity, but I can only do my best with the time I have. Other days, I am working hard from morning until evening ticking off jobs on my list as I go. I am trying to make our charity known to more people with the hope that more donations will come in over time. I’m trying to find more sponsors so young people can go to secondary school and have a brighter future. i work closely with Levison and we are a good team. I’m writing blogs, and updating social media as well as liaising with potential donors…. and (when there is time) writing new grant applications. Oh and packing boxes with my husband Stuart who does an amazing job of organising all of the boxes to be packed properly, labelled and taped up ready for the next part of the journey to Malawi.
One of the goals that we are working towards is to help the community we are supporting to be self-sufficient. We have some small projects on the site DonorSee. Here is the income generating pig project link which just needs a few more people to donate and then it will be totally funded. https://donorsee.com/project/23894?share=1
Below is a previous post with details of the students who are looking for a sponsor to help them take up their place at Bright Futures Secondary School. All of these students passed their primary school leavers exams, which is excellent, but they need your help to support them at secondary school contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you so much to everyone who helps and supports us to make lives brighter for the young people, Sarah x
