Tag: healthy

Reflecting on a difficult week

There’s been lots to reflect on this week. Please read today’s blog to catch up on what I have been writing about today.

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Sarah’s blog 16/11/25

For a few different reasons, it has been a difficult week. I’m feeling the weight of responsibility heavy on my shoulders with family and with the charity. Here are a few of my ramblings and what I have been reflecting on and thinking about.

Our friend and colleague, Alan Laverock, who organised (with other volunteers) the sending of containers of vital aid to Malawi, sadly passed away this week. I have been thinking about him and reading the tributes and condolences from so many people. Also, I have been reflecting on a life well lived. Alan made a difference. You can read more about Alan here Alan James Laverock: a tribute | Scotland Malawi Partnership

One consequence, and obviously this is of secondary importance, of Alan’s passing is that the Bananabox Trust containers have stopped. Currently, we have no means of sending any boxes to Malawi.

We realise that many people in Malawi are extremely concerned about this and hope that, in time, that someone else may take this on. Medical and dental equipment gets shipped regularly along with shoes, clothes and sports equipment to name but a few.

I am particularly reflecting on our School Literacy Project. Thanks to the support of Alan and his team at Bananabox Trust, we have been able to make a big difference to children’s reading by sending over 100 boxes of books.

The first 17 boxes of books that were donated to Chambo Primary School

Bright Futures Secondary School has benefited from fiction books as well as text books and bibles. Emma’s Rainbow Library (named after the late Emma Buchanan of Balfron whose family helped raise funds for the library) is well stocked. It has floor to ceiling shelves of books for all age groups.

Bright Futures Nursery has been able to give at least two books per child to take home to read and look at the pictures with their families. This is ensuring all those households have access to books of their own and looking at books together is a special everyday activity.

Chambo Primary School and then Kalanga Primary School have benefited from the gift of many boxes of books. Boxes of both factual and fiction books have been sent for different age groups. These schools have hardly any resources and p8 leavers exam pass rates were well below the national average.

Since we, with the help of our supporters, started putting books into these primary schools, the pass rate for primary school leavers certificates has gone up by 19%. This is a huge achievement for these young people. We are so proud of them and proud of the part we and our supporters have made to their literacy levels, reading comprehension and helping young people pass their exams. Without passing these primary school leavers exams, students are not allowed to attend secondary school.

We hope there will be a way to continue sending books (and other boxes of aid) as other primary schools are asking and waiting to be included in The School Literacy Project.

The rains have started in Malawi and some school buildings in Chitipa District have been damaged (thankfully, not ours). Families are also suffering because their homes are so fragile and open to the elements.

A food crisis has been declared for the whole of Malawi. I don’t think any of us realise just how dire the situation is. Prices continue to rise. There is a continued fuel shortage, meaning many goods aren’t available to purchase rurally. Levison has told me that people are suffering more than usual and it will get worse.

I have been thinking about this over the past few days and wondering how we can make a difference and protect the most vulnerable from the worst of this crisis.

I know I put appeals on social media to which people kindly donate, however we need to be doing something bigger and bolder to get a good amount of money to the hundreds of children and their families to prevent further suffering. https://donorsee.com/project/28717?share=1 This is the link to donate or you can email me for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or make a donation on the website. Donate money and gifts to Changing Lives Malawi

What can we do? What can we do differently? There are projects helping to support sustainability in the future, however, these are for the future and people also need help now. All the fruit tree saplings will make a big difference in a few years time, and we will continue planting more, but they won’t help now.

What can we do now? Instead of sending Christmas cards ( or as many Christmas cards as usual) could you make a donation to help us buy food?

Could you organise a coffee morning or event for your friends on our behalf? Or could you organise a bonus ball competition before Christmas?

Could you purchase an alternative gift for the person in your life who has everything? Or an alternative gift for a teacher who doesn’t really need another mug. Let me know if you’d like to help or if you’ve any good ideas contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Levison had a funeral to attend earlier last week. He took a photo of Bright Futures Campus from near where the funeral was taking place. It’s a great photo. You can see the Mafinga Hills in the background and beyond that is Zambia.

Once there was nothing where these buildings now stand. Now there is Bright Futures Campus with a secondary school, a nursery, a library, offices and a staffroom and accommodation for teaching staff. Vulnerable children know this is their safe place where they can receive support, where they can play. Where there is someone to listen. There are fruit tree saplings growing and crops have been planted….nowhere near enough but it is a start. There is hope for a brighter future.

This has all been achieved with a lot of hard work and determination to ensure that the most vulnerable children have a better and brighter future. They have choices and chances that they wouldn’t previously have had. Thanks to our supporters, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. However, there is a great deal more to do. Will you help? Thank you for reading my ramblings. I hope you can feel the love and concern I have for the people we are supporting and how, together we can give them a helping hand until they can have a sustainable future. Thank you, Sarah x

Bright Futures Campus with The Mafinga Hills in the background. Beyond the hills is Zambia.

Supporting New Mothers in Malawi: The Mother & Baby Project

Today’s blog has photos and videos from a visit to the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre.

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Sarah’s blog 7/11/25

There is a maternity ward at the local health centre. Many of the new mums are living in extreme poverty and don’t have clothes & blankets for their babies, hence the need for the Mother & Baby Project.

We have some lovely supporters who are talented at knitting and crocheting and others who have donated clothes that their babies have outgrown. So we have been able to send lots of baby hats, clothes and blankets.

The idea is that, as well as receiving clothes at birth, if mum and baby return after a few weeks to collect some more clothes, the health care staff will have an additional opportunity to check that mother and baby are well.

Students from Bright Futures Secondary School visited Chambo Health Centre with some of the boxes of donated baby clothes & blankets. Everyone was very thankful for their visit and delighted to receive gifts for their babies. The new mothers are exhausted and in pain but had expressed their gratitude on receiving the lovely gifts for their newborn babies.

After students had helped sort out some gifts for the babies, they also helped by tidying and sweeping round the exterior of the health centre.

The lady speaking in the video is a relative of one of the newborn babies. She said she wished that when she had her babies that there were gifts like these and help available. It is her prayer that changes like this continue to happen in her grandchildren’s lifetime. She is speaking the local language, Chichewa.

The young man who is speaking in English is Mphatso, one of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Many, many thanks to everyone who is supporting this very important project and letting new mums know that they, and their babies, are important and special. Without your help and ongoing support there would be no Mother & Baby Project.

I am planning to visit Malawi in June next year. The Mother & Baby Project is one of the projects I am passionate about. It’s making a difference to the vulnerable mothers and their babies. I would also love it if we were able to gift bars of soap to the new mums. This is one of the projects I am raising funds for in my GoFundMe ahead of my visit next year. It would be amazing if you could make a small donation to make a big difference. https://gofund.me/b8e7bf36c

I hope you enjoy the great photos and videos, Sarah x

Tidying and sweeping outside the health centre
Students from Bright Futures Secondary School outside Chambo Health Centre

To donate to the sewing project to purchase more material for sewing reusable sanitary towels to beat Period Poverty here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/29253?share=1

Bright Futures: Helping Vulnerable Students Thrive

Sports at Bright Futures Secondary School

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Sarah’s blog 16/12/22

Everyone is settling into a routine at Bright Futures Secondary School. Here are some photos from today of some of the young people. The boys have been playing football and the girls netball and football. The teachers are in the black and white stripe tops, being great role models for the teenagers and ensuring that the girls (as well as the boys) are playing team sports, keeping fit and healthy physically and mentally, learning new skills and growing in self-esteem.

I am still busy trying to raise money for desks and more textbooks then onto phase 2 of the school. By building two more classrooms, more vulnerable teenagers will benefit from a free secondary education as well as a hot nutritious lunch each day at school. Thank you to all those who have supported our fundraising. If you are able to donate to help provide desks and more textbooks, then here is the link https://gofund.me/44a92444

Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators

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Sarah’s blog 26/03/22

Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included

These are used in Scotland as a simple way of checking on a child’s wellbeing. We are trying to ensure that the hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children supported by The Foundation in northern Malawi are all of the above. Levison and team are doing an amazing job and by taking an holistic approach the children’s self-confidence and self-esteem is growing. There is much more to do but little by little things are changing for the better.

While you look at these photos from the rugby training, please keep in mind the above eight words. It’s a good way of measuring how change is happening for these most vulnerable children. Some in these photos have been lucky enough to be matched with a sponsor…some would love a sponsor so they have a monthly food parcel and their secondary education paid for them. If you would like to sponsor a child to help them achieve their potential email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com it’s only £25 p/m to change a child’s life. Elizabeth, Fortune and Pemphero would love you to support them. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

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