Tag: help

CLM is 5 years old today!

Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old! Thanks for your support and here’s to the next 5 years!

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Sarah’s blog 29/5/24

Happy 5th birthday to us! Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old today. We are very grateful for all the support we have had along the way and thankful for everyone who has sponsored a vulnerable child or young person.

A lovely happy birthday message from some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School

Here are a few highlights;

  • 500 children and young people are being fed a nutritious meal once a week at the Feeding Programme. This is the only proper meal of the week for some and children are walking 15km-20km to receive this food. Some young people carry their younger siblings with them. Once a week isn’t enough but all we can afford while we are helping with setting up other projects. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in that area so most are malnourished and all are hungry.
  • All who need them have been given reusable sanitary towels so they don’t miss a week of school every month. Girls now have equality with regards to their education and school attendance. These sanitary towels have been made by a group of girls who have been using the hand turn Singer sewing machines we sent. They want to start making clothes to sell.
  • up to 75 pre-school children attend Bright Futures nursery and are being fed breakfast each day.
    • Vulnerable young people, whom we match with sponsors, are able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School free of charge. BFSS was built with the help of our supporters and opened in November 2022. More sponsors are needed for the students that want to take up their places in September 2024 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s less than £1 per day. Students receive a free education, uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day.
    • There is clean drinking water, and a shower block for all the young people to use.
    • Our school literacy project is supplying primary schools with boxes of preloved books to help students become more confident readers and to raise literacy levels.
    • Fruit tree saplings have been planted for a sustainable future food source.
    • Crops have been planted to be used in the feeding programme and students are learning how to care for them and the chickens as part of their agricultural lessons.
    • Mother & baby project – we have some very talented people knitting beautiful blankets and clothes for the new babies on the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre. The mums are extremely grateful for these beautiful things. If they go back a few weeks later, they are given other gifts for their babies and this is another chance for health professionals to see that mother and baby are well.

The above are just some of the ways that your support goes to help the most vulnerable people in Ibuluma. It’s always about teamwork and we very much appreciate everyone’s support.

There is still so much that needs to be done to help this community to get back on its feet. They want to be self-sufficient and just need a helping hand to get there. We will continue reaching out to try to connect with more people over the next five years so that there is a bigger team enabling more work to be done.

Thanks also to the core team of volunteers – you are an amazing support!

We have a few projects on DonorSee that we are raising money for and would appreciate your help. If you could ‘follow’ and give us a review on DonorSee that would be great, as it helps us get seen by more potential donors.

https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1

DonorSee

Thank you all again and here’s to the next five years! Sarah x

Community Magazine Article – Allander Rotary, Allander Probus, Scotland Malawi Partnership & Changing Lives Malawi

Four organisations, working together to support some of the most vulnerable people in northern Malawi to self-sufficiency and sustainability.

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Sarah’s blog 24/5/24

The Rotary Club of Allander (Milngavie) have been supporting Changing Lives Malawi in a variety of ways over the past year and we are very grateful for their support. We are attending Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games with them on Saturday 8th June, so if you are attending the event, please come and say ‘hello’.

In March, I was invited as a guest of Stuart Sharkie, President of Allander Rotary, to attend a talk on Malawi at The Probus Club of Allander. We were both made extremely welcome by William Ho, President of The Probus Club and all the other members.

Changing Lives Malawi is a member of The Scotland Malawi Partnership which promotes positive relationships and connections in Scotland and Malawi where people in both countries can learn from each other and work collaboratively. Chad Morse, is Deputy Chief Executive of The Scotland Malawi Partnership and was giving the talk. This was the first time I had met Chad in person and his talk was fascinating as he and his family had lived in Malawi for many years.

As well as benefitting from hearing Chad’s talk about the work of the SMP and his time of living in Malawi, he had some wonderful photos of the beauty of Malawi. There was also an opportunity to chat with people and I met some lovely people.

William arranged for an article to appear in Bearsden & Milngavie’s Community Magazine and he has sent me a copy of it as it was delivered yesterday. I’m thankful for the opportunities and support that The Rotary Club of Allander, The Probus Club of Allander and The Scotland Malawi Partnership have given to Changing Lives Malawi and I hope that we can all continue supporting the hundreds of vulnerable children, and their community, through a variety of projects with the end goal being sustainability and self-sufficiency.

Stuart, William and Chad – thank you for your support of our work. I’m grateful for your help and kindness. I always say it’s about teamwork and, little by little, our team is expanding.

I’ve included the link to two recent blogs I have written to give examples of some of our projects, then the magazine article and photo. If anyone would like to get involved then please let me know contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Two new video appeals
Sponsors needed for p8 students
l-r: Stuart Sharkie, William Ho, Sarah Black, Chad Morse

MYEBOOK – Community Magazine – Bearsden & Milngavie – June 2024

Sponsors needed for p8 students

Sponsors needed to support these vulnerable students to get to secondary school! http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

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Sarah’s blog 23/05/24

***SPONSORS NEEDED for P8 students***

Students in their final year at Chambo Primary School started their national primary school leavers exams yesterday and we wish them the very best of luck.

We are hoping, with your help, that this isn’t the end of the road for their education. Imagine passing your exams but being so poor that you couldn’t go to secondary school.

None of these young people can afford to go to secondary school, which needs to be paid for in Malawi. These 18 students are all expected to pass their exams. We now need to match these vulnerable students with sponsors to help pay for their education at Bright Futures Secondary School. It’s only £25 per month per student. This pays for their education, uniform, stationery and a cooked school lunch each day – for many this is their only proper meal of the day.

Let’s help give these young people the brighter future they want and deserve. If you would like to make a difference to a young life please get in touch. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

NB – the older these students are, the poorer their family is. They have missed big chunks of school to try to earn a living to by food. They have missed out so much of their childhood. Let’s give them a Brighter Future!

Myless Ng’ambi had dropped out of school due to family circumstances but they managed to get her back to school which is why she is 17 already. She (like the others) is desperate for an education. I am delighted to have matched her with a sponsor, so providing she passes her exams, she will be attending Bright Futures Secondary School in September.

Seventeen more young people are still needing your help! You can sponsor as an individual, share the cost with a friend/s or family, or a business can sponsor a young person or a school, church or club could share the costs. It might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these young people. Thank you, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Child Sponsorship/P8 Chambo Primary

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Sarah’s blog 20/5/24

Morning everyone! I’d said that, as our 5th birthday is coming up at the end of May, I would be highlighting some of our projects. We have received lots of preloved books recently for our School Literacy Project which will have a big impact on literacy levels. We are collecting another big donation of books from Strathblane Primary School today and are very grateful for their support.

Most of the orphans and vulnerable children we support attend Chambo Primary School where there are over 500 children across 8 classrooms. The students in p8 are about to start their national exams on Wednesday. They cannot go to secondary school unless they pass all these exams. Even if they pass these national exams, unless they have the funds they cannot attend secondary school as only primary education in free in Malawi. None of the children we help to support can afford school fees. So should they only have access to primary education because they are living in extreme poverty?

https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1 This is a link to our fundraiser to supply the students with stationery at Chambo Primary School. Please click on the link to see the video. A generous donor has agreed to match what we raise up to the total of $200. Please support this project.

With a lot of help from our supporters, we built Bright Futures Secondary School for the most vulnerable students. We have generous supporters who have kindly agreed to support students through their 4 years at secondary school. It costs £25 per month and this helps pay towards their education, a cooked school lunch each day, school uniform and stationery. However, Bright Futures Secondary School has lots of space for more students.

So, highlighting our Child Sponsorship Project, we need to find more kind hearted sponsors to enable more of the young people who live in extreme poverty to go to Bright Futures Secondary School. Will you sponsor a young person? Or a group of friends could share the cost? It might be the most important thing anyone does for that vulnerable young person. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Please, please help us fill Bright Futures Secondary School with sponsored students giving them opportunities for a much brighter future. Silvia, Elizabeth and John are all expected to do well in their exams…please give them a chance. Through education, these children can be the brighter future for their community. Thank you, Sarah x

Heavy rain & earth tremors

Heavy rains continue as 200 children brave the weather and long walk to get a free meal to fill their tummies. http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

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Sarah’s blog 05/05/24

Life is so tough for the children and young people we help to support in rural northern Malawi.

Heavy rains continue and there have been earth tremors felt from an earthquake further south. Thankfully, we don’t think there is any damage to any of the childrens’ homes (which are just mud huts or a very basic brick one room houses)…there was no damage to the buildings on campus.

What do you do when you are desperately hungry but it’s heavy rain and you’ve got to walk a long way to get your one proper, nutritious meal of the week at The Feeding Programme? Do you go out and get soaked through? Or do you stay dry at home? Do you have to try to cross small rivers that are now deeper and faster flowing? Or do you stay at home and suffer the hunger pains that they surely must all be feeling?

Here, we all have coats, hats, umbrellas, walking shoes or wellies….not there. Yes, some now have coats that we have been able to send….others don’t. Some have shoes….some don’t. All will be feeling cold and tired and so hungry as they make their way to The Feeding Programme. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Today, there were only approximately 200 children out of the usual 500 ventured out in those awful conditions to have a proper meal. How I wish we could do more for them. We’ve done so much in the last five years but, because no big charities are feeding children in schools in the far north (nor do they have any plans to) we cannot ignore the fact that thousands of children are suffering from malnutrition. The Feeding Programme was one of the first projects that we helped to implement. Teachers started noticing a difference in the children’s concentration even after one meal a week. Imagine we could feed them five days a week? Feeding them once a week is a struggle while we try to set up sustainable projects and support education for the most vulnerable young people. Feeding them costs money and we rely on our supporters to help us to help them.

Will you help us feed these children so we can continue to send funds to provide 500 orphans and vulnerable children with a substantial, nutritious meal once a week while we set up sustainable projects that will provide them with food and an income? The end goal is self-sufficiency but things have been so bad for this community that it is going to take a while for them to get back on their feet. Will you make a one off donation? Or can you commit to paying £5 or £10 per month to support the feeding programme? Life isn’t fair, these children need our help. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can help these vulnerable children out of poverty and out of the malnutrition that each of them is suffering. Thank you, Sarah x

Changing Lives Malawi is (nearly) 5 years old!!

As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, we are launching an appeal for preloved books, school uniform and footwear and also asking people to sponsor the cost of sending a box on the container.

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Sarah’s blog 01/05/24

At the end of this month our charity, Changing Lives Malawi, will be 5 years old! To mark this amazing milestone, we will be sharing stories throughout the month, looking back at how things were and what has been achieved. To start the month I’m sharing our birthday appeals.

We have been fortunate that so many people have donated their preloved books to our School Literacy Appeal; individuals, adults, children, local nurseries, schools, church congregations and you all have been making a big difference to literacy levels in the far north of Malawi.

We have been able to stock the shelves in Emma’s Rainbow Library, as well as donating boxes of books to local primary schools. These schools have hardly any resources and our aim is to support children and young people to become more confident readers. How can they practice reading without any books?

The pre-school children in the nursery have missed out on years of pre-reading skills; they haven’t had the picture books to turn pages, to sit on an adult’s knee as a baby and have a favourite story read to them. This was evident when the pre-school children first encountered books that we had sent. They had no idea how to turn pages or what to do with the books. Now, thanks to the support we receive, we are ensuring each child at Bright Futures Nursery has at least two books to take home with them to keep. We want every home to have some books and families to start looking at these books together.

We are appealing for people to get involved and donate preloved books as part of our 5th birthday celebration. We are also appealing for preloved school uniform, shoes, crocs, sliders, trainers (all sizes) but they must be in very good, clean condition. If you can make a small financial donation with your books, clothes or shoes then please do as that will really help us with the costs of transportation.

We are also appealing for people to sponsor a box of books, clothes or shoes. It costs us £17.50 per box on the Bananabox Trust container plus there are additional costs of collecting the boxes in Malawi. We will write your name, name of a loved one, your business or even a funny message on a big label on your box. It would make such a difference if there were enough people covering the cost of boxes and would, therefore, make it such a team effort!

For more information, or to get involved you can email me on contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together, we CAN continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you to everyone who supports us, Sarah x

Chikumbusko Kawonga needs help

Chikumbusko is desperate for our help. Will you read her story and support her? http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

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Sarah’s blog 29/04/24

It’s been a really busy week again, here and at Bright Futures Campus. I’m going to retell the story of Chikumbusko. This is for three reasons;

  1. To highlight her story and reach out for help for her.
  2. To help our supporters understand what life is like for the children and young people we support. There are many children who have suffered many traumatic events in their lives like Chikumbusko has which is why they all need our help.
  3. To try to get some support for her foster family. They are living in extreme poverty but have welcomed Chikumbusko back with open arms. We must try to support them with some food and basic items to ensure they can look after her properly.

When we first met Chikumbusko, she was on her own, dirty, cold and hungry. Her grandad, whom she lived with, was very ill and had gone to hospital. Suddenly, she was all alone. Her grandad never came back from hospital as he passed away. Chikumbusko, was also suffering from malaria.

Thankfully, Levison found a family to take her in, took her to the health centre and got medicine for her, and we matched her with a sponsor after doing an appeal. Things started to improve for Chikumbusko as she was cared for by the grandmother of another sponsored young person.

However, a few months ago, Chikumbusko and a group of her friends (not sponsored young people) ran away. Their idea was they were going to town to find jobs. Unfortunately for them, like many children who run away, life didn’t work out as easily as they thought.

As soon as Levison found out she had run away, he was making phone calls to different people in town asking them to look out for her. He went looking for her and so much time was spent following potential trails. Sadly, for a long time, he was unsuccessful. There was a rumour that these girls had been trafficked to Tanzania. Thankfully, this wasn’t true. But they had been sleeping rough on the streets. The police arrested the whole group and put them in cells overnight to keep them safe one night. The girls were given a good talking to and told to go home but, sadly they didn’t.

Eventually, Levison did find Chikumbusko and helped her get to a distant relative’s house where she has spent the last few weeks coming to terms with some of the trauma that she has suffered. This was only ever going to be a temporary arrangement but we didn’t know if Chikumbusko would every return. On Friday, she came back to the family who had been looking after her. They were pleased to see her and have agreed she can stay with them. We probably won’t ever know what exactly has happened to her when she and her friends were away but we are glad she is back. No doubt, there have been more traumatic experiences to add to those she’s already suffered.

In the meantime, I had been keeping her sponsor informed when I could, however their personal situation has since changed and they had to make the decision to stop their sponsorship of her, they still sponsor another of our young people and we are greatful for their support. Whilst we could argue that Chikumbusko had chosen to run away and therefore gave up her sponsorship, we are hoping that she can be given a second chance as she is such a vulnerable young person, having suffered so much loss and grief as well as malnutrition and loneliness. There are times in her life where she must have been so frightened.

This shows how much each child who uses the feeding programme is cared about. Despite being so busy, Levison tries his best to ensure they are safe. However, we need so much more help and so many more sponsors for all the hundreds of very vulnerable children in the far north of Malawi.

Will you help us give Chikumbusko a second chance please? We need to match her with a sponsor to ensure that there is a food parcel going into that home each month to help supplement what that family already have, which isn’t much at all. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

It’s £25 to sponsor a young person. Whilst they are at primary school they receive a monthly food parcel. They also receive clothes and soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste etc when available. When they get to secondary school they get free education and a free nutritious school lunch each day instead of their food parcel at home. You can be a sponsor on your own or split the cost with a friend or a group of you could sponsor a child. Please will you help Chikumbusko. There are hundreds like her needing support but, today, let’s find a sponsor for her. Please contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Chikumbusko when we first met her. She was alone, suffering from malaria as well as malnutrition. She was living with her grandad but he went to hospital and she never saw him again. She had no one.
After matching her with a sponsor, Levison found her a family to foster her.
Chikumbusko looking well and happier in her new home.
Chikumbusko is back with her foster family but needs our help

Fundraising Cards

Thank you so much to everyone who has bought our fundraising cards. Oakwood Garden Centre have sold 94 packs! Amazing thank you!

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Sarah’s blog 11/4/24

I thought I would do a little update on my mum’s beautiful cards that are copies from her original paintings. My mum, Christine Cresswell, who is one of our trustees, only took up painting a few years ago. She has real talent and found it helped her to paint during lockdown. Mum has given her time and talents to our charity and sells her paintings with all proceeds going to the projects we support in Malawi. She had the cards printed, so all proceeds from those goes to the charity too.

Thanks to everyone who has bought cards and thank you to members of Strathblane Kirk and Strathblane Guild for their support. Also thank you to Torrance Parish Church for having the cards in their foyer for sale, we really appreciate your help.

I also want to thank Oakwood Garden Centre, Killearn. They very kindly agreed to stock our fundraising cards and have sold 94 packs of cards which is amazing. Many thanks to Oakwood Garden Centre and all the customers who have supported our charity by buying cards.

Below is a small selection of paintings and cards. I will do a separate post about mum’s paintings soon. The packs of cards are in 8 of same type that are blank inside for your own message, priced at £5 per pack they make a great gift or are handy to have at home. Thanks again and thanks mum, Sarah x

Four Fantastic Firewalkers – let’s help them over the finish line with their fundraising!

Please help our four fantastic firewalkers over the finish line with their fundraising http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

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Sarah’s blog 10/4/24

Just a quick blog tonight as I have been busy doing a grant application. Our four firewalkers were absolutely fabulous and great sports. We are so grateful that they all stepped up to the challenge and stepped out of their comfort zone to raise much needed funds.

They’ve done brilliantly – thanks to everyone who has donated so far. However, if you’ve not donated yet, please could you? We would love both teams to get to £1,000 and they aren’t far off!

You can access photos, videos and links to their fundraisers by clicking on their stories.

Thanks again to Allander Rotary for organising this event and supporting our charity and to Milngavie Guides for hosting the event. Of course the biggest thank you goes to Joanne, Alison, Alistair and David for walking over hot coals for charity. Thanks, Sarah x

Joanne & Alison’s Fantastic Firewalk
Firewalk Fundraiser – Mr Blair & Mr Braid, Balfron High School

Easter Study School

Some photos and videos from Easter Study School at Chambo Primary and Bright Futures Secondary School…everyone is taking advantage of this great opportunity.

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Sarah’s blog 09/04/24

Today I have some photos and videos from the Easter Study School. The ones from Bright Futures Secondary School were taken by one of the teachers yesterday. Levison visited Chambo Primary this morning and sent the photos and videos from there.

To help us pay for the nutritious school lunches each day during the holiday school for 100+ students please donate here; https://donorsee.com/project/23049?share=1

We are grateful to everyone who is supporting these very vulnerable young people to have these extra eight days of study and a proper cooked lunch each day. Teachers have given up their holiday time, cooks have prepared and cooked lunch each day and other volunteers on campus ensuring that things run smoothly for the young people. The lunches are important as it’s probably the only proper meal each of these young people will get each day. How can we expect them to walk a long distance and concentrate all day if they haven’t eaten properly?

In Malawi, national exams are taken at the end of primary school (p8). If you don’t pass then you don’t go to secondary school. Also you don’t go to secondary school if you cannot afford to pay. So for most of these students at Chambo Primary, even if they do pass, unless we have managed to match them with a sponsor to help support their education at Bright Futures Secondary School, their education is still finished at the end of primary school. We need more sponsors please and it’s only £25 p/m…that’s less than £1 per day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

National exams are also at the end of S2 and the end of S4. There aren’t any S4 students at Bright Futures Secondary School until September, so this study school is for the S2 and S3 students. BFSS is only half full currently. There is capacity for more vulnerable students, but we need your help and financial support for their education. It might be one of the most important things you do for one of these young people.

Students at Bright Futures Secondary School were asked ‘What is good about school being open during the holidays?’

Bethsheba said ‘It helps us to cover the load that haven’t been covered during second term so that we stay focused to the curriculum of Malawi Government’ (for info – may students have missed classes due to heavy rains preventing them cross the swollen rivers). She also said ‘It helps us that we are not supposed to be playing at home so that we maintain the striving of excellence.’

Lawrence stated ‘It helps us to have more knowledge about school and it helps us to avoid bad behaviour that might happen when you don’t go to school. It helps us to have access to have lunchtime food, since we are coming from far distance with emptied belly. So during the holiday we continue to have access to food which improve our health so that we stay focused on our studies without thinking about hunger.’

Mathias added ‘It helps students to maintain a good position such as a student may proceed in working hard whether during holidays or school days. It helps students to have full information about the subject which haven’t covered in the past term.’

Mphatso said ‘It helps to have more experience on how can we handle subjects during holidays hence improve experience of subject. It helps us always to think about our career journey through our studies during holidays or school days and it helps students to spend more time in reading and concentrate on school activities hence improvement in academically.’

Agness commented ‘ It helps us to continue with our studies regardless of it being holiday time. It lets us improve our knowledge. It also stops students joining in bad behaviour during holidays. Being at school gives students to have ample time to do revision work for the past term and looking for areas of improvement.’

One of the teachers, Mr Byfore Kalambo, at BFSS said ‘It’s most important to provide studies to our students because it helps us to cover all the topics from the previous term. It also helps us as the teacher to be well prepared and focused about the coming term because we are more aware about students weakness during the previous term and finding ways of improvements. It provides us more time to do revision work with students so that when the school is open we stay focused on the scheme of work (lesson plans) prepared while we are maintaining the whole curriculum. We also have the chance to be more flexible and relaxed with classes so students find it easier to ask questions freely during holiday time hence good interaction between us teachers and students.’

To help us pay for all the food for the 100+ students during the eight days you can donate here: https://donorsee.com/project/23049?share=1 or email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I hope these photos and videos help to give you an insight into the schools and the vulnerable young people we are supporting. Supporting these students to succeed is always about teamwork. Will you be part of our team? Thanks, Sarah x

Easter Study School, School Lunches & hungry students

S2 English at BFSS
S3 Social Studies at BFSS
p8 at Chambo Primary School
p8 at Chambo Primary
p8 at Chambo Primary
p8 maths at Chambo Primary
S3 Social Subjects BFSS
English S2 BFSS
Biology S3 BFSS

A letter from Sarah

Could you raise funds or awareness for http://www.changinglivesmalawi?

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Sarah’s blog 03/04/24

Dear Supporters

I’ve thought a lot about writing this and whether I should or not. Writing blogs has taken me out of my comfort zone as I always want the focus to be on what is happening in Malawi or fundraising here, not about me. However, here are a few thoughts I’d like to share with you.

As a charity, Changing Lives Malawi is growing well and, thanks to our supporters, is continuing to make a big difference to hundreds of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. A few things do need to change in order for us to continue to grow;

  1. I need some more help as my caring responsibilities have grown over the last few months and I must continue to prioritise my family.
  2. As we grow, there is more to do. I have several large grant applications to do over the next few weeks and these will take time.
  3. We need to continue fundraising and this doesn’t all have to involve me. What I would find really helpful is if supporters could do some little (or bigger) fundraising for Changing Lives Malawi within their own communities. This shares some of the hard work but also lets a new group of people know about our charity. Hopefully, as 100% of donations go towards the projects we support, they will be happy to support us too. You could have a table top sale, a bake stall, an afternoon tea or a car wash…or could you do a sponsored event like the Kiltwalk or a half marathon?
  4. Share our posts please. Or write a post of your own about our charity. Again, a new group of people will see this post and that you have given us your seal of approval!
  5. Invite me to speak at your club, church, event. I love doing this and one of my favourite things is talking about the projects that we support in Malawi. After that, hopefully, that will have made a new connection and that community can become a supporter of Changing Lives Malawi.
  6. Feeding hundreds of hungry children continues to be a big concern as there are no big charities feeding them in schools in the far north of Malawi. Most are malnourished. All are hungry. If you could spare £5 per month to support the feeding programme then that would make a big difference. 100 people committing £5 per month would be £500 extra to spend on feeding children and putting into place sustainable projects that will help people be self-sufficient eg planting an orchard of fruit tree saplings at each primary school in the local area.
  7. Young people’s education is also a priority. Bright Futures Secondary School is only half full currently. We need to match more vulnerable young people with sponsors so that they can go to secondary school. Education is their way out of extreme poverty. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. They receive school uniform, stationery, a nutritious cooked school lunch (their only proper meal of the day) each day and, of course, free education.
  8. I remain 100% committed to Changing Lives Malawi – it is what I am supposed to be doing and I love it. I love being a small part of a big team. Every one of us has different skills and talents and we all can make a difference. Changing Lives Malawi is nearly 5 years old and I am so thankful of all the support we continue to receive.

Thank you for reading today’s blog and for understanding and supporting our small charity which is making a big difference. Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Easter Study School Our Firewalkers are in the news again!

    Easter Study School

    The first day of Easter Study School – some of the students are enjoying a break to have their lunch and chat with their friends.

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    Sarah’s blog 02/04/24

    Schools in Malawi have two weeks of Easter holidays like they do here in Scotland. However, as some of the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School were staying on campus rather than travelling home for the holidays, they were happy to run a holiday study school for four days this week and four days next week.

    We enabled this to happen last year too and it was a great success and we provided a cooked lunch for the students and teachers from p8 at Chambo primary too. Primary 8 students have national exams to take on leaving primary school. If they don’t pass then they don’t get chance to go to secondary school. Even if they do pass, unless they have a sponsor to pay for their secondary education then they still don’t get to have a secondary education. Sponsoring a young person only costs £25 per month and they get a cooked lunch each day at school, uniform and the stationery they need. If you could make a difference to a young person and become a sponsor then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

    S2 students also have national exams and this study school will really help them. S3 students asked if they could take part too. So a full timetable has been worked out to accommodate S2 and S3 students to ensure they make best use of time and teachers available. We are really grateful to the teachers for their enthusiasm and hard work and dedication to the young people.

    There are no big charities feeding children in primary schools in the far north. Most are malnourished and all are hungry. Most don’t get a proper meal each day. So we are ensuring all the Chambo p8 students (approx 70 of them) and the Bright Futures Secondary School students all get a cooked school lunch each lunchtime during these two weeks. All students and BFSS get a cooked school lunch every day. How can we expect young people to study when they are hungry, tired and unable to concentrate?

    So, as you can see from these photos, some of the students were happily chatting with their friends at lunchtime and enjoying their lunch. It’s small things like this that make a big difference to them. Whilst BFSS students all have the exercise books and stationery they need, the last time we gave the students at Chambo Primary exercise books and pencils was in January….they need more otherwise they are just listening to their teachers and not able to write anything down.

    Can you help us provide lunch, exercise books and pencils for 70 students in p8 at Chambo Primary please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting us to support the students, Sarah x

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