Good luck to the second year students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they start their national exams tomorrow!
Sarah’s blog 2/6/25
We wish the very best of luck to the S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they start their national exams tomorrow. Secondary school is over four years in Malawi, with national exams being done at the end of year two and year four. The BSFF students’ exams are over the first 6 days of the timetable.
None of these young people would have had this opportunity if it wasn’t for the generosity of their sponsors. They are all living in extreme poverty and, despite having passed their primary school leavers exams, that would have been the end of their education as none of their families could have afforded the secondary school fees. Most of the students at BFSS are orphans, living with extended family. Most don’t eat at home, so their free school lunch is vital.
They have all been given new pens & pencils and school uniform so they look and feel smart and confident. The exam centre is at Chisenga School so they will be getting taxis there and back each day. Until recently, they had never been in a car before! Once there are more students at Bright Futures Secondary School, students will be able to take their exams at their own school. We need to match more sponsors with students so that they too have the opportunity for a secondary education and have choices and chances that they wouldn’t have had.
We are still asking only £25 per month per student – so if you would like to give a young person a brighter future then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to make a difference.
So, good luck to the S2 class – Leonard, Timothy, Maggie, Asante, Phaless, Wongani, Wongani, Mphatso, Martha, Brave and Aaron – we are very proud of how hard you have been working and everything you have overcome to get this far! Thanks so much to their sponsors and teachers, Sarahx
Great photos and videos of practical science classes last week at Bright Futures Secondary School
Sarah’s blog 12/5/25
Science lessons at Bright Futures are a lot more interesting since more resources have been purchased. Students have said that they never realised science was so much fun!
Mr Kanyimbo, Deputy Head at BFSS, (white shirt) sent these great photos and videos of himself and Mr Kalambo (blue shirt) teaching last week. They are a great way to see what happens during classes at Bright Futures Secondary School. Thank you to Mr Kanyimbo for sending the photos and videos. Thanks also to everyone who contributed to our fundraiser to buy practical science equipment. There are more resources on the way on the container which will be there for the new term starting in September.
Also, thank you to everyone who is supporting the education of these students. They wouldn’t be having the opportunities for learning or having a free school lunch every day without your kindness. We are looking for more sponsors for the students who will be looking for places at BFSS in September. It’s still only £25 per month. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Some wonderful photos and videos to show that a little bit of help can make a big difference. Thank you to everyone who has helped the Ng’ambi family.
Sarah’s blog 16/4/25
Some of these videos have made me cry earlier on today along with the story I am going to tell you in today’s blog.
Last month we highlighted a family who are living in extreme poverty. Mrs Ng’ambi is now a single parent struggling to bring up her four children. She has nothing and her roof has huge holes in it. The family sleep on the floor in the mud during rainy season. My previous post is in the link below.
We asked for help for this family and the response was overwhelming. Have I said before that our supporters are amazing? We are so grateful to everyone for their generosity. The four children now have sponsors thanks to Willow & The Olive Branch gift and flower shop in Balfron Facebook (if you live locally to me, this is such a lovely shop and well worth a visit).
We also had a fundraiser on DonorSee for a new roof for the family. We still have other projects looking for funds. Changing Lives Malawi Supporters kindly donated money to buy supplies for a new roof. Because of the rural location and because there is so much to do, it can take a while to organise. However, yesterday was the day for the new roof. Just look at the difference we, along with all of you, and the team in Malawi, can make to individuals in dire need!
Levison and team arrived with supplies and had to carry them for the last part of the journey as the truck could only go so far. Mrs Ng’ambi was told she was getting a new roof. She didn’t believe Levison. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening. She kept saying to Levison ‘but where will we go’ ‘we have nowhere else to go’. She thought she was being forced to leave and the roof was being fixed for someone else.
Imagine having so little and it being a constant struggle. Mrs Ng’ambi must have felt she was not worthy of the help and attention she and her children were receiving. Even after it was explained to her again she said that she didn’t have any money to pay for a new roof. She tried to give them the few possessions she had in payment for the roof.
Mrs Ng’ambi was in a state of shock and untrusting of what was happening for the whole time the new roof was being built. Only afterwards, when Levison and the whole team each told her that there was no charge and the work was done for free for her and her children that she finally accepted that she wasn’t expected to either leave her home or pay for the materials that were used.
You can see in the last video that Mrs Ng’ambi and one of her daughters is crying as they are overcome with emotion that they have had such support and they are so thankful.
Levison had taken food with him so that they could all share a meal together. As Mrs Ng’ambi is so poor and not used to receiving anything or any attention, this was a big deal to be brought lunch and to be served lunch by Levison.
The roof was completed yesterday but the gaps above the bricks have been filled in today. The carpenter is making them a new door too that will shut properly at night. This will help keep the girls safe as they grow up.
One thing that made me cry is when Levison told me that the family had woken during the night when it started raining. They thought their new roof was breaking due to the noise of the rain on the iron sheets. None of them had ever slept in a building with a proper roof before. So they didn’t expect the noise or understand what it was. They are happy now that they have been reassured that rain bouncing off a roof is a normal noise and can actually be quite nice when you are inside and know that you are no longer going to get wet while you try to sleep at night.
It is so humbling to be able to help people who have absolutely nothing but, with teamwork, we can make a difference. We know we can’t help everyone or change the whole world, but we can change the world for a few people. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped this little family. Hopefully, they are now starting to feel better about their future. They have some food coming into their home every month, thanks to the children being sponsored, and now their home has a lovely new roof. Thank you again, Sarah x
At this point Mrs Ng’ambi is still unsure of what is really going on. She thinks she might be forced to leave her house. She doesn’t understand that the repairs are all for her and her family.
In this video you can see one side of the previous roof that is made of sticks fall off in one piece.
As the truck could only get so near, the supplies had to be carried the rest of the way.
Levison explains, again, to Mrs Ng’ambi and her children that this new roof is for them and it is a gift. Supporters wanted to help to make their lives a little bit better.
UN rights of the child states in article 24 that children have the right to nutritious food. Please read today’s blog and help us if you can.
Sarah’s blog 15/4/25
The United Nations Rights of the Child states in article 24 that children have the right to the best health care possible, safe water to drink, nutritious food, a clean & safe environment and information to help them stay well.
The Sustainable Development Goals number 2 is working towards zero hunger.
As many of you know, we help to support a feeding programme that runs once a week. It’s nowhere near enough, but all we can afford as we help the community to set up sustainable projects.
500 orphans and other vulnerable children access this feeding programme. Some walk as far as 15km-20km to have this one proper meal each week. Some young people carry their younger siblings. There are NO children being fed in primary schools in rural northern Malawi. All are hungry and many are malnourished. Some girls, despite it being illegal, are married off at age 11 or 12 as their families cannot afford to feed them.
Thankfully, because they have sponsors to help support their secondary education, all students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious free school lunch each day. In the video below, Ethel explains how none of the students have any food at home.
One of the big challenges, apart from sourcing food for so many people, is that prices continue to rise and currently the price of maize, where they are, has doubled from last year, and last year’s price was double the previous year. How are people supposed to feed their families? Most are really struggling and the situation is getting worse.
There is a holiday study school running this week and next for all students at Bright Futures Secondary School and p8 at Chambo Primary School to prepare them all for upcoming exams. There are teachers to pay, notebooks & pens to buy for the students at Chambo who have none, and food for all of them each lunchtime. Please will you help us? https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1
Having a nutritious meal at lunchtime is a huge treat for the students in p8 at Chambo Primary School. They don’t eat during their school day normally and their biggest meal is usually at the weekly feeding programme. We could not expect these young people to do extra studying and not feed them. Will you help us please? https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1 or you can email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for other ways to donate or give through the link on our website. Donate money and gifts to Changing Lives Malawi We look forward to bringing you photos and videos from this week’s study school. Thank you for your continued help and support, Sarah x
The price of maize has quadrupled in the last two years. Families cannot afford to feed their children and we cannot afford to buy as much food with the same amount of money.Some of the children lining up to receive food at the weekly feeding programme. They are all hungry. Many are malnourished.
This post comes with a big THANK YOU to Vets With Horsepower, The Clive Richards Foundation and The Inverclyde Trust who all generously donated towards new buildings on Bright Futures Campus. I have also attached some photos of the completed teachers’ accommodation block, wash block and sinks. The majority of the work was completed in time to be used by teachers but, due to circumstances out with our control, finishing touches have only recently been completed and photos sent.
I have split this post into two sections; the first being the difficulties that have been faced by the team in Malawi. But, despite all these challenges, they continue to achieve and we are delighted with how the new accommodation block looks and the difference it will make to being able to employ even more teachers next year.
Firstly, the challenges;
Prices have continued to rise regularly, their currency has been devalued several times. (bags of cement bought yesterday for the next building are now the equivalent of £20 each).
The truck broke down and was out of action for several months. An expensive part was sourced and purchased in Tanzania. There was no way of knowing if this would fix the issue but, thankfully it did! While the team didn’t have use of the truck they had to pay a local farmer with two oxen and a cart to transport bricks and water to the building site. As you might imagine, this was not easy or quick.
There has been no fuel in petrol stations (especially rural ones) on and off for months now. They have had to source fuel on the black market when they can, at very inflated prices, and other times just wait until tankers do refill supplies.
The government has started some building work relatively locally, so hiring workers has also proved problematic.
The weather. The aim was to complete building work before the rainy season but it wasn’t possible to do this.
Despite these issues, the following has been achieved:
There are now six lovely new sitting room/bedrooms for teachers which has been such a great addition to know that there is accommodation to offer staff. Because it is such a rural location and the community is living in extreme poverty, teachers must have somewhere to live on campus. So there are now 10 bedroom/sitting rooms thanks to a previous grant we received from The Clive Richards Foundation for the first block of four.
There has been a second latrine block built beside the staff accommodation too.
Clean water has been piped from the local health centre to that area of Bright Futures Campus. The teachers now have a water tap outside their accommodation.
There has been a wash block built with showers and sinks and a drying area for clothes. There will be an additional wash block built in the next few months so male staff/female staff have their own space.
Solar panel kits have been sent and are about to be installed on the teachers’ accommodation blocks, giving them plug sockets. Each room already has it’s own solar power x 3 lights giving one outside light and one light each in the bedroom and sitting room.
So despite a challenging year, we have a lovely new accommodation block thanks to the financial help we received. We are very grateful for everyone’s support in helping us to continue to work with some of the most vulnerable children and young people in rural northern Malawi and grow Bright Futures Secondary School.
The young people are benefitting by having free secondary education, free school lunches, playing team sports and learning skills for life (practical agricultural lessons growing their own food and looking after chickens, pigs and goats) and by being in school, lots of teenage pregnancies have been prevented. Also, there are no girls that have been married off too young because families cannot feed them. Because of their free, nutritious school lunch, there is one less mouth to feed at home.
Primary School Leavers exam pass rates are increasing year on year because of our School Literacy Project, collecting preloved books to send to schools where there are little or no resources.
Thank you again for taking a chance on our small charity. With a great team of supporters we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi and give children & young people a brighter future. Thanks again, Sarah x
If you would like to help provide notebooks and pens for students from Chambo Primary School during the Easter holiday study school, please donate here https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1 This study school is to help them prepare for their school leavers exams. If they don’t have paper and pens then they can’t take notes. Please help?
Forgotten Voices – hungry children. We are making a few very short videos with some of the most vulnerable people talking about issues they face. These ‘Forgotten Voices’ are from the far north of Malawi where help is scarce.
Sarah’s blog 24/3/25
We are making a few short videos under the heading ‘Forgotten Voices’. There are not many charities working in the very far north of Malawi and certainly no big charities feeding children in primary schools.
These videos are a way of hearing some of the issues that the most vulnerable face. Their stories, told in their own words, making an impact. This video is ‘Forgotten Voices’ – hungry children.
Ethel, a student at Bright Futures Secondary School, is living in extreme poverty with her aunt. She has a long walk to get to and from school. She says that she and her other fellow students do not have any food in their homes. At least these students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious free school lunch each day. The children and young people in primary schools have nothing.
We help support a feeding programme once a week that feeds approximately 500 children and young people. Some children walk for 15km/20km for that one decent meal of the week. We are trying to help set up sustainable projects but these children need feeding now. Please will you help us?
There will be an Easter holiday study school running again for the BFSS students as well as the p8 students from Chambo Primary. Feeding 60+ students from Chambo Primary every day during this study programme is a huge cost and one that we need help with. However, we will not support these holiday revision sessions without feeding these malnourished young people. How can we expect them to concentrate without having food in their tummies?
So we would love your help with feeding the students during the Easter holidays please. If you’d like to help then the link is here https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1
Also, the students in p8 at Chambo Primary still need new notepads and pencils (well the whole school does but we cannot afford to help them all unfortunately). If you’d like to support purchasing notepads and pencils/pens then please click here https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1
We are very grateful for all the preloved football kit that has been donated for the vulnerable children & young people and to Julian from ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ for his hard work and support.
Sarah’s blog 20/3/25
We are very thankful for the people who support our work. We always say it takes teamwork and Julian at ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ charity is one of those fantastic people who regularly help the vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi.
Julian spends most weekends travelling to football grounds to watch the games but to also collect donated preloved football kit. He shares what he collects amongst a few organisations and we are very grateful for his hard work and support. He regularly sends boxes on the Bananabox container and here are photos of some of what has been donated this time.
Some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School enjoyed modelling these football kits. A couple of the kits will be kept on campus for use by students at Bright Futures Secondary School and also for the orphans who attend the weekly Feeding Programme at the weekend and play sports also. The other donated kits will be given to local schools who are in need of new sports kits.
It is currently the rainy season in Malawi but, once the rains are over, there will be a football tournament organised with all the local schools invited. Everyone looks forward to sports days like that with great anticipation and excitement.
Thank you again to Julian for all your hard work it is much appreciated. Also thank you very much to all the clubs who have donated kit to be reused in Malawi. Having matching football kit brings a sense of belonging, of pride in their team and of self-confidence. Knowing that people they have never met care enough to send them football kit makes a big difference to these vulnerable young people. Thank you on behalf of them, Sarah x
Food prices have doubled and maize is scarce. Please help us continue to feed 500 children and young people at the weekly feeding programme. The situation is becoming more serious as families cannot feed their children. Please help us continue feeding the 500 orphans and other vulnerable children each week.
A video from the weekly feeding programme. Some children are walking 15-20miles to receive this one proper nutritious meal each week. It’s not enough and maize has doubled in price. Please will you help with a one off or monthly donation?
Ethel, a student at Bright Futures Secondary School is saying how thankful students are for having free school lunches at Bright Futures SS. She says that none of the students have food at home. Also none of the primary schools have porridge programmes and all children at local primary schools, including Chambo Primary, are really hungry.
Levison and team had such a difficult and challenging journey to collect the boxes we sent. Thankfully they are back safely and you can read about their journey in today’s blog.
Sarah’s blog 26/2/25
I wanted to write this blog as I don’t think any of us can imagine just how hard life is for the community we are supporting in rural northern Malawi.
Everything takes so much longer and costs more because of distances. When visiting people’s homes, much of it has to be done on foot as places are not suitable for vehicles or even the motorbike struggles sometimes. Rivers have to be crossed and, if it has been raining, this is too dangerous. And what if Levison is doing a welfare check and finds no one at home? The family won’t have a phone, a message will have to be left with someone and he will need to try again. Nothing is simple.
Also, what if there is no fuel available? Periodically, the fuel stations are empty and any fuel is rationed. Food and other items are going up in price all the time. So many are struggling, but for those in the far north it is exceptionally hard.
We heard that the Bananabox Trust container had arrived in Lilongwe last week and that it was travelling north to Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) on Friday ready to be unloaded on Saturday morning. There is always a last minute rush to get things organised and set off on the long journey to meet the container and collect all the boxes that we and a few others had sent. It’s also a time to have a quick catch up with friends who run other organisations.
We are very glad that the truck was successfully repaired last month and for the financial help we received from some supporters towards this. The journey is just short of 200 miles. Levison and two of his team set off on Friday morning. They stopped for a few hours rest at Karonga then carried on to Ekwendeni. Thankfully, the road is a bit better between Karonga and Ekwendeni as it is a main road.
Once they had loaded all the boxes, they started back on Saturday afternoon. In Karonga they had a puncture and had to get a replacement tyre. Between Karonga and Chitipa the mud was so bad due to the heavy rain that the truck was stuck, along with some other vehicles and couldn’t move for several hours.
Finally, on Monday afternoon they arrived back on campus before school finished and the students at Bright Futures Secondary School were able to help unload the truck. I don’t think many of us could imagine a journey like that. Also, there is a risk of people attacking a vehicle when stopped and stealing some of the boxes, so someone has to remain alert at all times.
None of the children will realise how difficult this journey was to bring them books, clothes and shoes as well as baby clothes, blankets and school resources. But we are very thankful for the dedication and hard work of Levison and his team. It is a real labour of love and of sacrifice for others.
Over the next few days they will begin to open the boxes and I am sure there will be some photos of happy children getting some of the things they need.
I only wish that there could be a truckload of food delivered too or that feeding programmes were set up in primary schools as everyone is so hungry and we can only help to feed 500 children once a week. One proper meal a week is just not enough to fight off malnutrition. It seems like sometimes we take three steps forward and then two back as prices rise and less is available for the funds we have. Hopefully, we keep moving forward with the help of our supporters. It’s always about teamwork and thankfully we have a great team! Hope you enjoy these photos and videos and that, together with my blog, they give a good insight into the challenges faced by supporting a community in the rural far north of Malawi.
And here is the link to help repair the big holes in the roof of a family who are in dire need https://donorsee.com/project/26482?share=1 or you could contact us for bank details at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks so much for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
Thanks to teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School for these great photos of students.
Sarah’s blog 8/2/25
These photos that were taken yesterday at Bright Futures Secondary School are great. Thanks to the teachers who took the photos and sent them to me.
As you can see class sizes are small to give these most vulnerable teenagers the best chance of a good secondary education when everything else is stacked against them. The older the students, the harder their lives have been as they have missed big chunks of school to work for a pittance. All are living in extreme poverty and the free lunch they have at Bright Futures Secondary School is, for most, the only meal they have each day. In September we hope that we can start increasing class sizes a bit now that the school has been open for a little while. Class sizes at Bright Futures Secondary School will always remain lower than government run schools.
Because it’s the rainy season, there are often a few absences as the rivers are too swollen for children and young people to cross. So, unfortunately, if students live further away, and it has been raining for a few days, they cannot reach school. Although things are greatly improved thanks to the wonderful help we receive from our supporters, the community still faces many challenges like having no bridges.
These photos were taken in Emma’s Rainbow Library. There are shelves of books along one wall and there will soon be shelves along another wall for the additional books that have been sent for the library. There are books for all age groups and spending time in the library is a treat to read or look at the pictures in books, as well as being able to do some studying.
All of these students would not have been able to attend secondary school if it wasn’t for us being able to match them with sponsors who help pay for their education and school lunches. This is the difference that having a sponsor makes. These students now have opportunities, choices and chances that they didn’t have before.
I will be sending these photos to sponsors of these students next week. Thank you to everyone who supports them on their educational journey, Sarah x
We are delighted to have been able to help Chambo Primary School with this tree planting initiative thanks to receiving a grant we applied for.
Sarah’s blog 27/1/25
Today’s blog is about the students at Chambo Primary School. Most of the orphans and other vulnerable children who attend the weekly feeding programme, attend Chambo Primary School. There are no big charities feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. So, we are trying to support them with being able to grow their own food and also have a sustainable source of income.
I applied for a grant from The CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust and was delighted and very thankful that my application was successful. Children learn Agriculture as part of their core curriculum in Malawi so were keen to do practical lessons too. Gardening tools and watering cans were bought for use by the school. Children from different classes helped to clear the ground and dig holes.
In December lots of banana tubers were planted by the students. These grow quite quickly. A variety of fruit tree saplings and pine tree saplings were planted last week. The students are learning about the benefits of planting the pine tree saplings as well as the plants that are able to produce fruit. During the rainy season, pine trees will help to prevent soil erosion, will give shade, give shelter to wildlife and be good for the planet. Also, when the pine trees produce pine cones, the children will be able to collect those and plant them to produce more saplings.
Schools are being encouraged to support reforestation so everyone is very excited by this initial stage of the project. The teachers at Chambo Primary are very thankful for the practical support and, once they have supported the children with growing these plants, there will be opportunity to gift additional plants to them in future.
Many thanks to the trustees of The CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust for their support with this project. What we would also like to support students at Chambo Primary School and Bright Futures Secondary school with is to have a stock of wellington boots that they can use for their practical agricultural lessons. Their footwear is not really suitable for muddy conditions, nor is it sturdy for when they are working with gardening tools. Also children only have one pair of shoes (if they do own shoes) and we don’t want their shoes to be ruined by the mud.
We have set up this small fundraiser https://donorsee.com/project/26186?share=1 so if you are able to help to buy a pair of wellington boots we would be very grateful. Enjoy these photos and videos and thank you for your support, Sarah x
Thank you so much to Malawi24 news for sharing the story of the important work being done at Bright Futures Secondary School during their agriculture classes.
Sarah’s blog 12/1/25
We area absolutely delighted that my post about tree planting by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School was seen by a news outlet in Malawi. They interviewed Levison yesterday and have published the story today. Levison says he’s had lots of phone calls about the article both from others who are also taking part in reforestation projects and people passing on their congratulations. I hope you are able to read the article below;
Thank you to everyone who has supported this project with financial donations. As you can see, it is a hugely important project and we are delighted that the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are having opportunities like this to make a difference in their community and that they are learning about reforestation, agroforestry, agriculture, climate crisis and being responsible citizens. The students are going to be shown the article tomorrow and I am sure they will be delighted that their hard work is being recognised. Thanks, Sarah x
