Thanks to the grant we received from The Clive Richards Foundation, there will shortly be a new staff accommodation block for 4 teachers. As the area has so much poverty, there are no suitable houses for teacher’s to rent so on campus accommodation is vital to attract good teachers to Bright Futures Secondary School.
Some bricks have been bought and some have been made and are about to be fired. The ground has been cleared and the digging of foundations has been completed ready for the actual building work to start. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before this building is finished.
In the meantime, here are some photos of progress so far. We still have a shortfall in the funding we require for the new latrines for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, so any financial support would be very much appreciated contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy the photos and I’ll post another update soon. Thanks, Sarah x
On Saturday morning, I attended a Christmas Card Sale & Coffee Morning at The Kirkrooms, Strathblane. It’s always a great event and lovely to catch up with people and have a chat. I had a selection of packs of cards for sale and, thanks to everyone who bought them, made £184.50 for Changing Lives Malawi.
These cards are taken from original paintings by my mum, Christine Cresswell, who is a very talented artist. She has generously gifted these cards to our charity so all the money from sales will go towards building the new latrine blocks. Some of the original paintings are for sale so let me know if you see something you like.
Each pack contains 8 cards of the same design, blank for your own message and they are £5 each plus £2.50 p&p. (if you purchase multiple packs then we can combine postage amounts). Perfect for sending or giving the whole pack as a gift.
It’s a bit of a photo dump today! There is so much going on that it’s not easy to get photos of everything that is happening. Yesterday, S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School were able to choose new shoes from the boxes of preloved shoes that www.salsshoes.com kindly donated to us to send to the teenage students. So there were lots of happy young people yesterday receiving new shoes to protect their feet whilst walking to and from school. Thanks to Sal’s Shoes and to all the people who donated preloved shoes to them.
We’d had a donation of money to be used to make desks for classroom 3. The donor wishes to remain anonymous but we are very grateful and thankful for this donation and the difference it is making. Levison was able to take some photos yesterday and you can see that the young people have a great learning environment. Thank you. We have preloved chairs and tables that we had kindly been offered going on the next container for classroom 4. If anyone would like to help towards the cost of transporting these then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
When Levison was at Bright Futures Secondary School yesterday, the S1 class were having a science lesson. He managed to get some photos of them using the new microscope that we sent. It’s so good to see these vulnerable teenagers having the opportunities they deserve and a good quality education. We do need sponsors to support more students to have a place at Bright Futures Secondary School so if you are able to commit to changing the life of a young person through education then please do contact us. It only costs £25 per month and you could share that cost with a friend. Or could you commit £5/£10 per month to ensure students have a nutritious, cooked school lunch each day. For many this is their only meal of the day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thank you for your continued support. We are still collecting school uniform and shoes and also thin rain jackets if anyone would like to help. Also, any scientific calculators, maths sets or kindles that are still in good working order. If anyone has another microscope or STEM resources (science, technology, engineering, maths) that their children have grown out of eg snap circuits, meccano, magnets, etc please do get in touch to see if we are able to make use of them. Thanks and enjoy the photos, Sarah x
As we grow, there seems to be more to do! Bright Futures Secondary School is doing well and we were so thankful that classrooms 3 and 4 were finished in time for the new term starting last month. Classroom 4 is currently being used as a staffroom and for teaching skills for life classes, until it will be needed for a classroom next year when there will be another intake of pupils meaning there will be classes 1-4 next year.
This means we will need to build another staffroom by next September. Also, more teachers will need to be employed by next September. As the village is so rural and people are living in extreme poverty, there is no suitable accommodation available for teachers to rent. There is already some accommodation on campus for the current teachers but more needs to be built.
We were fortunate to receive a grant from The Clive Richards Foundation for staff accommodation and latrines for which we are very grateful. Levison has negotiated with local land owners and we have bought two pieces of land for The Foundation which will extend the Bright Future Secondary School Campus. One of these pieces of land is for teachers accommodation.
Land clearing has started and the builders will be arriving soon to start on the foundations and the building should be finished next month. You can see from the attached photos that there have been lots of shrubs and some quite big rocks and stones to move….all by hand. There has been another fuel shortage which has delayed purchasing items needed for the building but, thankfully, they got fuel yesterday afternoon. However, because of prices rising, fuel shortages and strikes, they are going to have to travel 50km into Tanzania to purchase cement then 50km back home again….adding to time and fuel costs. Nothing is straightforward.
On the second piece of land it is hoped that dormitories will be able to be built but, as with everything, it is dependent on finances. We would be delighted if anyone would like to make a donation towards either a second teachers accommodation block or dormitories. You could have your name, the name of a loved one or your company or club name over a door or on a building! contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
One block of 4 motel style rooms with verandas will be built before the rainy season starts in the next few weeks plus more latrines will be built for the staff and students. We will need to raise more funds for a second block of 4 teachers’ accommodation that can be built after the rainy season. Great progress is being made but fundraising must continue to ensure that Bright Futures Secondary School continues to grow and thrive for the vulnerable teenagers and the community.
Money is always on our minds as we don’t have any big reserves. We are volunteers and so we have no overheads and all money donated goes to the projects we help to support. We rely on donations and fundraising and the occasional successful grant application. That is why we always talk about teamwork…we are only a small part of helping to make a difference. We need your help too!
The more teenagers we can match with sponsors, then the more vulnerable orphans will benefit from free good quality secondary education at Bright Futures Secondary School. So can you help an orphan have a brighter future with a secondary education? It costs £25 p/m to sponsor a young person and this includes a nutritious school lunch each day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
For many, this is their only food each day which is why it is so important to us that they have free food at lunchtime each day. How can they be expected to study and concentrate on their lessons if they have no energy, are hungry and malnourished? How can they be expected to sleep at night if they are lying awake with hunger pains. We take a holistic approach to helping these young people and their families back to being self-sufficient and having a sustainable future.
We keep the UN Sustainable Goals in mind for all of our projects. #SDG1 – no poverty, #SDG2 – no hunger, #SDG3 – good health & welbeing, #SGD4 – quality education, #SDG6 – clean water & sanitation, #SGD8 – decent work & economic growth, #SDG11 – sustainable communities to name a few!!
Or could you commit £5 or £10 p/m to help us provide nutritious school lunches? Food prices keep going up and the crops they are growing just aren’t enough. You could help us ensure that no young person at Bright Futures Secondary School is suffering from malnutrition. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I look forward to bringing you more photos during the coming weeks and, again, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who supports our work, Sarah x
We are really fortunate to have Christine Cresswell as one of our trustees. Christine is a talented artist and donates the proceeds of her artwork to our charity to help fund the projects we support in Malawi. I will do another separate post with a selection of paintings soon.
As well as being a talented artist, Christine is also my mum. We have had cards printed from some of her beautiful paintings. I have spent a couple of hours at mum and dad’s dining table today. Dad was tasked with counting cards, mum was counting envelopes and I was putting the two together in cellophane bags.
These cards are blank inside so are suitable for any occasion, or a pack could be given as a gift. They are a bargain at £5 per pack of 8 cards (same design) plus p& p of £2.50 per pack. (I can check postage rates for multiple purchases).
My parents also, very generously, paid for the printing of these cards, so every penny from the sale of each pack will be going towards the projects we help to support. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to order some cards.
This year’s S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They have received gifts of uniform, shoes and school bags.
Sarah’s blog 20/09/23
Firstly, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated school uniform and school bags for the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison said that one of them had said ‘we never expected to have such good quality clothes as this’. So thank you for making a big difference to them and helping them feel important and valued for a change.
Secondly, another huge THANK YOU to the charity Sal’s Shoes Our Story – Sal’s Shoes (salsshoes.com). We were gifted three big boxes of shoes for the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. We are very grateful for this support and we know the young people are delighted to have proper shoes to wear. It has such an impact on their confidence and self-esteem that people who don’t even know them have shown they care about the students by donating uniform and shoes. Now they all look smart and are able to have a sense of pride in their appearance. Proper shoes are also very important when the young people are walking the long distances to and from school across rough ground. Thank you again Sal’s Shoes for all that you do, all the hard work of your volunteers and for everyone who donates shoes to you to pass on to those who need them.
Here are photos of the new S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. All of them are vulnerable. All have been given shoes, uniform and school bags. The Only a few of them have sponsors to support their education through secondary school. If you are able to support one of these young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s £25 per month to sponsor a young person. Or you could commit to £5 or £10 per month to help pay for school lunches. Each student gets a nutritious cooked lunch each day at Bright Futures Secondary School….for many it is their only proper meal of the day. These young people cannot be expected to concentrate and learn if they have no food in their tummies. Your help would be very much appreciated. The more people who help us support these young people, the more young people we can help and then we can offer places at Bright Futures Secondary School to additional young people. Thank you, Sarah x
Martha, Mphatso and Aaron are choosing shoes from one of the boxes that Sal’s shoes donated New shoes for Aaron, Martha and Mphatso – thank youlooking very smart in their new uniforms and shoesJohn and Asante pose in their new uniform and shoesThanks to Sal’s shoes for these very smart shoes that John and Asante are delighted with
S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School deserved a treat for passing their S2 national exams
Sarah’s blog 13/09/23
Schools across Malawi started back on Monday. We were so thankful that the new classroom block at Bright Futures Secondary School was finished in time for the new term starting.
We decided that the S3 students deserved a treat for passing their S2 national exams. The whole class passed and this story was even picked up by the national news. An amazing achievement for some of the most vulnerable students in Malawi. Many of them are orphans. Most don’t eat properly every day (apart from their cooked lunch at school) and most have missed school at some point to try and earn a pittance to buy themselves and their families some food.
After lessons finished on Monday, the S3 students were given bottles of fizzy drinks and sweets. These are things they would never have. They also had a meal of goat meat, rice, beans and vegetables. Again, meat is something that they might only have once or twice a year at The Feeding Programme. Rice is far more expensive to buy than maize so they don’t usually have rice either. Everyone was really happy and delighted to have these unexpected treats. The students were telling their friends in S1 and S2 how they must work really hard to pass their exams too.
The aim at Bright Futures Secondary School is to keep class sizes smaller than the average to ensure that these vulnerable students get the attention they deserve. However, class sizes remain very small as we need more help to feed everyone. Food prices continue to rise and students must be fed as, for many, this is their only meal of the day. How can they concentrate if they have not eaten? If you can help by either sponsoring a teenager’s education or commit a monthly amount towards school lunches then please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . The bigger the team who are supporting school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School the more young people we can help to educate.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the school project; Bright Futures Secondary School is an amazing learning environment. There will be more photos and videos later in the week as school supplies are handed out. Thanks again, Sarah x
The new term starts tomorrow and the new classrooms are ready just in time
Sarah’s blog 10/09/23
Just a few photos before the new school term starts tomorrow in Malawi.
The new classroom block at Bright Futures Secondary School has been finished, names have been written over the doors. The carpenter is making some extra desks that will be finished in a couple of days.
Three classes of students will arrive tomorrow. What the s3 class don’t know is that some of our trustees have sent money for a celebration for them tomorrow afternoon. All S3 (well last year’s s2) passed their national exams… a great achievement. So they will be having a treat tomorrow.
Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us to enable this to happen. It’s an amazing achievement and we are delighted that the classrooms are ready just in time.
We still need more toilets and textbooks if anyone would like to help https://gofund.me/ece5753a . Thank you again, Sarah x
Some of the teachers todayBlock 2 of Bright Futures Secondary SchoolKenzo’s ClassroomSadie Harmin’s StaffroomDesks being made
Purple sky at sunset over the new classroom block at Bright Futures Secondary School
Sarah’s blog 8/9/23
Teamwork has done it again! Thank you so much everyone who has helped to make this happen. Classrooms 3 & 4 will be completed before school starts on Monday morning. Classroom 4 will be used as a staffroom/meeting room/general purpose room for this year until it’s needed for students in year 4 next year. The current staffroom is a bit too small for the extra teachers this term. We are fortunate to have this extra space this year.
The building looks amazing and the students are delighted that they have lovely classrooms and a great learning environment. Boxes have arrived with science equipment, reference books, pens, pencils and exercise books. Lots of photos will be taken over the next couple of weeks of the students receiving the equipment they need.
We are still fundraising for more latrines for the students and for extra staff accommodation as there is nowhere suitable in the village to rent due to the level of poverty. If you would like to help us a little bit further then the donation page is https://gofund.me/ece5753a or you can get in touch for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . We are still looking for sponsors for these very vulnerable students if anyone would like to make a real difference to one young person. Please email for more details on sponsorship. These students need a sponsor
Many thanks again to everyone who supports us to help the whole community out of poverty, Sarah x
Just look at the colour of the sky as the sun is setting at 6pm
Can you help one of these vulnerable young people ? John is 14 and wearing a girl’s ‘brownie’ t-shirt (probably age 8-10). John is malnourished and needing help. Will you sponsor him or one of his friends? http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com
50/09/23
It’s been a difficult morning for me, but even more so for Levison. Yesterday registration opened for the returning pupils and new pupils at Bright Futures Secondary School. Yesterday over 70 families came. Today more families and their young people continue to arrive asking for free education at Bright Futures Secondary School.
We want to be able to say ‘yes’ to all of them. However, we cannot. We need to be sensible as the school costs money to run. It is the food prices that are crippling…prices have increased so much. All students at Bright Futures Secondary School get a free school lunch each day. This is a cooked, nutritious meal and, for most, it is their only proper food of the day. We will not stop feeding the students as how can they concentrate if the haven’t eaten? How can they sleep if they have stomach ache from hunger? How can we expect them to do their best and achieve without their basic needs being met?
This is where we need your help again. As I always say, it’s teamwork and we cannot help this community without you. These young people need a sponsor to help pay for their education. They are all malnourished. They are all extremely vulnerable. Will you help us to help them please? Being a sponsor is only £25 p/m. You can sponsor as an individual, as a family or two friends can split the cost of sponsorship between them. £25 is less than £1 per day. Much less than the price of a takeaway coffee. Will you give your support? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Or could you commit £5 or £10 per month towards school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our bank details. Several people each giving £5 per month would make a big difference to how much food can be bought. Can you commit £5 please?
Thank you so much to everyone who has/is supporting us to help these students. We are so grateful that they now have choices and chances for a brighter future. Can you give one of these young people the same chances? Can you be a sponsor? Thank you, Sarah x
Let’s build a school – Bright Futures Secondary School is changing lives for some of the most vulnerable students in Malawi. http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com
Sarah’s blog 23/8/23
Bright Futures Secondary School is a big project and, because of costs, we have had to divide it into phases. We were asked to support this project due to lack of places available at the nearest secondary school and the fact that the vulnerable young people we help to support couldn’t afford to pay for secondary school.
In November 22 phase 1 opened with two classrooms. Numbers of students in each class were smaller during last year as we couldn’t offer a full school year because the classrooms weren’t finished for the school year starting in September. However, small class sizes have obviously been of huge benefit to the very vulnerable students who were in our first intake. All students in s2 passed their national exams which is an amazing achievement. Two news outlets in Malawi have picked up on this good news. In the news!100% exam pass rate S2 BFSS
We knew that another classroom would be needed for term starting September 23. However, we didn’t know whether we would be able to achieve this. Prices have kept going up in Malawi so any quotes we got for work were soon out of date and we did wonder if s3 classes would have to be held in the library until we had raised more money.
Thankfully, once again, people have helped us. We have had a few successful grant applications and generous donations. We have had people raising money for us. On behalf of the students (and future students) of Bright Futures Secondary School we thank everyone so very much. We are pleased to report that we have enough money for the next classroom block. The decision was taken to build classrooms 3 and 4 together as this was more cost effective. Classroom 4 will be able to be used for meetings, study and also sewing classes this year until it is needed for teaching an s4 class next year. It seemed like an impossible task a few weeks ago but it is happening for the students!
What we do still need, as we have to employ more teachers for the extra class, is more accommodation for the teachers. We also need to build more latrines and buy more textbooks. We can do this but need your continued help and support. Together we are making a difference and changing lives and giving these vulnerable young people the chance of a brighter future. They deserve investment in their education as this is their way out of the extreme poverty in which they are living. Education will have and impact on them, their families and their whole community. Will you help us again please?
https://gofund.me/ece5753a is our fundraiser where you can donate to help us provide staff accommodation in order to attract good teachers. We also need to build another latrine block for the students.
Could you help us by sponsoring a vulnerable student for £25 p/m? Students receive school uniform and other clothes, a free school lunch each day and all the equipment they need for school.
Or could you commit to £5 or £10 p/m towards a nutritious school lunch each day for all the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. For many, this is their only meal of the day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Let’s build a school!
Here is a photo dump and videos to show how hard the builders have been working over the past few weeks to ensure that the fantastic s2 pupils who all passed their exams have a classroom to continue their secondary education. There will also be a new class of needy children who have just left primary school to come to Bright Futures Secondary School, as well as last year’s s1 class moving up to s2. What has been achieved is fantastic and it’s thanks to your support and teamwork. Thank you, Sarah x
Please support grassroots rugby in rural northern Malawi. £5 to have a chance to win a signed Scotland Rugby Shirt. https://gofund.me/46e63377
Sarah’s blog 21/8/23
It’s just over a month until Jack Maphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer, returns to Chitipa for a second visit. Jack introduced rugby to the far north of Malawi on his first visit. He spent time with the older orphans and they loved it and picked up the skills quite quickly.
There is great excitement as Jack is visiting for two weeks. He is going to be working with the primary schools in the cluster; coaching and then having tournaments between the schools. In the middle weekend he will be spending time again with the orphans and vulnerable young people that we help to support.
We are grateful that lots of rugby kit and rugby balls have been donated and sent to be shared out amongst the schools and we are delighted that Jack has been able to set aside two weeks to visit which will benefit so many young people. We are so pleased that young people will be having the opportunity to learn a new sport, new skills and have fun with their friends. They will get to be children for a while and forget all the daily challenges in their lives.
As well as Jack’s expenses for public transport from Lilongwe and some accommodation and food for the days he isn’t staying at the foundation, we need to provide the children with food on the days that they are playing rugby. No organisations are feeding children in primary schools in this area, so these children are hungry and many are malnourished. We cannot expect them to play rugby and concentrate if they are hungry and have no energy. So we are looking for your help with providing money to buy food.
Scottish Rugby Union have been extremely generous to us. They have donated kit and some Scotland Shirts. They have now also given us two Scotland shirts signed by the Scotland Rugby Team. We are going to raffle these shirts to provide food for the children at this rugby event. Tickets are £5 each and you can purchase a ticket by donating to our fundraiser. https://gofund.me/46e63377 and make sure you write your name so you can be entered into the draw. Thank you in advance for your continued support, Sarah x
