help Archives

Hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

Please read this news article. The children we help to support are some of the most vulnerable in Malawi and need your help.

Sarah’s blog 30/11/24

I saw that a friend on Facebook had shared this newspaper article on hunger and malnutrition in Malawi. I asked Levison if he was ok with me sharing it. I am aware of trying to get a balance between positive and good news stories against those stories that are about how people are struggling and need our help. Levison said ‘This is the truth. It is pathetic to see how kids suffer from hunger in Malawi and we expect them to do well in class.’ So here it is. (I will retype some of it as it will be difficult to read if looking at it on a phone).

A 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report has indicated that the hunger situation in Malawi is serious….According to the report, Malawi faces significant challenges regarding food security and nutrition, exacerbated by several factors which include high levels of poverty, reliance on subsistence farming and vulnerability to climate shocks. The report says that, despite progress being made, hunger has declined only marginally since 2016 and that the prospects for achieving zero hunger by 2030 are grim. Malawi has about 4.7 million food insecure people. The report says progress in reducing all four GHI indications – under-nutrition, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality – is lagging behind international targets.

This is why we need you help. Yes, progress is being made and we (thanks to our wonderful supporters) have several successful building projects under our belts now including; Bright Futures Secondary School, Emma’s Rainbow Library, a shower block, latrines, and Teachers’ accommodation. There is clean drinking water too as well as an orchard, hens and now three pigs.

However, whilst progress is being made for future sustainability and self-sufficiency… 500 of the most vulnerable children are only being fed at The Feeding Programme once a week. It’s not enough. Some are walking from up to 20kms for that one proper meal of the week. Some are carrying toddler siblings. One nutritious meal per week is not enough but it is all we can afford. Some girls are still at risk of being married off too young as families cannot feed them.

There are no big charities are feeding children in schools in the rural north. That immediately puts these children at a huge disadvantage. How can they sleep properly if they are hungry and cold? How can they concentrate if they are tired? How can we expect them to retain information if they are malnourished and not eating properly each day?

This is why these children need your help and why we keep appealing for donations. The end goal is sustainability and self-sufficiency but the children need more – now. We need to do more to relieve the hunger and malnutrition amongst the children we help to support. Will you help?

We are now in the run up to the end of 2024… another year that has gone so quickly! And we are hoping that you might include one of our projects in your charity giving. We have a page on DonorSee where there are a few projects – some of which are food for the future while others, like the Christmas Party appeal, are to give children an extra meal and a party. Will you help us please? As we are volunteers, all money we receive goes to the projects we support.

You can either email me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com , or give via the link on the website Donate money to Changing Lives Malawi or via our page on DonorSee. The link to the children’s party is here https://donorsee.com/project/25004?share=1

Thank you so much to everyone for your support. We always say it’s about teamwork and we need you on our team to continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you for reading and giving, Sarah x

Bananas – a sustainable project

Some of the children queuing up to be fed

children are fed in age groups with the youngest ones being first

Please help us ensure that there is funding for the children’s Christmas Party

Your support means that some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi will receive an extra meal and a fun time with their friends.

Uniform Donation – All Saints Junior School, Maidenhead

Thanks so much to All Saints CE Junior School, Maidenhead for this great donation of school uniform for vulnerable children in Malawi.

Sarah’s blog 12/11/24

We love making new connections like this one and are delighted that we have another school supporting our charity.

On Friday we received a delivery of four large boxes of school uniform from All Saints C E Junior School in Maidenhead. In the boxes there were t-shirts, jumpers and cardigans, fleeces and school bags. We love donations like this as they will be perfect for gifting to the vulnerable children we help to support. As there are approx 500+ of them, that is a lot of children to clothe, so this donation will really help towards that project.

I had first been contacted by the school before the summer holidays, asking if we would like some uniform from them. Once school returned in September, they planned a non uniform day to raise funds to help cover the cost of sending the uniform to Malawi. We are so grateful as they raised £140. There will be some money left over from the money collected which we are going to put towards buying tree saplings like pine, eucalyptus and umbrella trees.

Planting trees is so important for several reasons; to prevent soil erosion during heavy rains, trees can be planted at field boundaries. During the hottest days, trees provide very welcoming shade. Obviously we know how vital planting trees are for combatting climate change and also to replace trees that were used for fuel. Students from Bright Futures Secondary School will be able to help manage this project as part of their Agricultural Classes.

We are delighted that the school will be helping us with this initiative and look forward to bringing photos of the saplings being planted and then when they grow.

In the meantime, here are the photos of the school uniform donations which will be going to the very vulnerable children we help to support. Again, there will be photos when the items are distributed.

Many thanks to all at All Saints Junior School in Maidenhead for supporting us. Here are twp small projects we are raising funds for; science equipment at Bright Futures Secondary School https://donorsee.com/project/25307?share=1 and https://donorsee.com/project/25004?share=1 to donate to fund a Christmas Party with food for 500 very vulnerable children. Or you can email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you for your support, Sarah x #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #QualityEducation #LifeOnLand #GoodHealth

Agribusiness Update

It’s great to see the progress that is being made by the first Agribusiness group. Will you help us fund a second group please?

Sarah’s blog 20/10/24

A quick update on the first agribusiness group…look how hard they have been working and how well their crops are growing. Everyone is full of enthusiasm and delighted to have been given this opportunity. They will sell what they harvest and reinvest some of it to buy more seeds etc to ensure their business is sustainable.

We are trying to raise funds to give a second group the same opportunity. These adults are all living in extreme poverty and are either volunteers at Bright Futures Campus or raising children on their own. Please help us? You can either donate here https://donorsee.com/project/24574?share=1 or email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Your help would be very much appreciated.

Here are some photos and videos of the progress they are making. The agriculture supervisor is helping them initially to ensure they have the skills they need. Thanks to help from donors, they are growing maize and beans. Thank you again, Sarah x

A helping hand to self-sufficiency – Agribusiness Group 1

Rugby roundup

Three amazing days of touch rugby. Thank you Arnold Clark cars, Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer, Levison Mlambya, and everyone who donated sports kit and the volunteers who make this a huge success.

Sarah’s blog 19/10/24

What an amazing three days of rugby for the Chisenga Zone Schools this week. Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby’s Development Officer, based in Lilongwe, made the long journey north again for training and tournaments.

Rugby had never been played in the far north until Jack introduced touch rugby a couple of years ago. The children, all of whom are living in extreme poverty, absolutely love touch rugby and have enjoyed being part of this year’s rugby initiative once again.

Arnold Clark cars, who are the new Scotland Rugby Team sponsor, gave us a donation to fund Jack’s visit, the training and the tournament for the Chisenga Zone Rugby initiative. So we are very grateful to Arnold Clark cars, Jack Mphande and also Levison Mlambya who has put in a huge amount of work behind the scenes.

On day 1, Jack was instructing teachers from local schools in the theory and practical skills of rugby. On day 2, Jack visited local schools to supervise the teachers leading a rugby training session. Day 3 was the tournament.

All the schools involved came together for a day of touch rugby matches and had a wonderful time. As no big charities feed children in primary schools in the far north, many are malnourished, all are hungry. We will not facilitate a sporting event like the rugby tournament without the children (and adults) having a proper meal and a drink. Their health is important and we cannot ask them to play sport without offering sustenance. Also, a nutritious meal is a treat for them, so they will have enjoyed their special day even more because they went home will full tummies.

Here are some more photos and videos. Congratulations to Kayilizi Primary School – both the boys team and the girls team were the overall winners. All schools were given new sports kit to take back to their schools. Each student who took part was given a pencil and notebook.

We are trying to raise funds for a football tournament (same format) then a netball tournament. Here is the link if you’d like to donate https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1 or you can email me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Your support will be much appreciated. Thank you everyone, Sarah x

A nutritious lunch and a fizzy drink as a treat

Great video here from Facebook Live of all the teams after the rugby tournament. https://fb.watch/vjxnhI59zT

Students said they’d made new friends

https://videopress.com/v/JpE3eRle?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

A bit of dancing – why not?

New sports kit to take back to their schools and a notebook & pencil for everyone

Thank you Arnold Clark cars!

Rugby Day 1 – theory & practical for teachers

Rugby – Day 2 – primary school visits

Rugby Day 3 – The Tournament

World Food Day

On World Food Day – do you have enough food? Do you have access to nutritious food? Will you help a child who is malnourished?

Sarah’s blog 16/10/24

Today is World Food Day which highlights the fact that there are many people in the world without enough food. The UN rights of the child (article 24) addresses the fact that Children have a right to enough nutritious food and clean water. This year’s #WorldFoodDay theme is ‘Right to foods for a better life and a better future.’

This will mean different things to different people. It might mean that children living in poverty in UK, for example, have the right to have more nutritious foods and their families should have enough money to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Or it could be that there should be far more education in schools about food and nutrition, cooking and budgeting.

In rural northern Malawi, it means the right to enough food. The right to food full stop. Despite being in contact with several big charities who run feeding programmes, none are working in the far north where we are helping to support some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi. So no children are being fed in primary schools in that area and most families do not have enough food to feed their children every day. This goes against these children’s human rights. We need your help please. There are over 4,000 hungry children in primary schools in the Chisenga Zone in the far north. We cannot help them all on our own.

Did you know that there are a high percentage of children affected by stunted growth through lack of nutrition? Approximately 37% of children in Malawi under 5 years old are affected. In urban areas this is 25% but rural areas it can be as high as 39%. Children do not recover from stunted growth. Far more needs to be done for these vulnerable children living in extreme poverty in rural areas. We need to work as part of a team to support these children.

We send money to run a feeding programme for approximately 500 children once a week. It is not enough but all we can afford whilst we help to set up sustainable projects for a brighter future. Children are walking long distances for this one proper, nutritious meal each week…some walking 15km-20km. Some carrying their toddler siblings all that way. This isn’t fair and it isn’t right.

Children at the feeding programme are fed in age groups – youngest first

Fruit tree saplings have been planted and more are about to be planted to provide future food and an income. Crops are being grown to help feed everyone…but nowhere near enough for 500+ hungry children whose needs we cannot ignore.

Children from the nursery looking after the fruit tree saplings. That first orchard was named after my late mother-in-law.

Chicks are being hatched in the solar powered incubator. The first three piglets have arrived and are settling in.

We need your help so that we have enough money to set up sustainable projects whilst also addressing the immediate needs of hungry children.

Chicks that had recently hatched in the incubator

We make sure that nursery children are fed at every session. Also that students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious school lunch each day. How can we expect them to concentrate and learn if they are malnourished and hungry?

Students at Bright Futures Secondary School having their lunch

Every time there is an event for the children, like the rugby tournament yesterday. All the children taking part are fed. This is a big extra expense but how can we expect them to take part in a sporting event if they haven’t eaten? Also it adds to the excitement and special occasion if the children receive a nice lunch and go home with full tummies. It also is one less mouth to try and feed at home.

Children queuing up for food in the rainy season

Girls are still at risk of being married off as children if their families cannot afford to feed them. It is illegal but still happens. Levison has had lots of girls coming and asking for help so they don’t need to be married off…some as young as 11 years old. These girls we try to match with a sponsor and then there will be a monthly food parcel going into their home which supplements the meagre food they already have. There are lots of vulnerable children who would benefit from having a sponsor to support them.

Here are some fundraisers on DonorSee site where we are raising money to help support feeding hundreds of children. We would be very grateful for donations. Or, you could email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to make a one off or monthly donation or to find out more about sponsoring a child.

Here is the link to donate to help feed the children at Bright Futures Nursery;https://donorsee.com/project/23502?share=1

and here is the link to donate to the Feeding Programme https://donorsee.com/project/23035?share=1

This is the link to help buy sweet potato vines & seeds for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School to grow https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1

Together we can ensure these children and young people have enough food and a brighter future. It will take time and it needs to be a team effort. Will you join the team supporting these very vulnerable children please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you for all your support, Sarah x

Children at Bright Futures Nursery are fed at every session. They receive a care package every year with two t-shirts, three pairs of pants, a blanket, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste and two books.

Rugby Day 3 – The Tournament

An amazing third day of rugby! Tournaments all day. Lots and lots of happy children!

Sarah’s blog 15/10/24

What an amazing day! It was a school holiday today in Malawi for Mothers’ Day. Many of these children are orphans living with extended family so have mother figures looking after them. All have all come together for a great day of rugby, fun and friendship. As many of these children are malnourished, certainly all are hungry, and no big charities are feeding children in primary schools that far north, we always ensure that children have a nutritious meal when they come together for a day of sport.

Today’s post is going to show photos of the teams that took part and, in a separate post, I will be able to show action photos and videos…there are just too many to share all at once and it has been a very long day for Jack and Levison who were organising the event.

Jack Mphande is the Malawi Rugby Development Officer whose enthusiasm shines through. Thank you Jack for sharing your time and talents with the orphans and other vulnerable children. You have shared your passion for the game with them and, once again, given them such a positive experience. Until recently, these children never had anyone come to spend time with them. You have given them confidence, skills, friendship and raised their self-esteem. These are priceless and they will remember days like today for the rest of their lives.

Jack writes on the Malawi Rugby Union Facebook page (MARU) “Rugby is in safe hands here in Chisenga, Chitipa. I have witnessed raw talent of rugby which, if nurtured well, Malawi Rugby will never be the same.” Jack always writes at the end of his posts “Rugby Rise Malawi”. Rugby is indeed on the rise in Malawi and we are grateful for his visit.

We are also grateful to Arnold Clark cars for their financial donation towards this event and Jack’s travel expenses. Arnold Clark is a new Scotland Rugby Team sponsor.

We have two tickets for the Scotland v Fiji game on 2nd November courtesy of Arnold Clark. For a donation of £5 you could be in with a chance of being at this game! details are in the attached post from day 1 of the rugby.

We are trying to raise funds to have a similar football tournament. Here is the link to donate https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated sports kit that we have been able to gift to each school that has taken part. They have matching sports kit that they are proud of and can dream big about being stars of the future, like children everywhere do. Thanks, Sarah x

Rugby Day 1 – theory & practical for teachers

Rugby – Day 2 – primary school visits

Facebook live link today; https://fb.watch/vepj9DV-nA

Everyone who took part in today’s tournament

Bright Futures Secondary School – girls (wearing Merchiston Castle School & Bromley & Beckenham Hockey)

Bright Futures Secondary School – boys (wearing Seafar fc, Cumbernauld & Poole FC)

Chisenga Primary School – boys (wearing Chelsa fc)

Chisenga Primary School – girls (wearing Liverpool fc)

Chambo Primary School – boys (wearing Hardinxveld, Holland)

Chambo Primary Schools – girls (wearing Seafar Villa, Cumbernauld)

Kayilizi Primary School – boys (wearing South Africa)

Kayalizi Primary School – girls (wearing Seafar Villa, Cumbernauld)

Rugby – Day 2 – primary school visits

Day 2 of the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative. Jack Mphande has been busy visiting local primary schools. Thanks to Arnold Clark cars for supporting the event.

Sarah’s blog 14/10/24

Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer has had an extremely busy second day of the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative. He has visited 4 different rural primary schools, delivering rugby training sessions and supporting the teachers from each of those primary schools with their new coaching skills from yesterday’s session. Thank you Jack for encouraging and inspiring everyone.

Tomorrow is a school holiday in Malawi – it’s Mothers’ Day. Teams from each school will come with their teachers to take part in a day of rugby matches and tournaments. Children will receive a nutritious meal and a drink which will be a great treat for each of them. No big charities are feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. So many are malnourished, all are hungry. We cannot expect them to take part in a day of sport without feeding them so we are very grateful to Arnold Clark cars for supporting us financially with this rugby event.

Here is the link to yesterday’s rugby session for teachers.

Rugby Day 1 – theory & practical for teachers

And here is the link to our fundraiser to try to raise money for a football tournament to happen (similar set up to the rugby) https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1 and we would be really grateful if you could help make this happen. The young people would be even more delighted! Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Some photos and videos from today…

Chambo Primary School

https://videopress.com/v/mynq0sMN?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Kaylizi Primary School

Kalanga Primary School

Chisenga Primary School

https://videopress.com/v/dfKuEzdv?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Help us to fix the truck please

Let’s get the truck back on the road! Please help.

Sarah’s blog 29/09/24

Just a short post today asking once again for your support. I always say it’s about teamwork…we couldn’t do what we do without your help and support.

Here is the link to the fundraiser on DonorSee to help get enough money to buy parts for the truck. https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1

Sam the driver is asking for help to fix the truck

The truck driver, Sam, is asking for your help to get the truck back on the road. Sam works really hard and goes above and beyond to support Levison and the rest of the team. He is wearing a football top donated by our local football team – Strathendrick Football Club.

Please help fix the truck

Here is a link to all our small fundraising projects on DonorSee . We need at least four donations before the end of September so that our projects are still visible to potential donors in October. So any donations, big or small, will really help us. Thank you so much for your continued support, Sarah x

Christine Cresswell Artist – Fundraising Paintings & Cards

Have a look at these beautiful paintings from local artist, Christine Cresswell. Every penny goes to the projects we support in Malawi.

Sarah’s blog 28/9/24

Some of you may know that my mum, Christine Cresswell, is an artist. She has gifted her beautiful paintings to us to raise funds for our projects in Malawi. Mum is also one of our trustees. We’ve had a lot of her paintings made into packs of cards which make great gifts or are very useful to have at home to use.

Here are a few of the gorgeous paintings for sale. Next week, I am aiming to take photos of all the available paintings to group them together in one post and also do the same with the cards.

Oakwood Garden Centre, Killearn, have kindly agreed to stock the cards and they are also available directly from us at £6 per pack of 8 (or 2 packs for £10) plus p&p. Torrance Church of Scotland also have a selection of cards as they have been very popular.

Please do send me an email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to buy one of these paintings. As they have all been donated, every penny will go to our projects so they are unique and beautiful gifts that really are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x (p&p extra)

Gulls at Sunset, box canvas 20″ x 8″ £85

Mountain Reflections, box canvas 20″ x 8″ £85

Congratulations Catherine, Emily & Naomi!

Exciting news for Emily, Catherine and Naomi who have passed their exams. Well done girls. We are so proud of you.

Sarah’s blog 19/9/24

Some very good news today…. Catherine, Emily and Naomi have passed their MSCE school leavers exams. We are absolutely delighted for them. This is the difference that having a sponsor can make to a young person.

Before Bright Futures Secondary School was built, there weren’t enough places at local secondary schools. Students were picked to go to a secondary school depending on their grades. So if students only just passed their primary school leavers exams, they often don’t get picked for a place at a government secondary school. This was one of the reasons for building Bright Futures Secondary School. Also, of course, none of the children we help to support could afford the school fees anyway.

Catherine and Emily got such good grades in their Primary School Leavers Exams that they were picked for a school called Wenya Secondary School. This is further away and a more expensive school than Chisenga Secondary where sponsored students who were selected for secondary school usually went.

Catherine and Emily have been sponsored all the way through their four years of secondary school. We topped up the money that their sponsors paid monthly as their fees were more expensive. We felt it was important that they went to Wenya Secondary as they had excellent grades and it would be good for them to have that experience. They have worked hard and we are so proud of them!

We were concerned about Naomi. She had to leave school to look after her sick auntie but asked if she could be sponsored at a secondary school near her aunt’s house as a day pupil. So although she has had the opportunity of a secondary education, she hasn’t had it easy with having a caring role as well as studying. So we are absolutely delighted for her that she has passed her s4 exams. That is a real achievement as she has obviously worked very hard. We are really proud of what she has achieved.

The three girls will hopefully come to see Levison soon so he can congratulate them and pass on our congratulations too. Also, Levison wants them to speak to the students at BFSS to encourage them. Catherine’s grades mean that she could go to university and Emily to college. Hopefully, Naomi will be able to secure a job or go to college part time. They will all have to find jobs and save up until they can afford to continue their studies but they are determined young ladies who have been given choices and chances that they wouldn’t usually have had.

Before they and others started secondary school, Levison had a huge shopping list and I suggested that he take Catherine and Emily with him to town and they could help him with the shopping. He hired a car and they had a great day. That was the first time either of the girls had been to town, or eaten in a cafe. So it was a very good experience for them prior to going away to boarding school at Wenya.

The fabulous news about each of these young people is testimony to their hard work and determination but also with thanks to their sponsors for supporting them financially. Of course, Levison and team are to be congratulated too. Without them there would be no brighter futures for young people in that community. These three girls are role models for the students still at school. To be able to see what they have achieved will be a real motivator for others living in extreme poverty and dreaming of a brighter future at Bright Futures Secondary School.

If you would like to sponsor a young person and give the gift of education, it is only £25 per month. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We are still trying to raise money for the repair of the truck which is vital for transporting food and other supplies for the hundreds of young people who we help to support. Here is the link to donate https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1

Also our fundraiser to send boxes of books to Malawi for our School Literacy Project is here https://gofund.me/3aa7d1cd and we would be very grateful if you were able to spare a few £££ to support one of our projects.

We will bring more photos of the three girls when they next visit Bright Futures Campus. Many thanks for reading and supporting us to continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi, Sarah x

Catherine & Emily’s first trip to town. They went with Levison to collect school supplies for themselves and other students.

Emily after passing her s2 exams

Catherine after passing her s2 exams

Please help fix the truck

Please help fix the truck…it is needed every day and vital for collecting supplies for a very rural community. https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1

Sarah’s blog 14/09/24

We need your help. Levison and team need your help. The children need your help.

https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1 is the link to our fundraiser. Please help.

Great progress is being made in supporting hundreds of orphans and other very vulnerable children. However, when there is an issue like the truck breaking down and no spare money to fix it, it sets everything back and impacts on all the other projects. No supplies can be bought without the truck. Can you make a small donation?

These photos and video are some of the ways the truck is used. It is needed every day as the community we help to support is in a very rural location, in the far north of Malawi. The truck has broken down and needs a new alternator and two new batteries (hopefully that is all it needs). It broke down whilst on the way back from town with building supplies so they had to pay for someone else to come with their truck and take everything back. They also had to pay to have the truck towed and for a mechanic to come and diagnose the problem. It is a very stressful situation when they are so dependant on the truck for transport and there is no money to fix it. Please help.

As well as raising funds for the above, money is needed for the two batteries which can be bought at Chitipa town over 40km away. The alternator will have to be ordered from Mzuzu and sent via courier and collected in Chitipa. Nothing is easy. Then the mechanic will have to return and hopefully the truck will be fixed. All of this costs money and they need the truck fixed as soon as possible.

A man with ox and cart is being paid to transport water from the river to where the teachers’ accommodation is being built. The truck was being used to transport bricks and other supplies as well as water in addition to the journeys to town for building supplies and of course food supplies for the orphans.

Several times a year the truck is used to collect the boxes we send from Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. This is an overnight trip due to distance and having to drive slowly on the poor roads.

Will you help please? You can donate via the button on the website, or via the DonorSee link above. Or you could email for our bank details. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x

https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1

Such excitement when the truck returns with the boxes that we have sent

bringing bricks to where they are needed for building the staff accommodation block

At Ekwendeni collecting the boxes that we have sent via the Banana Box Trust Container

Nothing about day to day life is easy. During the rainy season the tracks turn to mud and the truck was stuck in the mud on this hilly road. People come together to help.

Good news & Bad News

Good news for the chicken project with lots of new chicks being hatched…. but the bad news is that the truck has broken down.

Sarah’s blog 13/9/24

Please will you help Levison? Life is hard and unfair for those living in extreme poverty in Malawi. Sometimes it seems like progress is being made only for something else to happen.

First – some good news.

There have been lots of eggs being laid and put in the incubator. There are over 50 healthy chicks now and more eggs are in the incubator keeping nice and warm. This is really good news for this project. Now that the incubator, which was bought with a generous donation from Lochlie Construction, has it’s own solar power supply, there is enough energy to keep it going 24/7 so the eggs stay at a constant temperature. We look forward to seeing more progress and will bring more news.

Thank you to everyone who has helped support this project

Now for the bad news.

The truck – which is absolutely vital and used every day has broken down. It was being used to transport supplies for the teachers’ accommodation project. Also, as water levels are low because it’s the dry season, water for making bricks and cement etc has to be brought by truck from the river to the site. In the borehole, there is only enough clean water for drinking so this water is very precious.

There is a local man with ox and cart and Levison has managed to hire him to help with moving water from the river to where the builders are working.

However, the truck is also vital for fetching maize and other supplies to feed hundreds of children every week as well as many other uses. Of course, every few months there are long overnight journeys to collect all the boxes we send from the container. Ekwendeni, which is the end destination for the container, is near Mzuzu. While this is in the north of Malawi, it is still a very long way south of where the community we help to support are. Bright Futures Campus is approximately 45km from Chitipa town and many of the roads are just dirt tracks. Especially when it is the rainy season, the rural roads are hazardous and often even the truck cannot climb muddy hilly tracks!

Levison and his team need our help and support to get the truck back on the road. It needs a new altenator and two new batteries. The batteries can be bought in Chitipa town but the alternator will need to be sent from Mzuzu. Nothing is straightforward! When the truck broke down, it was carrying supplies that had been bought for Bright Futures Secondary School (which opens again on Monday) as well as equipment for the building project. Eventually, they managed to get someone to come with a truck to transport everything safely back to campus. However, this cost money. So did towing the truck back. The mechanic came yesterday to look at the problem and he was paid for his time. However, nothing else could be done because of no money and no new parts for the truck.

Will you help us get the truck back on the road please? It is essential to the smooth running of all the projects and ensuring that hundreds of orphans are fed. We need approximately £650. Thank you, Sarah x You can donate via our page on DonorSee https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or sending us an email for bank details. Or you can also make a donation via the button on the home page on our website. Any donation will be very much appreciated. Thank you once again for your support, Sarah x

On this map, Bright Futures Campus is in the far north near Chisenga.

All the children are excited to see the truck coming back from collecting the boxes we sent.

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