Sarah’s blog 6/7/25
Happy Independence Day to all of our friends in Malawi. Here are a few facts about Malawi;
- Malawi’s Independence Day is celebrated on 6th July.
- It is their 61st Independence Day today.
- Malawi gained independence from the United Kingdom.
- Malawi was previously known as Nyasaland prior to gaining independence.
- Dr Hastings Banda played a significant role in leading the country to independence and later became the first president of Malawi.
- Independence Day is a national holiday in Malawi marked with celebrations.
- The flag of Malawi features three horizontal stripes of black, red and green, with a red sun in the black stripe, symbolizing the rising sun of freedom and the unity of the country.
- Malawi is sometimes referred to as the “Warm Heart of Africa” due to the friendly nature of its people.
- Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a high percentage of its population living in poverty. Over half the population lives in poverty, this is much higher in rural locations.
We are pleased that, with the help of our supporters, we are making a difference to the hundreds of children and their families who live in extreme poverty. Our end goal is always self-sufficiency and sustainability. The difficulty is that children need feeding now which we have to address as well as supporting the community towards self-sufficiency. The situation is extremely serious in the rural far north of Malawi and most children and young people are suffering from malnutrion. All are hungry. No children are fed in primary schools in the far north of Malawi.
Through educational projects like our School Literacy Project, where we collect and send books to primary schools which hardly have any resources, exam pass rates at the end of primary school are rising. The young people know that education is their way out of poverty and are keen to learn.
We also match vulnerable young people with sponsors to help pay for their secondary education at Bright Futures Secondary School. Secondary education has to be paid for in Malawi and none of these young people would have been able to attend. Thanks to our supporters, we have built BFSS which is bringing hope for a brighter future for young people living in extreme poverty. We are appealing for more sponsors to join us in supporting new students going into S1 in September. It is only £25 p/m per student. If you would like to help a young person gain a secondary education please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
At Bright Futures Secondary School, students study agriculture as a core subject and they are learning skills for life through practical agricultural lessons. They are growing their own fruit and vegetables to help supplement their free school lunch that they get each day. This is a really important meal as, for most, it is their only meal each day. Their families can share the small amount of food they have amongst the other members of the family, knowing that young person has already been fed.
We are appealing for help to buy more fruit tree saplings for future food and for a sustainable income as excess fruit can be sold at the market. We are also appealing for money to buy extra gardening tools so that all students are able to join in with practical agricultural lessons instead of just having to wait and take turns. Also we are hoping that, if we can provide funds for carpentry tools, then students can learn how to make simple furniture.
Will you help these students towards independence please? They are keen to work hard to help themselves. They just need a helping hand then they can be independent and proud of their achievements.
This is the link to help buy more fruit tree saplings; https://donorsee.com/project/27708?share=1
This is the link to help buy carpentry and agricultural tools https://donorsee.com/project/27684 or you can email me for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks to everyone who has helped so far. If you can give a little then it would be very much appreciated by us and the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Please sign up to receive my blogs and you can follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with the most recent news. Together we can help a community towards independence and self-sufficiency. Thanks so much, Sarah x
A lovely photo taken at Chambo Primary School when boxes of books were donated recently as part of our School Literacy Project.
New books donated to Kalanga Primary School as part of our School Literacy Project. Literacy rates are increasing now they have more books to read.
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School have planted banana tubers.
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School queuing up for their free school lunch. For most of them this is their only meal each day. It also helps their families to share their small amount of food between the remaining family members and not worry about including the students as they have already had a substantial and nutritious meal.