It is International Day of Education. Every young person deserves an education and to be the best they can be. Today’s blog shares photos from our projects.
Sarah’s blog 24/1/26
Today is International Day of Education. I’m sharing some photos that reflect some of the projects and young people we are helping to support. There is still much to do. But, thanks to the help of our supporters, young people in rural Northern Malawi have a brighter and better future. It is always about teamwork and we’d love you to join our team of supporters. You can help enable even more young people to reach their potential on International Day of Education.
These are just a few of the ways we are involved in supporting the education of the most vulnerable children and young people. If you would like to help then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or you can donate via our website. On International Day of Education will you help a child succeed? Together, we can give young people more opportunities and support education. These children are amazing and want to succeed. They want to learn and are hard workers. They just need a helping hand.
Also, I am visiting Malawi for the first time this summer and am getting very excited about my trip. Here is a fundraiser and I’d be grateful if anyone would like to make a small donation. It is to help some of the projects which I will be helping during my visit. https://gofund.me/db5496892 As always, a big THANK YOU for all the support and help we receive, Sarah x
Literacy at Chambo Primary School and Kalanga Primary School is improving thanks to the preloved books we have sent as part of the School Literacy Project. Students are becoming more confident readers now they have a range of books to read and exam pass rates are rising.Young people have been involved in planting fruit tree saplings and pine trees, supporting their education, giving them skills for life and planting future food. Students at Chambo Primary School were delighted to receive notebooks and pensWe have matched some of the most vulnerable children with sponsors and they receive a food parcel each month. Children cannot learn if they are suffering from malnutrition. Unfortunately, the food crisis in Malawi is getting worse.Thanks to everyone who has supported the building of Bright Futures Secondary School. There are now 5 classrooms and a dedicated classroom for Bright Futures Nursery.The newest classroom block has a classroom dedicated to sewing and textiles and another classroom for Bright Futures NurseryChildren walk for miles as they are so hungry and know that they will receive a proper meal once a week at the feeding programme. We need your support to continue feeding them with rising food costs and scarcity of food.There was great excitement when the first boxes of preloved books arrivedStudents at Bright Futures Secondary School have designed and built their first beehive and are now waiting for the bees to move inStudents are learning skills for life at Bright Futures Secondary School. They are also supporting the Period Poverty Project by making reusable sanitary towels for all who need them to ensure girls do not miss school for one week each month.Some of the science equipment bought with a grant received from The Clive Richards Foundation for Bright Futures Secondary SchoolPeriodically, children are given clothes that we have sent. These children in red tops attend Bright Futures Nursery.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive free education and free school lunch thanks to their sponsors. They also receive free school uniform, stationery, water bottle, school bag and shoes all free of charge. The more vulnerable teenagers we can match with sponsors, the more teenagers can be helped through education.Happy students with their gifts. They have also received toothbrush, toothpaste and soap.We helped with the introduction of rugby to the north of Malawi. Young people are enjoying learning and playing a new sport.Thanks to the many clubs who have donated preloved sports kit, making a difference to the confidence and self-esteem of hundreds of young people who are now proud to be part of a team.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School are working hard to pass their examsFour of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School with some of the new tools they received
January has been such a busy and quick month for us. We’ve had lots of birthday celebrations in our family, as well as having a huge storm last week which resulted in a power cut. I seem to have been busier than usual and now February is here!
So, I’m a bit late with this post but there are so many ways that our supporters are helping us, through educational projects, to make a brighter future for the hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children we help to support in rural northern Malawi.
Also we are trying to raise funds to buy a stock of wellington boots to be kept at school so children taking part in practical agricultural lessons have protective footwear and will prevent their only pair of shoes being ruined by mud. To help with this click here https://donorsee.com/project/26186?share=1
We have an Amazon wish list and have added some science equipment to this and would love to be able to have additional supplies to box up to send to Malawi. If you’d like to have a look at our list (and purchases get delivered to us) the link is here Amazon.co.uk
Here are a few photos of just some of the ways we have been able to support the education of some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. None of this would have happened without our supporters and we are so grateful for your help. Thank you, Sarah x
Planting bananas at Chambo Primary SchoolClean water for drinking and washing hands at Chambo Primary SchoolNew desks and the gift of notebooks and pencils at Chambo Primary SchoolBuilding a girls’ latrine at Chambo Primary School. This enables the girls to have dignity and privacy as well as safety. Previously, they had to relieve themselves in the bushes putting themselves at risk of being attacked.We have collected thousands of preloved books and sent them to Malawi to support Emma’s Rainbow library, Bright Futures nursery, two primary schools and Bright Futures Secondary School. Already, exam results are improving so this relatively low cost project (£17.50 per box on the container) is making a huge difference and being noticed by the Education Department in Malawi.Bright Futures Secondary School has been built for vulnerable teenagers who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity of secondary education which needs to be paid for in Malawi. We match each student with a sponsor to help support their educational costs. There are four classrooms and students receive a cooked school lunch every day which, for most of them, is the only food they have to eat and saves their families feeding them.Bright Futures Campus on a day that the feeding programme was on. It feeds 500+ orphans and other vulnerable children once a week. No children are fed in primary schools in that area. Most are malnourished, all are hungry. Some children walk up to 15km to get to this free food.Each Easter holidays we facilitate a holiday study school for the students in p8 at Chambo Primary and the students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School. These revision days are proving popular, making a difference and all the children are fed each lunchtime (a huge treat for the students at Chambo Primary who never receive food at school).Recently, Bright Futures Secondary School received some more basic science equipment thanks to one of our supporters. Students said that they didn’t realise science could be so much fun! We are raising funds for more equipment and also have some science equipment on our Amazon wishlist.Team sports are very popular, especially football and netball. We have facilitated touch rugby being introduced in schools in northern Malawi and the students are loving it!Children queuing for their meal at the feeding programme. Teachers have reported that even this one meal per week is making a difference to the concentration of the most vulnerable children. Most children are malnourished. All are hungry. We wish could feed them more than once per week but that is all we can afford whilst we try to set up sustainable projects like planting fruit tree saplings. Children should have access to food each day. Unfortunately, although things are better than they were, this is still not the case. Prices are rising all the time and girls as young as 10 are at risk of being married off by their family so that there is one less mouth to feed.More great photos of team sports when children can forget about their problems and have fun with their friends. We are fortunate to have had lots of preloved sports kit donated to us that we have been able to share. Having matching kit makes a big difference as they feel like they are part of a real team and their confidence and self-esteem grow. Also, knowing people that they have never met actually care about them is a huge boost for these vulnerable children.As the community lives in such extreme poverty, there was nowhere for teachers being employed at Bright Futures Secondary School. Thanks to a grant we received, this is the first of two teachers accommodation blocks. Each teacher has their own bedroom and sitting room.Catherine, Emily and Naomi all passed their S4 school leavers exams which is a huge achievement and we are very proud of them. They had a lunch in their honour and the girls spoke to younger students to encourage them.There are up to 70 pre school children (age 4-6) meeting 5 times a week at Bright Futures Nursery. They are fed at each session. We give these children a care pack when they start nursery; a bag with two red t-shirts, 3 pairs of pants, a blanket, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste, 2 books and a soft toy. Teachers at Chambo Primary have reported that children who have attended this nursery are further ahead than those who have not.A trainset was sent for use in the nursery. Although the children had never seen anything like this, they soon worked together joining the pieces. The older children who attend at the weekend ask to play with the trainset which has become a favourite pass time. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School grow some of their own food during practical agricultural lessons. Here they are planting sweet potatoes.Thanks to our supporters Emma’s Rainbow Library was built and is extremely well used.
