knitting Archives

Supporting New Mothers in Malawi: The Mother & Baby Project

Today’s blog has photos and videos from a visit to the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre.

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 7/11/25

There is a maternity ward at the local health centre. Many of the new mums are living in extreme poverty and don’t have clothes & blankets for their babies, hence the need for the Mother & Baby Project.

We have some lovely supporters who are talented at knitting and crocheting and others who have donated clothes that their babies have outgrown. So we have been able to send lots of baby hats, clothes and blankets.

The idea is that, as well as receiving clothes at birth, if mum and baby return after a few weeks to collect some more clothes, the health care staff will have an additional opportunity to check that mother and baby are well.

Students from Bright Futures Secondary School visited Chambo Health Centre with some of the boxes of donated baby clothes & blankets. Everyone was very thankful for their visit and delighted to receive gifts for their babies. The new mothers are exhausted and in pain but had expressed their gratitude on receiving the lovely gifts for their newborn babies.

After students had helped sort out some gifts for the babies, they also helped by tidying and sweeping round the exterior of the health centre.

The lady speaking in the video is a relative of one of the newborn babies. She said she wished that when she had her babies that there were gifts like these and help available. It is her prayer that changes like this continue to happen in her grandchildren’s lifetime. She is speaking the local language, Chichewa.

The young man who is speaking in English is Mphatso, one of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Many, many thanks to everyone who is supporting this very important project and letting new mums know that they, and their babies, are important and special. Without your help and ongoing support there would be no Mother & Baby Project.

I am planning to visit Malawi in June next year. The Mother & Baby Project is one of the projects I am passionate about. It’s making a difference to the vulnerable mothers and their babies. I would also love it if we were able to gift bars of soap to the new mums. This is one of the projects I am raising funds for in my GoFundMe ahead of my visit next year. It would be amazing if you could make a small donation to make a big difference. https://gofund.me/b8e7bf36c

I hope you enjoy the great photos and videos, Sarah x

Tidying and sweeping outside the health centre

Students from Bright Futures Secondary School outside Chambo Health Centre

To donate to the sewing project to purchase more material for sewing reusable sanitary towels to beat Period Poverty here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/29253?share=1

Bright Futures: Helping Vulnerable Students Thrive

Lots of knitted hats!

The children were delighted to be given these beautiful woolly hats at the weekend… there are lots more on going on the next container

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 1/8/24

We have several people who knit for us from time to time…all very talented…I can’t knit and I think it’s wonderful how they dedicate their time and talents to help the orphans we support.

It can get cold at night in Malawi and none of these children have enough bedding so a woolly hat is very much appreciated and they are delighted to receive a gift.

My auntie, who lives in England, visited last month and brought lots and lots of hats that she and her friend have been busy knitting over the last few months. Another friend of hers buys pencils and other supplies so my auntie brought those with her too. There were nearly 200 hats! Amazing!

I waited to post about the hats until the container arrived with the hats that had already been sent…some were knitted by my auntie but others by talented locals from Balfron, Strathblane, Torrance and further afield. We are so grateful for each and every one of the hats, baby cardigans and blankets that are knitted with love and donated to us for the children and babies we help to support.

https://donorsee.com/project/23640?share=1 here is the link to one of our small fundraisers on DonorSee. We will be buying fabric so a group can learn to make clothes. We will also buy some wool so that the knitting group can continue learning to knit. If you could spare a small donation it would be most appreciated. Thank you so much to every knitter and for everyone who supports our projects. Enjoy the photos, Sarah x

we are very grateful for these lovely hats and for all the other beautiful knitting we receive

new hats for the children that will be packed up and sent in the next container

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 9

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 09/12/23

Today, 9th December, we are highlighting the Mother & Baby project. You may have seen my blog from a few days ago when students from Bright Futures Secondary School visited Chambo Health Centre with boxes of baby clothes and blankets.

We are so fortunate to have people donate their time and talents knitting baby clothes, hats and blankets to be shared on the maternity ward at the health centre. The new mothers are always very grateful to have something warm to dress their babies in. Also, if the new mothers bring their babies back to the health centre after a few weeks, they will be able to receive some more clothes for the baby. This also gives the staff at the health centre another chance to have a chat with the mums and check they and their babies are ok.

This project is such a good way of involving some of the most vulnerable people in the community and letting them know that they are valued and cared for.

Here is the link with the photos from the visit last week Knitting & Babies Thank you to everyone who supports this project. It costs £17.50 to send a box on the container so, even if you aren’t able to knit, you might like to support this project by paying for a box of knitting to get to these vulnerable babies. Here is the link where you can donate to this and other projects. https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Thanks, Sarah x

Knitting & Babies

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 05/12/23

We are so thankful for all the knitting we receive for the Mother & Baby Project. There is a small maternity ward at the local health centre and yesterday some students from Bright Futures Secondary School made a visit with some of the boxes of beautiful baby things we sent from our supporters.

As you can see from the short video, there were lots of lovely baby clothes & blankets, and the staff at the health centre, as well as the new mums are so grateful for this support to keep the babies warm.

Yesterday, the pregnant ladies who were waiting to be seen by their midwife, received little cardigans too. The next container with more supplies will be there soon, so there will be more boxes for the health centre too.

The ladies on the maternity ward were gifted blankets and clothes for their newborn babies. Part of the aim of this project is that they can return in a few weeks to receive some more clothes, giving the staff at the health centre another opportunity to have an informal check up with mum and baby.

Enjoy the photos of these lovely babies and thank you to everyone who has given generously of their time and talents to ensure that these little babies are warm. Thank you, Sarah x

What a lot of hats!

lots and lots of hats!

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 10/07/23

Yesterday, 72 children were given a hat each. A few of these were sun hats but most were knitted hats that had generously been knitted by talented supporters. All children were given food and also a pencil.

At this time of year it is cold at night and in the early mornings. These vulnerable children live in brick or mud houses that aren’t watertight and are full of draughts. They don’t have comfortable beds with duvets and pillows. If they are lucky, they have a reed mat and a thin blanket. There is obviously no heating so a hat will help to keep them warm.

Hats are given out regularly, as talented people knit for us, and if children haven’t received one this time then they will next time. My auntie Margaret is one of the people who are generous with their time and talents. She is staying with my parents this week and yesterday showed me her latest creations for the children we help to support…..she has knitted 150 hats….each one is different. Thanks to Auntie Margaret and all the other knitters. Children love receiving gifts and these will make a real difference in helping to keep them warm.

We are also grateful for knitted baby blankets, baby cardigans & hats and knitted teddies. Thanks for reading & supporting, Sarah x

Please help the Kasonda children

A visit to the Health Centre

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 21/2/23

Some of the wonderful donations of clothes and knitting for babies that have been donated were delivered to the Health Centre that is near to The Foundation. There is a maternity ward in the health centre and staff are very happy to have the connection with The Foundation and to receive clothes for the new babies.

Levison and the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School want the young people, who are receiving free education, school meals, uniform etc to give back to their community. A trip was organised to the health centre today for some of the students to go with their teachers to deliver the baby clothes and blankets. They also cut the grass round the buildings and swept debris from the outside areas.

It looks like everyone enjoyed the visit and the staff and mothers were delighted to receive some clothes for their babies. On the last visit there were some new born babies but today there were some older babies with their mums and also some women who were due to give birth. One person commented that these gifts had come from angels….so thank you so much to each and every person who has knitted blankets and baby clothes or donated baby clothes that their own children have grown out of. You can see where your gifts have gone and that they are very much appreciated. Enjoy the photos and thanks for supporting, Sarah x

The latest beautiful donations from Torrance Church that I received on Sunday. These will be going on the next container.

It’s all about the babies….

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 5/2/23

As you may know, The Mother and Baby Project was started with a view to giving staff at the health centre additional opportunities to interact with new mums and their babies.

We send lovely donations of baby clothes, knitted hats, knitted cardigans and knitted blankets to Malawi which Levison then takes to the maternity ward at the nearby health centre. When a baby is born there, the staff can give out some of the donated baby clothes. If the mum and baby return for a visit a few weeks later for another visit to collect something else for the baby, it gives another chance for the staff at the health centre to interact with each new mum and her baby. This is an opportunity that they wouldn’t previously have had and will hopefully be of benefit to both mothers and their babies.

I’m really looking forward to being able to see more photos from the health centre when these donations arrive. These photos of lovely baby clothes and knitting are donations from the congregation at Torrance Parish Church – so thank you to all involved. There were also four big boxes of baby clothes arrived at my house yesterday courtesy of one of our sponsors. We are grateful for all these lovely things and for the time and love that has gone into the knitting.

Many thanks again to all who support our projects, Sarah x

100 hats!

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 14/07/22

My Auntie Margaret, who has previously been knitting lovely blankets to send to the children, has decided it is a bit easier on her hands to knit hats for the children. So that’s exactly what she’s done. She lives in Birmingham but is staying with my parents who live near me. She gave me a whole suitcase full of hats….100 of them! She told me that she counted them to double check there were 100 and there weren’t…only 99. So she counted them again….only 99. So she had to quickly knit another one to make it to 100!!

There are hats in all different colours and for different ages, from babies and toddlers right up to older children. 100 heads will be kept very cosy during the cold nights and early mornings. Many thanks and very well done Auntie Margaret! We appreciate all the knitting we receive. As well as it being a practical gift, the children will know people care about them enough to send them a gift.

Also, we have been showing some photos recently of the different skills the children have chosen to learn. The knitting group have been working very hard and, on Sunday, some of them were able to show the hats they have made. We think they’ve done a brilliant job and how proud they must feel to be able to wear something they have made for themselves! Brilliant! To donate wool or sewing supplies, or do some knitting for the children or anything else you can get in touch via email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks for reading, Sarah x

some of the knitting group showing off the hats they’ve made…brilliant!

a suitcase full of 100 hats! thank you so much.

Photos from Ibuluma

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 17/05/22

Now the worst of the rains are over, bricks are being made again for the eco stoves. These stoves are being gifted to the community, starting with the most vulnerable people. Eco stoves use less wood for cooking and retain more heat. They are also far safer to cook on than an open fire especially when young children are around. Chancy and Manase are working hard making bricks in the photo and video.

Also there are more photos from the clubs at the weekend and the Feeding Programme. Levison and I have been talking about the possibility of them making products that we can sell here on their behalf, baskets being one of those ideas. It would be a good source of income and secure jobs for a few people if this were able to happen. I’ll bring more photos of baskets as they get more skilled at making them. Enjoy the photos and thanks for supporting the children, Sarah x

Fun, Clubs & Skills

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 08/05/22

An holistic approach is taken to improving the lives of the hundreds of children supported by The Foundation. Levison has sent lots of photos from a busy Sunday.

Today was a feeding day and some of the children from the gardening club who had helped grow cabbages, were shown how to prepare and cook them as part of today’s meal. Children have started learning to weave baskets, others were weaving mats to sit on. Some children were playing rugby, some knitting and some sewing. These are all great skills to have for their futures. Children are having opportunities to learn new things that they wouldn’t otherwise have had the chance to try. These children are having fun with their friends whilst learning and are able to forget about their problems for a while.

I hope you enjoy looking at the photos. There is a lot happening at The Foundation. We don’t always see how much is happening or how busy it is. However, with so many children to support, every day at The Foundation is a busy one! I hope you enjoy the photos. Remember the link to my fundraiser to build a school for these children is https://gofund.me/ca9c1629 Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Donations…..

Advertisements

Sarah’s blog 21/1/22

We have lovely supporters donating in lots of different ways. Some give money to help feed the children, others sponsor young people so they can attend secondary school. I have a donation box in my front garden that people will leave things in if I’m out, and people will knock on the door with bags of preloved clothes and shoes or books. Occasionally, someone will proudly bring a bag of bargains that they’ve managed to pick up in a sale. Some supporters collect pencils, pens and soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste whilst doing their shopping. We are grateful for monetary donations to help cover transport costs as we are charged £15 per box on the container. These are all ways you can help us help the hundreds of children we help to support in Malawi. A few of our kind supporters knit lovely blankets or hats to keep babies and children warm and others help take the boxes of donations to Dundee to await the container to Malawi.

Whatever you choose to do to help and support us, ‘Thank you’. We are grateful you are part of our team. There is still so much to do…so if you want to get involved we would be very glad to have you on our team….Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: