Tag: maize

Students are learning business skills

Thanks to their teachers, students at Bright Futures Secondary School have been growing and selling maize.

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1/1/26

Firstly we would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! I had to double check that I’d written the date correctly…it’s going to take a few days to remember that it is now 2026! Bright Futures Secondary School students are learning business skills.

Today’s post is a short one but is filled with hope for a brighter future for students. They are all vulnerable, have nothing and are living in extreme poverty. We cannot begin to imagine just how hard life must be, especially with the current food crisis and the heavy rains which have destroyed homes and crops as well as infrastructure.

However, this post shows that, bit by bit, things can change for the better. This is just a tiny drop in the ocean compared to how things need to change and how much money is needed to help this community back on its feet. It is a start and is a small good news story worth sharing at the start of a new year.

Teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School have been supporting students to grow vegetables. The students had planted a field of maize and have just sold half of the fresh maize (corn on the cob) to traders to sell at the market. The students will use the money to buy more seeds and fertiliser to plant more crops. The students are learning business skills for their futures.

This is such a great cross-curricular learning experience. As well as the agricultural skills they have learned during a complete growing cycle, they are learning about business opportunities and working together as a team.

These students will have far more skills for their futures as they become increasingly confident and learn to be entrepreneurs. They live in such a rural location that it is very likely that many of them will be working on the land in some form when they leave school. Having the opportunity of secondary education means that their numeracy and literacy skills will be better and will help them whatever they do for work in future.

Look how happy they are to have achieved and have been trusted by their teachers to be part of this project. Their self-esteem is growing and, hopefully, there will be more good news stories like this to report. Your support is important to ensure these students can continue learning new skills and continue achieving. The end goal is always self-sufficiency but we need you as part of the team to ensure this can happen.

Levison specifically asked me to mention two teachers who have worked hard with the students on this project. Thank you to Mr Kanyimbo and Mr Msukwa for supporting the students in this ongoing project. Your hard work is greatly appreciated and you must be very proud of what your students are achieving.

Thanks for reading and supporting Changing Lives Malawi. If you’d like to support a specific project like this then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks, Sarah x

The first video shows the maize being driven off to market by the person who purchased it. The second video shows students; Levi, Amos, Hilda and Bernard.

Sponsored Children & Young People -food parcels (part 1)

Having a sponsor is making a huge difference to some of the most vulnerable children and young people we help to support. All of them are living in extreme poverty. All are hungry. Many are malnourished. Many are orphans living with extended family.

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Sarah’s blog 11/9/25

Having a sponsor is making a huge difference to some of the most vulnerable children and young people we help to support. All of them are living in extreme poverty. All are hungry. Many are malnourished. Many are orphans living with extended family.

One way that sponsors are changing the lives of children is that the younger ones (those not at secondary school) receive a monthly food parcel/care package. As you can see in these photos, as well as maize, they have each received a bottle of cooking oil and two bars of soap.

Usually, students at Bright Futures Secondary School don’t receive this monthly parcel, as they receive a free school lunch each day instead. This, for most, is their only meal each day so it is vitally important that free lunch is supplied as well as free education. The small amount of food that the family has at home can be shared amongst other family members as they know the student has had a nutritious lunch. As it is school holidays, the sponsored students at Bright Futures Secondary School have received a food parcel instead of school lunches.

There were some children and young people who didn’t attend to receive their parcel but it has been kept for them and, hopefully, we will have photos of the remaining sponsored children and young people within the next couple of weeks. As it is school holidays, some have gone to stay with relatives slightly further away, others are working in the fields to try to bring in a tiny income for their families to use to buy food.

Life is really hard for them all as there are no big charities feeding children in primary schools in the far north of Malawi. We can only afford to support a feeding programme once a week whilst sustainable projects are being set up to help the community be self-sufficient. However, everyone can see that life is much better than it was. Having a sponsor for the most vulnerable is giving them hope of a brighter future.

Secondary School needs to be paid for in Malawi and none of the young people we help to support could afford to pay school fees. They can attend Bright Futures Secondary School free of charge if we can match them with a sponsor to help us with the cost of their secondary education and school lunches.

Will you please sponsor a vulnerable young person who is waiting for a place at Bright Futures Secondary School? It’s only £25 per month and you can sponsor as an individual, friends or family or your business can sponsor a young person. Email if you’d like to help contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

I’d just like to take a moment to apologise that there haven’t been more updates on sponsored children & young people recently. The last 18 months had been really difficult for me with caring responsibilities and therefore I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time as I would have liked. However, I am now catching up with everything and aim to get more information and updates to sponsors more often.

Our sponsored children section on our website also needs updating and is on the list of jobs to do. Every child or young person who is matched with a sponsor will have their own page on our website that I will update with information and photos regularly and sponsors will be able to click on the link for their child or young person.

So here are the first photos of children & young people looking so much healthier and happier thanks to support of their sponsors. Many thanks as we couldn’t do what we do without your help. Together we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks for being so supportive, Sarah x

Support the Ng’ambi Family: Donate for a New Roof

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Sarah’s blog 4/3/25

Recently, we highlighted on social media the Ng’ambi family who are living in extreme poverty, very much in need of help as their situation is dire. The mother has four children. Her husband was ill but also left them on their own.

Their small home has a roof made from branches and leaves and has huge holes in it. It is rainy season and their home is full of water and there is thick mud on the floor. The five of them huddle together on dirty blankets. They need help!

We need your help to purchase metal sheets to replace their roof. Two of the children have been sick from malaria recently…mosquitos love the rainy season and they have no protection from all the bugs and insects.

Thankfully, after our appeal, we have sponsors for all four children which means, as well as them continuing to access the weekly feeding programme, each of the four children will receive a food parcel once a month. This will supplement any food Mrs Ng’ambi is able to buy through doing piecework.

All of the children in the Ng’ambi Family will receive new clothes and blankets from the boxes that arrived on the container, but the immediate issue was to give them some food to eat.

Levison bought maize (which has doubled in price) for the family, thanks to donations we received from generous supporters. The family was asked to come to see Levison. Naomi (the eldest) was missing as she is unwell but the rest of the family came. Mrs Ng’ambi was so thankful for the food that they have been given. She said “Is it really happening to me? It is like I am dreaming. Thank God! I didn’t expect this.”

So if you would like to help us enable the Ng’ambi Family to have somewhere dry to sleep, please do consider making a small donation to help us help them. You can email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate at https://donorsee.com/project/26482?share=1 Thank you for continuing to support the most vulnerable children and young people and their families in rural northern Malawi, Sarah x

Thanks to generous donors, Mrs Ng’ambi can now feed her children and they have been given clean clothes.
As you can see, the family is malnourished, dressed in rags and have no shoes. They will be given clothes, shoes & blankets from the boxes we have sent.
Sylvia, having a nap on the dirty blankets/sheets that the family share on the earth floor. As soon as it rains, they are wet and the floor turns to mud.
This is the roof on the family’s home. Look at the huge gaps where the rain gets in. Please help us help this family have somewhere dry to sleep.
Clean clothes and food, Mrs Ng’ambi is very thankful.

Agribusiness Update from Levison

Levison has made a great video update on the progress of the first Agribusiness Group.

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Sarah’s blog 28/12/24

Levison made this video a few days ago to show the successful maize crop that the first Agribusiness Group have had. In his video, he says that the more groups that can be set up then there will be less hunger in their village. The people we are helping to support with these agribusiness groups are all living in extreme poverty and either volunteer their time helping to cook for the orphans at the weekly feeding programme or are looking after vulnerable children.

By giving them the basic tools and seeds each group will be able to grow their own crops, sell what they produce and reinvest the money towards buying more seeds. So far, only one group has been funded but we are hoping that, with your help, it won’t be long before groups two and three have been established. Will you help please?

Here is the link to donate to our current small projects DonorSee or you could donate through our website or contact me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you so much for your continued support, Sarah x

https://videopress.com/v/DkPFkI4H?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
A helping hand to self-sufficiency – Agribusiness Group 1

Agribusiness Update

Look at this field of maize…thank you so much to everyone who donated to help the first agribusiness group start on their journey towards self-sufficiency.

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Sarah’s blog 26/11/24

This is just a quick update on the brilliant progress being made by the first agribusiness group that was funded a few months ago. People want to be self-sufficient and be able to work hard and have a better future. They just need a helping hand to start their journey to a better and brighter future for themselves and their families.

Thanks to the donors who contributed, the group have been working hard and are now seeing the results. Levison sent this video and photo yesterday. Their maize crop is looking…well it’s looking AMAIZING!

Well done to them and to everyone who has supported them. Can we now fund a second group to help them out of extreme poverty? The people who are being helped are the ones who have been volunteering their time to help feed the orphans. Despite having hardly anything themselves, they have been giving of their time to support those even more in need. It’s wonderful to see change starting to happen. Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x

Sustainable Development Goal 1 #NoPoverty, Goal 15 #LifeOnLand

Here is the link to the second agribusiness group. https://donorsee.com/project/24574?share=1

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?

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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

A helping hand to self-sufficiency – Agribusiness Group 1

Some great photos of Agribusiness Group 1 and how hard they are working to get their first crop planted. Will you help us fund another group?

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Sarah’s blog 4/9/24

We have partnered with DonorSee, who are in USA, to raise funds for some of our small projects. Thanks to several people who donated to help a group of women start their own Agribusiness enough funds were raised. The women were delighted and were gifted tools, watering cans, fertiliser and maize to plant.

They have had a bit of support to start them off, as they’ve never done this before, but they are so happy to have this opportunity to do this themselves. The aim is that they are going to grow maize as their first crop. Sell some of the harvest and buy more seeds to plant their next crop. Hopefully, this will really help them to provide for their families, give them confidence that they can work hard and achieve and that things are getting better for their community.

Here are some photos and videos from when they received their gifts and of the ground clearing and planting. What we would like to do now, is to keep raising these small amounts of money so other groups of people living in extreme poverty can also help themselves to have a better, brighter future.

Imagine a time where we no longer needed a feeding programme as more and more families were able to provide for their children. That is the end goal – for the community to be self-sufficient and sustainable. If you would like to help a second group (only £150) to start their own business then please either email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate at https://donorsee.com/project/24574?share=1 .

We are so grateful for all the support we receive. We always say it’s about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without your help. Thanks again, Sarah x

Thanks to those who funded Agribusiness Group 1, we’d love to be able to fund another group and give more people the opportunity to earn their own money and be self-sufficient.

Missing Crops

Crops for use in the feeding programme have been stolen.

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Sarah’s blog 4/7/24

Just a short blog today. The mood is low and people are worried.

Life is tough in Malawi when you are living in poverty. I don’t think we will ever realise how difficult it is and totally soul destroying at times. Maize and groundnuts crops had been planted and were being tended. Unfortunately, when the crops were checked today… a large amount of the crops have been stolen.

I can’t imagine depending on food that you have spent hours trying to grow…suddenly it’s not there any more. Someone else took your food. Someone took the food meant for malnourished orphans.

This is terrible news regarding feeding the children and the backbreaking work that has gone into clearing the land, planting and weeding the maize and groundnuts. And how desperate life must be if people are stealing other people’s crops meant to be helping feed hundreds of orphans.

If you can help us continue feeding 500+ vulnerable children once a week, 70+ nursery children 6 times a week and students at BFSS 5 times a week then please donate a little something to the link below. They need to be fed while we set up sustainable feeding projects for the future.

Please help. Together we can ensure that the Feeding Programme can continue. Thank you, Sarah x

https://donorsee.com/project/23035?share=1 to donate to the feeding programme.

https://donorsee.com/project/23502?share=1 to donate to feed the nursery children.

https://donorsee.com/project/23627?share=1 to buy fruit tree saplings.

Food parcels – June 24

Some of the sponsored children and young people receiving this month’s food parcels. Thank you so much to their sponsors for supporting them.

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Sarah’s blog 21/06/24

It can be difficult to source enough maize for so many children so it can be time consuming getting everything together for the sponsored children. Plus, they have to receive their parcels at a time when there aren’t other children around.

So here are photos of 20 of the sponsored children. These children and young people are still at primary school. Once a sponsored young person goes to Bright Futures Secondary School, they stop receiving their monthly food parcel because they have a nutritious cooked school lunch each day instead.

This month the sponsored children & young people have been given maize, cooking oil and two bars of soap. Thank you so much to their sponsors for really making a difference to their lives and giving them hope of a better and brighter future.

Here is the link to the young people who are waiting for a sponsor so that they will be able to have a secondary education at Bright Futures Secondary School. https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/06/14/12-weeks-to-find-sponsors-for-14-vunerable-students/

There is no free secondary education in Malawi. None of the children we support can afford to pay. At BFSS the biggest cost is feeding the students each day which is why they need sponsors. They must receive a good school lunch every day as that is the only food most of the students will eat. It is vital for their wellbeing and education as there is no point trying to educate students who are too weak to study and cannot concentrate.

Thank you again to everyone who cares about these children and young people. Each sponsored child/young person has their own page on our website which we update with their photos and any writing they do. It only costs £25 per month to be a sponsor. Having a sponsor is probably the best gift anyone can give them, Sarah x

Stuck in the mud – the daily struggle

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Sarah’s blog 17/02/24

I wanted to share this photo with you. I wish I had a magic wand I could wave to make things better. This is the reality in rural northern Malawi for the team supporting over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children.

There are no ‘proper’ roads. In the rainy season, they turn to mud. There is no maize to buy….. the situation is serious…no big charities are feeding children in schools in the rural far north so most children are malnourished. We can only afford to feed 500 children once a week – of course it’s not enough – but we are trying to help set up sustainable projects for a better brighter future.

Levison heard about some maize for sale 40km away….. in the towns that would be quite straightforward….not in the rural far north ….. Levison sent this photo….stuck in the mud. It’s a labour of love looking after these children. It would be easy to say that they aren’t able to fetch maize with the road conditions….but the team care about these children so much. They are living in extreme poverty and they are going to bed hungry each night.

If you can spare £5 or £10 per month to commit to helping us with the feeding programme, it would be so appreciated. Rice is available but it is more expensive than maize. The situation is dire. The charity bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Account no 21081462, Sort Code 80-22-60. Or could you make a one off donation to help towards sustainable projects like buying fruit tree saplings or sweet potato vines or other vegetable seeds? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed today and feeling like a huge responsibility for feeding these children is on my shoulders. Life is such a struggle in that part of the world. Please help us build up a bigger team to feed and support hundreds of very hungry children living in extreme poverty. Thanks, Sarah x

Trying to fetch maize to feed the children. Maize is scarce and expensive and the team have had to travel 40km today…. ‘roads’ turn to mud in the rainy season…life is a constant struggle

Monthly food parcels for some sponsored children

some of the sponsored children with their food parcels today

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Sarah’s blog 15/5/23

I don’t think any of us realise exactly how busy Levison is each day. One of his many tasks is doing welfare checks for the sponsored children and young people. Two sponsored young people have had bereavements in their families recently. The custom is that everyone who is able goes to the funeral which takes two days. Levison showed his support for both these families by attending. Another young person needed some medical treatment. Levison spent time with them prior to this talking with them to establish that they would benefit from a trip to the health centre. He needs to visit another family tomorrow to check on another sponsored child after not finding anyone at home today when he visited.

Also one of the key members of staff had a bereavement in their family last week and Levison attended that funeral. Days of planned work can go out of the window due to someone in the village passing away and also welfare checks on the young people. Several days have been spent trying to find enough maize to purchase for the children and young people’s monthly food parcels. Food is scarce and prices are high. It is not easy when so many people are relying on you.

Here are photos of some of the sponsored children and young people who came to collect their food today. I’m hoping for more photos later this week in order to get up to date photos of all sponsored children. If you would like to sponsor a child then please do get in touch. It’s only £25 per month and you can share that cost with a friend or family. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting us, Sarah x

Sweet Potatoes, Maize & Beans

Students were busy planting sweet potato vines after lessons today

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Sarah’s blog 04/04/23

It’s Easter School Holidays in Malawi as well as here but we had arranged to support an Easter Study School for students. We had to arrange for them to be fed each day so they would be able to concentrate and study. We are still looking for supporters to contribute towards these extra costs please. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our bank details or text FEEDING to 70480 to donate £5 towards feeding these hungry, vulnerable students. As the saying goes….every little helps!!

Maize is getting more and more scarce and more expensive as it is the rainy season and also because a lot of maize is being redistributed to the south of Malawi for the victims of the recent cyclone, meaning that it is becoming really difficult to secure enough food.

We sent some money last week as Levison had been able to secure some maize and beans towards feeding the students for the next two weeks. However, due to heavy rain and flooding, it wasn’t safe to go and fetch these supplies. Three days passed with heavy rain and the roads were more and more muddy. Would there be any food for students on Monday?

Levison was able to make a shorter journey on Saturday, in between the rain showers, to collect sweet potato vines. These were paid for by a donation for which we are very grateful. On Sunday late afternoon Levison and one of his staff set off to collect the maize and beans knowing that it was needed for the next day. However, their truck got stuck in the mud….they were there for 6 hours until another truck passed and was able to pull them out of the ditch. Nothing is ever easy or straightforward. I don’t think any of us realise just how difficult things are every day. However, thankfully, they returned with some food.

After lessons today, some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, helped with planting the sweet potato vines as part of their agricultural lessons. This crop is far less labour intensive than maize and, hopefully, the sweet potatoes should be ready after three months. There still won’t be a huge harvest considering that 500 hungry children turn up every weekend to be fed, but it is on the right road to self-sufficiency and these students are learning important skills for their futures.

Thanks for reading and supporting these vulnerable students, Sarah x

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