some of the sponsored children with their food parcels today
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
Agriculture Classes at Bright Futures Secondary School
Sarah’s blog 10/05/23
Agricultural Classes are a core part of the curriculum in Malawi. The students at Bright Futures Secondary School are amongst the most vulnerable in Malawi and would not have been able to attend secondary school as this has to be paid for in Malawi. Bright Futures Secondary School is free of charge.
Today is the start of the primary school leavers. These are national exams and you cannot progress to secondary school if you have not passed these exams. But you can’t go anyway if you cannot pay – even if you have passed your primary school exams.
Because of the huge level of poverty, children and young people drop in and out of school to help their families/carers earn money for food. They earn a pittance for a full day’s work with no food or water. Laston (pictured in one of the photos) worked for a farmer looking after his cows for the equivalent of £1.50 per month. Thankfully, Laston now has a sponsor and is doing well at school. So students are probably 2 or 3 years older than expected becaus they have missed so much school. The older the student, the poorer their family. Most students in these photos are still needing a sponsor to support their education. This will help us pay the teachers salaries, provide uniform and the supplies they need for school and pay for breakfast and lunch each day. It’s £25 per month to sponsor a student. Can you help give one of these students a brighter future? Or you could split the cost with a friend and pay £12.50 p/m each. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks to our supporters, phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School was completed and opened in November 22. Students (and teachers) have been working hard and will have exams in a few weeks time. We certainly aren’t expecting all students to pass their exams. We just expect them to do their best. We will obviously be delighted for those who are able to pass exams. These young people have been so malnourished and had such difficult lives that basic survival was all they could manage. Things are improving. Now all students will have a brighter future by being in school. Even if they do not excel in exams they are more literate. They will have better numeracy skills. They will also be learning skills for life. There will be far less teenage pregnancies and child marriages due to young people being in school and being fed in school even if their families cannot afford to feed them.
Self-sufficiency is the end goal for the community we are working with. However, no children in primary schools in the far north of Malawi are being fed by big agencies. All are malnourished and all are hungry. We support a Feeding Programme that feeds 500+ orphans a substantial meal once a week. We wish we could provide more money for food but we are also investing in their education. We would love you to commit to £5 or £10 per month to support the feeding programme as food is getting more and more expensive contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
The Agricultural students at Bright Futures Secondary School have already built a polytunnel using an old trampoline frame we sent. They have started growing vegetables. They have also planted a field of sweet potato vines to produce food to eat. Now, the teacher has set them the task of clearing an area of ground by their homes to plant some vegetables. More skills for life and, hopefully, food to share with their families. Also, if successful, they will have a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement and be more confident about their skills for a brighter future. The photos are just a few of the students. We will look forward to updates from the teacher.
If you’d like to sponsor a student, contribute to the feeding programme or donate towards phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School to build the next classrooms then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate to the school fundraiser at https://gofund.me/ece5753a . Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Grateful to the student who made these short videos for us.
Sarah’s blog 27/4/23
We always knew that, if we were to help to build a school in Malawi, it would have to be done a bit at a time as, unfortunately, there is no big pot of money either here or in Malawi. But, time and again, thanks to hard work and our very generous supporters, we manage against the odds.
It is a struggle when there are hundreds of malnourished children who need feeding too, but we cannot spend all the donations on food or there would be nothing in place for their futures. Crops are planted to help provide vegetables. The fruit trees that were planted a couple of years ago are starting to produce fruit. No children are being fed in primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Everyone is hungry and malnourished. If you would like to support the feeding programme which feeds 500 children a substantial meal once a week then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
We are a very small charity, run by volunteers who are passionate about helping to improve things for the most vulnerable children and young people in rural northern Malawi. As we are volunteers, we have no salaries or admin costs so 100% of all donations go to the projects we help to support.
Phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November 2022 and the vulnerable students have been benefitting from free uniforms, school supplies food and education. Secondary education usually has to be paid for in Malawi which means that it is usually out of reach for the young people we support.
The Form 1 and Form 2 classrooms were built, along with some staff accommodation. There were already latrines, a clean water supply, a shower block and a library that had been previously built, thanks to generous donations. Now we need to start thinking about phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. The rainy season is almost over so it is the ideal time to start building in preparation for the new term in September.
Two more classrooms are needed for Forms 3 & 4. The Form 3 classroom is essential for September when everyone moves up a year and the new students start Form 1. More latrines are needed, more staff accommodation and hopefully a dormitory for these most vulnerable girls who have the furthest to walk. Will you help us please? These young people deserve our help. They deserve chances and choices. They deserve a brighter future.
Can you do a sponsored event for us? Will you host an event for your friends in aid of our charity? Could you invite us to speak at your club or church? Anyone who donates £500 or over can have their name, company name or the name of a loved one painted over a classroom door. Or how would you like to have a whole building named after your family or business? Or something painted on the roof of one of the buildings? As a team, we can do this together. Do you have a jar or coins that you’ve never got round to counting? We’d love to have them….every little helps.
I’m delighted to have another short video to share with you, made by the student who has been using his skills to help us. We’d be grateful if you were to share this with your friends and contacts on social media. I look forward to hearing from anyone with any ideas of how to raise some funds for phase 2. Thanks for your continued support, Sarah x
Yesterday was a day for good news. To be honest, I haven’t stopped smiling every time I think about this.
Yesterday our small team of volunteers finished the challenge to travel the same number of kilometres as the boxes we send to Malawi on a container ship. If you’d like to donate to help us build phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School then the link is here https://gofund.me/ece5753a and here is the link to yesterday’s story From here to Malawi – The challenge is complete! – Changing Lives Malawi we would be so grateful for any donations.
As part of trying to raise funds for our charity, I am regularly applying for grants. I’m not just thinking about The Foundation but about the whole community so when I saw a grant that the criteria was for a primary school, I thought of Chambo. However, lots of other charities are applying for the same grants so it isn’t often that good news comes back from an application. Thankfully this time the answer was ‘YES’.
Chambo Primary School, which is nearest to The Foundation we help to support, has only one classroom with desks and chairs. The children sit on the floor in the other classrooms. There are not many resources. We have already provided 17 boxes of books to help the students become more confident readers.
Lots of these children are orphans and make up the 500 children and young people we help to feed every weekend. This is the only substantial meal many of them get each week as no big charities are feeding children in primary schools in this area. At Chambo Primary School there is no water supply. There are no toilets.
We have secured a grant of £6,000 from The Kitchen Table Charities Trust, a small charity set up by John Humphries, to help the students at Chambo Primary School. This grant will provide them with a clean water supply and also two more classrooms will have desks and stools. We are so delighted as having clean water to drink will help their concentration and they will also be able to wash their hands. Thank you so much to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for enabling us to help the hundreds of vulnerable children at Chambo Primary School.
I will keep everyone updated as this project progresses and there will be lots of photos coming regularly from Malawi. The headteacher, staff and students at the school haven’t even been told about this yet….Levison is looking forward to sharing this wonderful news on Monday morning.
So thank you again to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for trusting us and helping make a difference to very vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. There is still much to be done but, bit by bit, we are Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Students in p8 at Chambo Primary School. We paid their teachers to run a study school during the Easter holidays to prepare them for their national leavers exams. We also ensured they were fed each lunchtime. Children at Chambo Primary looking at some of the books we sent to help them become confident readers.The 17 boxes of books we gifted to Chambo Primary School. Many of these were preloved books donated by our supporters. We are now supplying other primary schools with boxes of books.The Health Centre which is near to Chambo Primary School. They have a clean water supply and have kindly allowed this to be used to pipe water to Chambo Primary School.A water tower at the Health Centre. We paid for a survey to be done to ensure that this project was feasible. Staff at the health centre are delighted that the clean water can be shared.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School. These two classrooms were built as part of phase 1. We are now fundraising for phase 2.Feeding the 500 orphans and other vulnerable children are fed a substantial meal once a week
Today Levison has sent photos of students at Bright Futures Secondary School and p8 at Chambo Primary School enjoying (if that’s the right word) their extra lessons and revision ahead of their exams in May. Even if they aren’t enjoying the additional classes, they are very thankful for the opportunity of having these extra lessons.
What all the students are delighted about is that they are having a substantial, nutritious, cooked school lunch every day. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive this every day, however this is a novelty for the students who are in p8 at Chambo Primary. There are over 60 of them so that is a lot of extra mouths to feed but how could we organise a study school and not provide food? How would they be able to study properly? Most of these students won’t find any food when they go home, or if they do, it will only be a very small amount.
So out with these Easter holidays, students at Chambo Primary School only receive one substantial meal at a weekend via The Feeding Programme. It’s not enough but there are 500 children to feed each weekend. We cannot do more alone. However, if we all commit to a small amount each month, then these vulnerable students will start to thrive. Their grades should go up as they are able to concentrate better. We wouldn’t expect our children to concentrate properly without breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yet these young people are expected to pass exams with just one proper meal each week. Children who are sponsored do receive some extra food at home each month, but it isn’t enough for the whole month.
What can you do to help? Can you commit to a few £££ each month? Our bank account is at Bank of Scotland, account name is Changing Lives Malawi, account number 21605268, sort code 80-22-60. Or can you make a one off donation? or alternatively you could text FEEDING to 70480 to donate £5 or an amount of your choice. Lets build a team around these vulnerable young people and give them the chance of a better and brighter future. Let’s give them the chances and choices they deserve contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
What does Sunday lunch mean to you? I guess it means something different to each of us. It might be that some people are working on a Sunday so it’s just a quick sandwich. Or that your kids are involved in sport so it’s something quick to eat when you can. Are you able to sleep late and have a lazy brunch on Sundays? Or do all the family come and eat together round the table and have a roast dinner?
Whatever the traditional Sunday is at your house, I doubt you look forward to the food you will eat as much as these children do. These children are mostly orphans, living with extended family, or vulnerable children from very poor families. None of these children have a proper meals every day at home. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in this area. This is the most substantial and nutritious meal these children will get each week.
I cannot imagine only eating once a day. I cannot imagine eating less than this meal for six days of the week. I cannot imagine going to bed so hungry that I couldn’t sleep. I cannot imagine not being able to feed my children. I cannot imagine having to walk a long distance in order to have a meal.
Some of these children have walked up to 20km for this food. And then they walk up to 20km home. We can only afford to run The Feeding Programme once a week. These children need and deserve more. The end goal for this community is self-sufficiency but, until that can happen, we need to feed these children. Up to 500 children of all ages come to receive food each week. Yesterday there were 412 came to be fed. The youngest are always fed first. How can they manage until next weekend’s Feeding Programme? Maize prices have risen and things are even harder than they were.
Can you help us please? We are asking 100 people to commit to £1 per week to help us ensure The Feeding Programme can continue and we can provide for everyone who needs food. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Will you spare £1 per week to help us continue feeding these malnourished children? please do help us to continue helping these vulnerable children. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
On World Book Day…find out the difference books are making to the orphans and vulnerable children we support in rural Northern Malawi.
Sarah’s blog 2/3/23
On World Book Day, I want to share some photos with you. These photos aren’t the usual fun photos that will be shared all over social media today.
Children at many schools will be dressing up as their favourite characters from fiction books to celebrate World Book Day. This is great fun and celebrates the importance of reading, love of books, favourite authors and most loved stories.
The children we help to support in Malawi are aged between 4 and 20 and all deserve to have an education and access to books. Our Literacy Project is addressing literacy for those in the nursery to the students in Bright Futures Secondary School. Previously, books were few and far between. How can a child be a confident reader if they don’t have access to books?
We are gifting boxes of books to rural primary schools where reading material is at a minimum and children are sitting on the floor in classrooms. A library has been built (The Emma Buchanan Rainbow Library) which now has a full wall of books of all subjects for children to read in the library and also to borrow. There are some computers in the library too (no internet yet) where students are learning to to type and learning about using computers.
All 75 pre-school children have been given a book each to keep. There are also picture books been donated to the nursery. All of these vulnerable children, have missed out on years of pre-reading. They weren’t able to sit on an adult’s knee as a baby and have books read to them daily. They weren’t given the opportunity to turn pages and look at pictures and then pretend to read the story by following the words with their fingers. I wonder, how many hours of ‘reading’ have our children had before they even get to school? These children have missed out on all of that.
So let’s celebrate, on World Book Day, that these children now have access to books every day. Let’s celebrate that the students in the new Bright Futures Secondary School have text books, bibles and dictionaries, as well as access to the library. Because of the School Literacy Project, will we see literacy levels increase amongst these vulnerable children in the next few years? Education is their way out of poverty. Education is the key to a better and brighter future for them. Education means chances and choices. Let’s celebrate that things are changing for these children and books are a big part of this change.
Here is the link to the fundraiser for the next classrooms at Bright Futures Secondary School https://gofund.me/ece5753a We would be so grateful for any donations to ensure that we can continue to build phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School and ensure that the education of the most vulnerable young people can continue.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the photos, Sarah x
The first boxes of books that we sent that people had kindly donated. This was an amazing day for these children who were delighted to be able to look at these books with their friends.Seventeen boxes of books were gifted to Chambo Primary SchoolChildren sit on the floor at Chambo Primary School…only the p8 class has tables and chairsAt Bright Futures Secondary School – we sent bibles donated by St Michael’s Church, Slateford Road, EdinburghWe are hoping that by gifting books to preschool children, literacy levels might start to improve as children become more confident readersS2 students at Bright Futures Secondary SchoolThis was the first time that these preschool had sat at tables and chairs. They enjoyed the novelty and liked choosing a book each to look atLooking at books in Emma’s Rainbow Library – named in memory of Emma BuchananFinding out how to use a computerAs well as lots of donated pre-loved books, we have sent a selection of books about black people in history and black role models, and Levison has been able to buy books written by Malawian authorsMwiza has additional needs and isn’t able to attend school. He has been given toys and games to stimulate him and to help his muscle strength and coordination. His youngest sister has started school a year earlier than was expected because she is very able. Is this because she has had access to books at home?We were very grateful to receive a grant from The Souter Charitable Trust which we used to buy text books for Bright Futures Secondary School
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 just a quick post today. I am concerned about the children we are helping to support in rural Northern Malawi. There are over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children who come to be fed once a week… that’s all we can afford.
There are no big charities feeding children in schools in that area. All children are hungry, malnourished and don’t eat properly every day…some don’t eat every day.
We need your help to continue feeding these children as food prices have gone up and so many young people need our help.
If you can spare £1 per week… please, please will you help us? 100 people, each giving just £1 per week will ensure that the feeding programme can run twice a week instead of just once. We can make a difference to these hungry children.
Please will you commit to helping us help these very vulnerable young people? If we all give just £1 per week it WILL make a difference. All the money goes to our projects – there are no salaries or admin costs with our charity… every penny will go to feeding these malnourished children.
Email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to change a life with just £1 per week. As a team, we can change lives in Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x
I’m feeling really sad looking at these photos I am going to share with you today. You might remember that recently Eliza, one of the lovely hardworking volunteers, sadly died after having an asthma attack. Eliza had been volunteering since Levison started feeding the children and had understood the importance of his vision for improving the lives of the most vulnerable. She also understood it wasn’t going to happen without volunteers. Eliza worked tirelessly, cooking for and serving 500+ children, cooking for the nursery children and, more recently, for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. She is missed very much by everyone.
I said I would try to find sponsors for her children. Her husband is a peasant farmer, working very hard for not much return. They had four children. Unfortunately, the eldest two have gone to live with relatives quite far away as their dad couldn’t support them all. So these older children have not only lost their mum, they are now separated from their dad too and their two youngest siblings. Who knows when they will all see each other again. Life is so hard.
The two youngest children are still living with their dad. The girl, Chifundo, who is 13, has had to start doing the chores her mum would have done, including looking after Junior, 8 years old, while their dad is working long hours. Chifundo will have to cook and do the washing. What will she cook? They don’t have much. They need food. They need soap to wash the clothes. They need some new clothes. And they need some blankets. You can see the mat, in one of the photos, where they sleep sharing a dirty old blanket.
So, who will help them? Who could help support these two children whose world has been turned upside down. They’ve lost their lovely mum and their two older siblings. They need our help. It costs £25 to sponsor a child each month. They receive a food parcel each month, clothes, a blanket, welfare checks and medicine if they need it. Please will you help? You can sponsor as an individual or two friends can share the cost or your club or business could sponsor a child. Please email me if you’d like to help Chifundo or Junior contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and thanks to all our sponsors who are making a big difference to each child, Sarah x
The students at Bright Futures Secondary School were invited to go to Chisenga Secondary School yesterday to play football and netball against Chisenga.
I don’t think we can quite comprehend the level of excitement and how much this trip meant to the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison had sent me photos and videos last night but phoned me this morning to give me details and he was so happy that it had all gone well. All the students, and teachers, had enjoyed the afternoon enormously.
Most of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School have never been in a car before. So when they found out that they were going to Chisenga in taxis they were amazed. Levison said one student asked “Sir, you mean we have to pay for this journey?” so Levison was able to say “No, this is part of your education at Bright Futures Secondary School.”
Levison said that the students were a real credit to Bright Futures Secondary School, encouraging each other and singing lots of songs together. They cooperated well with each other and were very proud to be representing their school.
So from new experiences like being in a vehicle for the first time, having nice football and netball strips, trainers and football boots, and representing their school, the students know that they are valued. They know people care about them. They know that people are investing in them and their future. Levison said they are motivated to work hard in school. The spectators and staff at Chisenga School were surprised by the kits that the Bright Futures students were wearing and the fact that Levison took a new football to be used.
Unfortunately, the netball results didn’t go in Bright Futures favour; the first team’s results were 1 – 9 and the second team’s results were 6 – 10 but they tried their best and that’s all anyone can ask of them and we are proud of them.
Bright Futures football first team won their match 2 – 1 and the second team’s match ended in a draw 0 – 0. Very well done everyone we are proud of you!
So we want to thank everyone who has made yesterday a hugely successful trip. Thank you for the donation towards the taxis. Thank you to those who have donated trainers and football boots and sports kits. We couldn’t support the children without your help. Levison was very keen for me to pass on his thanks to everyone who helped make yesterday “I would really like to thank the donors…it was the best day for our school so far”.
We still need to raise a bit more money to cover the cost of the taxis yesterday, so if anyone would like to donate then we would be very grateful contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Levison said they would have given the students from Bright Futures a special meal if they could have afforded that. Instead, each student today has been given a new pen and pencil.
One of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, Daniel, speaking on behalf of the students said “I want to thank you about the support you gave yesterday. I’m very glad to say that we won the game yesterday. We are more than happy because we have put our school on the map. Thank you supporters. The other school was challenging us, saying that Bright Futures is just a baby school that opened some few months ago which they thought it was obvious for us to fail the game. So winning the game was a relief to put the school on the flag of the winners.”
“I, as the headteacher, speaking on behalf of my colleagues, would like to say thank you for the support that we received yesterday. We are very glad to tell you that our first team won the football. We managed to beat one of our neighbouring schools who thought that they would win because we are only a small school. Winning yesterday made our school proud. It gave us confidence that we are strong as an institution. It has put Bright Futures Secondary School on the map. We have made history at yesterday’s game not only were there students there from Chisenga, but also people from surrounding communities came and watched the game. So, when they are leaving to go to their various places, they carried news that Bright Futures Secondary School is one of the strongest school with a strong team. This has given us confidence and has encouraged the students and the teachers. Our teams looked good in their jerseys and boots. Thank you so much. Please continue supporting us.” Miss Mtambo, Headteacher.
Bright Futures Secondary School Footballers are wearing red/black – Craigshill Thistle Football Club and also green – Edinburgh South Football Club. Bright Futures Secondary School Netball teams are wearing white/navy – Bromley & Beckenham Hockey Club and also yellow/black – Fakenham Town Football Club. Thank you to all these clubs who have donated kit and also to Paul Goodwin, Paul Kelly, Julian Chenery and ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ and, of course, The Bananabox Trust for their help with getting donations to Malawi.
Thank you for reading and supporting the students of Bright Futures Secondary School. I hope you enjoy the photos and videos, Sarah x
On World Education Day, we thank our supporters who are helping us provide education to some of the most vulnerable orphans in rural northern Malawi.
Sarah’s blog 24/1/23
What does education look like where you live? How many years do children go to school? Is it provided to all children, at no cost?
Where you live, what happens to children when they leave school? Do most go to college or university or an apprenticeship? Or they might go straight into employment? All of these opportunities happen after children have completed primary AND SECONDARY education. What would happen if they didn’t have these opportunities?
Not all children will pass all of their exams. As long as they’ve tried their best and worked hard, that’s all anyone can ask. They will still have been learning whilst at school.
Imagine that there are schools… but not for your children. In Malawi, primary school is free. However, if you cannot afford food then your children will have to miss school so they can earn a pittance to try to help buy food for the family.
Imagine your child walking all day to the nearest maize mill with a heavy bundle of maize balanced on their head. It’s not even your maize… they are walking 15km or 20km all day with their heavy burden to be paid a pittance for carrying someone else’s maize to the mill. No clean water or food to drink or eat all day, at risk of being attacked along the way. They have to miss school. How does that feel?
Laston, one of the boys we have matched with a sponsor, worked for a farmer, helping to look after his cows, for approximately £1.50 per month. There was no school for Laston – school was for other children – until we found a sponsor to support him.
In Chambo primary school, where the majority of orphans and other vulnerable children attend, whom the Foundation supports, they have minimal resources. No desks and chairs, apart from primary 8. All other children sit on the floor in their classrooms. They have hardly any books. They have no clean water supply and no latrines. We gifted 17 boxes of books to Chambo primary school to support literacy and help children become confident readers.
Children have to sit exams when leaving primary school. If you don’t pass then you don’t go to secondary school. There are not enough places in secondary school, so if you don’t get picked for a place then you don’t go. If you do pass your exams and are lucky enough to be picked for a place but you can’t afford to pay the fees… it’s heartbreaking. That is your formal education finished at the end of primary school.
That’s why Bright Futures Secondary School was desperately needed. To ensure all the orphans and vulnerable children, supported by The Foundation, had the chance of a secondary education without having to pay. Education is everything to these children. They know it is their escape from the dire poverty they live in.
Bright Futures Secondary School is being built in phases, as it’s obviously a big and costly project. Phase 1 has been successfully completed – staff accommodation, staff latrine and classrooms 1 and 2 and passed with flying colours when the inspectors came from the Education Department.
Now we need to continue our fundraising commitment to build classrooms 3 and 4 to ensure these vulnerable students have the opportunities the deserve. That they have choices and chances. That they have a brighter future.
All students at Bright Futures Secondary School are provided with a uniform, a school bag, other clothes. They receive a free school lunch. They have access to clean water and showers. Girls are given reusable sanitary towels (made at The Foundation) so they don’t have to miss one week of school each month. They are allowed to borrow books to take home from the library at The Foundation. Their dreams are coming true. They are working hard. With your help we are changing lives in Malawi.
On World Education Day we are saying ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped us to support the students this far. Without your help, these students would not have been able to attend secondary school and have a free lunch each day. The school lunch is vital as it’s probably the only meal for many of them.
We need your help to build the next phase of the school. Two classrooms and more latrines will cost £25,000. Will you be part of the team supporting these vulnerable students to succeed and achieve? Will you be part of the team allowing them to have more choices and chances? Will you be part of the team helping them to help themselves out of poverty? https://gofund.me/ece5753a
If, on World Education Day, you would like to show your commitment to some of the most vulnerable children in rural Northern Malawi, please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate to our fundraiser here
We are passionate about helping these children to help themselves out of poverty and giving them a better start. The nursery has 75 preschool children (age 4-6). As well as clothes and blankets, each child has just been gifted a book to take home. We want children to learn that books are a wonderful resource that can be used each day for information and escapism. Who knows if any of these children will become authors in the future and write books for other children?
As you might imagine, running costs, as well as capital costs for these projects need to be found. The children need more people fighting their corner and supporting their education. Here are ways you can get involved;
2. Can you commit to £5 or £10 monthly to help pay for food for the nursery or secondary school?
3. Will you organise a fundraiser for us? Can you involve your friends? Can your family help? What could your children & their friends do?
4. Would you like us to visit your club or school and show photos & talk about the projects we are supporting in Malawi?
5. Would you like to be matched with a vulnerable child to support their education and wellbeing? It’s only £25 p/m and you can split this cost with a friend.
6. If you are selling preloved clothes or toys… could you do it on behalf of our charity?
7. Can your business sponsor an event? Or donate towards a building? Or pay for the feeding programme for a week? We would, of course give you publicity. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
You can be sure that all money goes to the projects we support. Our charity is run by committed volunteers. So we have no salaries or admin costs. Thank you for reading and supporting us to help continue Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x
children at the nursery have all been gifted a book to support their literacyStudents at Bright Futures Secondary School in the rugby kit donated by Merchiston Castle SchoolSome of the girls with their new school bagsStudents showing off the new rugby kit and balls supplied by Merchiston Castle School, EdinburghStudents in a practical science classwe sent school uniform for the students at Bright Futures Secondary SchoolExam timePractical agricultural lesson – preparing the ground in the new polytunnel for growing crops.The library has a good selection of books and computersLaston, one of the sponsored teenagers. The photo on the left shows Laston in the only clothes he had. His shoes had holes in the toes so he could continue to wear them as they were too small. He missed a lot of school and worked for a farmer, looking after his cows, for approximately £1.50 per month. Laston is now doing really well as he’s been matched with a sponsor and is working hard at school.Stuart, one of our trustees, collecting rugby balls and kit from Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh
