Tag: malawi

‘If you can’t feed a hundred people then feed just one’ (Mother Teresa)

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Sarah’s blog 26/1/22

It’s very true….another quote that I like says ‘Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person.’

There are approximately 500 children that are fed once a week. These children are some of the poorest on the planet and all suffer from malnutrition…some worse than others. We would love for these children to have more food. The end goal is that the villagers will be self-sufficient and there will no longer be a need for a feeding programme. Until that time we must help. We cannot do it alone.

We need to grow our team. If more and more people would please donate just £5 per month then we can help feed the children more than once a week. Ideally, I would love all the children to have a mug of porridge before school in the morning. It costs £100 to feed 500 each one nutritious meal. It’s not much per child but soon adds up when there are 500 children. Imagine if we could get 100 donating £5 per month….the children could be fed another 5 meals extra per month. What a difference that would make. But think about it….we are still only talking about 2 meals a week. Can you imagine only having one or two substantial, nutritious meals a week? Or if you couldn’t feed your children every day…. it’s heart breaking. They can’t help where they were born or the situation they were born into. But each of us can help one of them.

How can they concentrate with no food in their tummies? How can they concentrate when they are malnourished? These orphans and other vulnerable children are in survival mode…things like learning cannot happen properly until a child’s basic needs are met. It’s every child’s right to be safe, warm, have enough to eat and clean water to drink. I like the visual way the theorist Maslow shows children’s needs in his hierarchy of needs. Each layer cannot happen for a child if the previous one is not met.

So please join our team of people committing to help these children. £5 is all we ask as a monthly commitment (unless of course you would like to donate more). To most of us £5 is just a meal deal or a couple of drinks or some snacks. £5 to each of these children will help change their lives. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s rainy season at the moment. People are struggling, the price of maize has gone up. Half of the Foundation’s crop of newly planted maize was washed away and they had to replant. Heart breaking. Levison told me today it’s a real struggle to feed everyone with prices rising. Thank you for reading and please consider joining our feeding team, Sarah x

Happy Feet

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Sarah’s blog 25/1/22

I just wanted to show you some of the lovely shoes, sandals and flipflops that have been donated. These were boxed up yesterday and will make their long journey to Malawi (via The Bananabox Trust, Dundee) soon.

These little shoes still have so much life in them as children’s feet grow so quickly that there will be children in Malawi so happy to receive these gifts. It’s donations like these that are continuing to make a difference. Thank you for helping us Changing Lives Malawi. contact_us@sjk1898hotmailcom Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Lovely donations for little happy feet in Malawi

Watching your football team

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Sarah’s blog 18/1/21

There seems to be something that is the same almost wherever you are in the world….cheering on your team when they are playing football. Malawi have been playing Senegal today. Unfortunately it ended up 0-0 but these children and young people enjoyed watching their team on the tv at the Foundation (until a power cut near the end). Levison has a wind up radio thankfully. The tv was installed for educational programmes (and for a treat like watching your country play football).

Hopefully, with your help, we will be able to provide more food for these children to eat and match more children with sponsors to pay for their secondary school fees. These children are just like our children and deserve the same chances. £25 p/m provides food and education for a young person or a commitment of £5 or £10 p/m will help feed the children more often. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Boxes and boxes

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Sarah’s blog 14/1/22

It’s been a busy 10 days packing boxes since the schools went back last week. Stuart and I took 20 boxes to Dundee last weekend to The Bananabox Trust Warehouse. The boxes are processed and wait there until there are enough donations from lots of charities and individuals, going to several recipients in Malawi. Once the warehouse is full, a container is ordered and packed by volunteers and then spends approximately 3 months (or slightly less) on it’s journey until arriving at Ekwendeni near Mzuzu. That’s still a long drive from the Foundation for Levison to collect the boxes but so much easier now he’s got the truck.

So today we took another 15 boxes and met Lilian and Stewart, volunteers who were processing the boxes today. Tomorrow, one of our supporters is taking another 10 boxes for us. Each box costs £15 to cover the costs of the container so we have to carefully balance the cost of sending boxes with the need of Levison, his team and the 800 children and young people they support and also the most elderly in the community. 800 is a huge number of orphans and vulnerable children and they have been very grateful for the preloved school uniform, other clothes, shoes, books, and sports kit that has been sent….along with lots of other items. If you’d like to pay for and sponsor a box or boxes to go then we can write your name or a loved one’s name on the box. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

So here are a few photos of our boxes. Today we had an hour to spare and, as it was a beautiful, sunny day, we had a sandwich and an ice cream in St Andrews and a little walk on the beach with the dog. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

17 boxes of reading books donated to Chambo Primary School
fun on the beach at St Andrews after taking a car full of boxes to Dundee
January sunshine and a quick walk on the beach at St Andrews, after delivering boxes to The Bananabox Trust, Dundee
Unloading the container and collecting boxes at Ekwendeni nr Mzuzu. Levison in the new truck.

Goodbye 2021 and Happy New Year

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Sarah’s blog 31/12/21

It’s been a busy year and a very mixed year. There have been far more positives to outweigh the negatives so that’s what we are concentrating on. People will be able to see by our actions how hard we are working and how committed we are to changing the lives of the most vulnerable who are supported by The Foundation. We are all part of a team, each with our own skills and talents.

Last January, William Stewart, co-founder of The William Stewart Foundation sadly passed away age 93. His friend and co-founder Levison Mlambya continues to work tirelessly to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in his village. It’s been a hard year for Levison but he continues to support his community to the best of his ability. He is an inspiration to many and is improving hundreds of lives.

William used to send a monthly amount to Malawi to help pay for wages until the Foundation was more self-sufficient. Since last January, it has passed to our charity to cover these payments in addition to other fundraising, the feeding programme and the child sponsorship programme. It’s been hard at times, but we’ve managed. We have successfully negotiated our way through difficult circumstances and the situation in Ibuluma keeps on improving.

Can I tell you what has been a tremendous help during difficult times? Your support. I truly mean that. Whether it has been a kind word or a thumbs up, someone sharing one of our posts, a donation of some books or pencils or a few baby clothes…. it shows that you believe in us and that means the world. We couldn’t send money to feed the children without you. We couldn’t send clothes or books without you. Thank you for believing in us and being a part of our team and helping us to change the lives of the most vulnerable in Malawi.

Next year is going to be even busier as we put any negativity firmly behind us where it belongs and concentrate on each child who needs our help. Each of these hundreds of children has a name. They are individuals, now with hopes and dreams of a better future. A better future involving things we take for granted like food and education. Whether it’s playing football or netball, or helping look after the chickens or learning to sew or painting, each of these children feels safe at the Foundation. They can forget the dire poverty for a little while.

We will continue to help feed them. Help clothe them. Help educate them. Working closely with Levison and his team, we will continue to raise funds for what is most needed to improve the extreme poverty in Ibuluma. £300 has just been sent to buy fruit tree saplings for future food and income. We need to provide more but it’s a good start. An extention is being built to house more chickens, thanks to one of our trustees and artist, Christine Cresswell, who donated the proceeds from the sale of her beautiful paintings.

We have over 80 children and young people matched with sponsors and Levison is currently getting lots of them ready for secondary school next week. 17 boxes of books had been delivered to the local primary school recently with more being on the next container which will go to another primary. Children are enjoying reading books in Emma’s Rainbow Library at The Foundation. Education is the key to a better future for each of these children. A better future for them and their families and future generations. To have helped in a small way to make this happen is a privilege and we are very glad to be in the fortunate position to be able to help. We are fortunate and thankful to have you helping us and being part of the team around these malnourished children.

Have a very Happy New Year. We wish each of you health and happiness in 2022 and look forward to you journeying with us in 2022 to continue Changing Lives Malawi.

Thank you for reading, Sarah & the Team x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

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E-cards & E-gifts helping the children in Northern Malawi

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Sarah’s blog 10/11/21

Just wanted to share the link to our e-cards & e-gifts. You can do your Christmas shopping and send your Christmas cards without leaving your sofa…and all for a great cause. Click on the link and have a look. Thanks, Sarah x

https://www.dontsendmeacard.com/ecards/charities/changing-lives-malawi

A few photos

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Sarah’s blog 27/10/21

Hi, I’m sharing a few photos of sponsored children and the apprentices who received some clothes today. All the apprentices received work trousers and a t-shirt and some of the apprentices who are sponsored received care parcels. The apprentices who don’t have sponsors were given donated clothes by Levison.

There are some photos too from younger sponsored children who received care parcels. Each sponsored child now has their own page on our website. There have been lots of photos taken that we have to go back and look through but from now on, if there are photos taken of sponsored children like these, the photos will be posted to the child’s page. They can be accessed at any time and it will be easy to see the positive changes that having a sponsor has made. Please sign up to receive blogs and updates and share with anyone who might be interested in being a sponsor. Thanks, Sarah x

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