Tag: orphans

Chisenga School Visit – individual photos

Sarah’s blog 19/2/22

Yesterday, Levison visited the school to pay school fees for Angela and to pay exam fees for all those students taking exams this year. He was able to take some gifts of underwear, toiletries and calculators with him that arrived recently on the container.

The weather is causing such problems at the moment with the heavy rains causing flooding and making life very difficult for everyone. Levison managed to pay the fees and give out the gifts he brought for the sponsored young people. He also managed to take some individual photos before the rains came. He was absolutely soaked by the time he got home and had to shelter from the heaviest downpours. As he was on his motorbike, it was quite difficult for him on the roads home with all the flooding. Hopefully, the rains will only last another few weeks.

So if you don’t see a photo of your sponsored child in this batch of photos, they will be prioritised for a photo next time. Hope you enjoy the photos and if you would like to sponsor a young person please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Chisenga School Visit

18/2/22

Exam fees needed to be paid by today and Angela’s school fees too now that she has a sponsor.

Levison visited the school and was able to take some supplies to the young people that had arrived on the container recently. They’ve had underwear, toothbrushes & toothpaste and other toiletries, some clothes and calculators.

All the young people are doing well and were pleased to receive their gifts and they look very smart in their school uniforms.

Levison managed to take some individual photos too, which I will post tomorrow, before the torrential rain started again. I’ve made a note of who had photos taken and will ensure that anyone who didn’t will get their photo taken next time.

Many thanks again to all the sponsors for giving these young people opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the photos, Sarah x

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Sarah’s blog 17/2/22

We should be kind every day but are we sometimes too busy to actually stop and think about others?

As a charity, working closely with The William Stewart Foundation in rural Northern Malawi, every day we think about the vulnerable people there and how we can help improve their lives and help them towards self-sufficiency. Money (or lack of it) is usually the biggest issue with all the wonderful plans and wishlists.

Given my background, I am usually thinking about feeding children, accessing education, clothing them and generally nurturing them. The Foundation is doing a wonderful job of feeding 500 children every week (a substantial and nutritious meal) and having over 80 children and young people with sponsors giving them access to education and a monthly food parcel.

One of our other trustees has brilliant ideas….well most of them are brilliant ideas…he is used to being told that some of his ideas aren’t so good.

I think what I am trying to say is that there is a huge amount of enthusiasm and passion to see the vulnerable children and adults in Ibuluma succeed. For their lives to change for the better. For them to have more chances. For them to become self-sufficient. For malnutrition to be firmly in the past. For literacy and numeracy to improve, for people to have jobs and be very, very proud of what they have achieved through hard work and huge struggles.

As I said, lack of money is always the issue. Everything costs money. Apart from kindness. Kindness costs nothing. On our website there is a new document (you will see the link in red on the top right of every page) about our feeding programme. If you can afford to help us with the feeding programme committing £5 or £10 per month to provide more food for the children then please get in touch as that could be your Act of Kindness today. Or could you sponsor a child for £25 per month?

Or if you cannot afford to donate money, your Act of Kindness for these orphans and vulnerable children could be to like and share our posts to reach more people and hopefully future sponsors. Liking and sharing posts costs nothing but would be extremely kind. It also gives us a boost when we see people liking and sharing posts so what will your Act of Kindness be today? Please help us continue helping the orphans and other vulnerable young people by showing your kindness and support today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading and for being kind, Sarah x

The Gift of New Clothes

Sarah’s blog 15/2/22

The hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children in Malawi were wearing rags and very old clothes before The William Stewart Foundation was able to gift clothes to them. Their self-esteem has improved, as has their attendance at school, as they have nice clean clothes and they know that someone cares about them. Thank you to all who have donated school uniform. We’ve had even more schools involved this time. Can you spot any familiar sweatshirts? There is still some more uniform to give out another time so there will be more photos another time. The photos of individual children….only Chisomo is sponsored, so if you wanted to sponsor one of the others or an older child then please do get in touch. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com As always, thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Emma’s Rainbow Library now has tables & chairs and even more books!

Sarah’s blog 09/02/22

There were so many great photos taken yesterday that I thought it was best to split them in half. Yesterday’s photos were of the nursery children in their new clothes and flipflops playing with the train set that had been gifted to the nursery.

Today’s photos are of the library…named after Emma Buchanan who wanted to go to Malawi and who loved her dad reading to her whilst she was poorly. Emma is no longer here but will never be forgotten and her name lives on in Emma’s Rainbow Library. We had a donation a while ago for shelves to be built and books have been donated for the library. On the last container we managed to send some stacking chairs. This time more chairs were sent and 8 tables.

How many things do we use tables for? Preparing food, eating, writing, cutting fabric and resting the sewing machine on….the list is endless. These are the first proper tables and Levison is absolutely delighted that they have tables and chairs now. The library is looking great and, once again, we thank everyone involved in making improvements for the vulnerable children who are supported by The William Stewart Foundation. Thank you to the Bananabox Trust for facilitating the safe delivery of all the boxes, tables and chairs.

The nursery children sat at the tables in the library yesterday…probably the first time they had sat at a table. They each had a book to look at the pictures and turn the pages then their new clothes were given out whilst they were all sitting down. We hope you like looking at the photos of the children and all that is happening at The Foundation to continue Changing |Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Have you ever seen a train set?

Sarah’s blog 8/2/22

Levison collected over 100 boxes from the container last week and it takes a while to sort through and distribute the gifts. So it will happen gradually as time allows and we will bring you photos when we can.

The Foundation has a nursery for 50 children that is paid for by a donation. The children receive food at each session and the nursery is on three days per week. Not all the children were there today as it had been raining heavily in the morning. The 31 who were there received gifts and their friends will receive theirs next time they come. They were given casual clothes to wear outside nursery; the boys all had a new t-shirt and the girls a new dress. A few of the children received trousers if the clothes they were wearing weren’t in a good condition and all were gifted jumpers or cardigans. All the children received flipflops and there are still red t-shirts (nursery uniform) to give out another day. The hats and bags they received were a great hit with the children!

One little boy, Chimango, is 3 and is small for his age due to malnutrition. Levison said he is getting a bit better because of the food he is receiving at nursery. If he was matched with a sponsor then he would have a monthly food parcel going into his home too. This would further help him on the road to recovery. If you would like to be matched with Chimango to support him then please contact me at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com it’s only £25 p/m to sponsor a child and change their life.

Enough about clothes for now… Have you ever seen a train set? These children hadn’t. They haven’t seen many toys…only the few that we have already sent. This train set (and some wooden roads) has been very well loved and played with many, many times. It’s previous owner wrote road numbers and speed limits on the track and road….not just scribbles….there was intention to the writing. So, after it’s very long journey, today was the day that the bits of track, roads, trains and cars ended up on the floor of Sophie’s Skills Shed (where the nursery meets) for the children to play with whilst they are at nursery.

Levison reported that the children were all very excited and all wanted to play. Thankfully, there were plenty of pieces of track, road, trains and cars so everyone who wanted to could join in. It must be very strange to suddenly be faced with all of the pieces and little vehicles with wheels when you’ve never seen anything like that before. It didn’t take them long, with a little bit of encouragement from the adults, to join the pieces together and put the vehicles on the track and move them along. You can see, from the great photos that Levison has sent, the huge amount of learning that is taking place as they play. They are working things out for themselves and using their fine motor skills to connect the track and to move the vehicles along. They are working independently alongside each other but there are also times where they are collaborating. It will be interesting to see who is most interested in these resources and if they set it up differently next time. I’m also interested whether boys and girls use it equally as they don’t have any preconceived ideas about which gender has traditionally played with train sets. I am delighted to see these amazing photos and hope you enjoy them too.

All of these children have suffered trauma of some sort; whether it’s the loss of a parent, malnutrition and real hunger, being cold at night and being left to bring themselves up whilst the adults in the home do piece work to try to buy some food. There’s never enough food, sometimes there’s no food. The nursery is somewhere these malnourished children can come and forget about their problems for a while. They can concentrate on being children with their friends in a safe environment. They can learn through play. They are encouraged to use the showers in the new shower block and, as you’ve seen from today’s photos, they have been gifted new clothes and receive food. They all recently received a small blanket and raincoats. Soon toothbrushes and toothpaste will be distributed too. Life is improving for these orphans and vulnerable children. We want them to achieve and reach their potential.

Children have the right to have food. They have the right to have clean drinking water. They have the right to be cared for. They have the right to be warm. They have the right to education. We are addressing all of these things as we care about each of these children. Eventually, we want the village of Ibuluma to be self-sufficient, and the villagers want that too. However, until that time, they need our help and support. So we will continue to send clothes and will send more resources for use at the nursery so the children can experience some of the things our children do. Lack of money is always an issue with approximately 800 young people being supported through a variety of projects. So, if you are able, could you spare £5 per month (or £10 per month) towards providing more food please? The Foundation would love to be able to feed the children more often and, with no big agencies in that area, feeding all the local orphans and vulnerable children has become the responsibility of The Foundation.

If you are able to help these children eat more often then please do get in touch. Or if you’d like to sponsor a child we would love to hear from you. It might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these children. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com We need your help to continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Another busy day at Changing Lives Malawi HQ

Sarah’s blog 6/2/22

When I say HQ I mean our house lol… we certainly aren’t a big enough charity for separate premises..and we have no employees…only volunteers. Luckily we have a very large shed in the garden where donations go until we start with boxing them up again and filling the car with enough boxes to go to Dundee to The Bananabox Trust warehouse to await the next container. Today and tomorrow are boxing up days. Yesterday, someone brought some lovely hats and some wool, there was also a donation of toothbrushes and pencils and someone else contacted me about children’s books. It’s so good that people are thinking about the children, getting involved and supporting our work.

I’m trying to find a sponsor for a year three girl in secondary school whose family can no longer pay her fees. Her name is Angela and I hope to have more details soon and a photo. She needs a sponsor for 2 years to help her stay in school and give her the security of knowing that she’s not constantly worrying about the next fees being due. Sponsoring a young person is just £25 per month.

It’s on our minds all the time about trying to involve more people in supporting the feeding programme. If more people are able to commit to £5 p/m to help feed the children then they will be able to have more than one meal a week at the Feeding Programme which feeds 500 malnourished children once a week. They receive a substantial, nutritious meal but we would love to be able to support an additional meal or a cup of porridge before school. How can children concentrate on learning if they are hungry? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

One of our other trustees is currently exploring the idea of using the round metal sections of old trampolines to send to Malawi to use as the structure for polytunnels to help with food production at The Foundation. After the recent storms, I’m sure he will get a few donations to recycle!

At Dundee, there are boxes ready for the container that we’ve made up for young people going to secondary school next year. Each box has supplies for two students and they will each receive a blanket, sheet, towel, wind up torch, a school bag, calculator, dictionary, stationery, soap and toothbrush and toothpaste. Levison will still have things to buy for the young people going to school, but it will help him a lot having boxes already made up to gift to the students.

Now I’m looking at making up care packages for the nursery children. There is a nursery at The Foundation for 50 children and it meets 3 times a week, supported by donations. The children are aged 4-6 and they are fed at each session. They’ve had uniform and blankets recently gifted to them but it would be lovely if each child starting nursery was given a bag with a few useful gifts in. So from now on, every child starting at The Foundation nursery will receive a drawstring bag containing; 2 red tshirts, 3 pairs of pants, a blanket, a picture book, soap and toothbrush and toothpaste. That way we will know that every child will have been gifted a blanket…. there are still lots of children that the Foundation supports who aren’t even sleeping on a mat…they are sleeping on the bare floor and covering themselves with whatever they can. Hopefully, by making small changes like this then life will keep improving for the orphans and other vulnerable children in Ibuluma.

People are very kindly starting to collect milk carton tops for us so that they can have letters or numbers written on them and be used at the Foundation nursery or at Chambo primary school which is the nearest primary school to the foundation and where 17 boxes of children’s books were delivered recently. Education is key in Changing the Lives of those in northern Malawi.

In the photo are some resources I’ve put together for Chambo Primary School to help with numeracy and literacy. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

500 children need your help…your £5 will help feed them

Sarah’s blog 31/1/22

January is a hard month for many after the extra expenses of Christmas, however we’ve made it to the end of January now and, hopefully, most have now been paid.

Unfortunately, in Malawi, the price of maize is going up and the rains are heavy. 500 children are being fed once a week at The William Stewart Foundation. They receive a substantial, nutritious meal….their only one of the week. All are suffering from malnutrition. It costs approx £100 to feed 500 each time. We are looking for people to commit to £5 p/m so we can feed them at least twice a week, or implement a daily porridge programme on school days. There are no big agencies feeding children in that area in rural northern Malawi, so the responsibility is ours….some children are walking up to 20km for their food.

Please help us to help them? These children are just like our children with hopes and dreams of a better future….but they are hungry, really hungry. It affects their bodies and their brains. They deserve better. We CAN do something about malnutrition and make it a thing of the past. You CAN do your bit and be part of a growing team helping 500 children to have their basic needs met. Helping them have a better future. Helping them succeed. Helping change their lives. They will know that people care about them. They will have hope. £5 isn’t much each month. We would love you to be part of our feeding team. Will you take up the challenge and help? Please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for reading and please think about joining our feeding team, Sarah x

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

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

Watching your football team

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

Happy New Year & Happy Birthday

Sarah’s blog 2/1/22

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3M60EKZX9R3LQ?ref_=wl_share

Happy New Year!! I hope this year brings you all health & happiness.

Levison is busy getting young people ready for going to school this next week and I hope to bring some photos soon of them in their uniform before they set off on their big adventure, thanks to their generous sponsors who have paid for them to continue secondary education.

We still have a few young people waiting to be matched with sponsors so if you can help then please get in touch.

It’s my birthday on 4th January… when you have a birthday straight after Christmas you don’t really need any presents. I was very lucky with all the gifts I received for Christmas. So I wouldn’t usually tell people it’s my birthday but, i thought it might be a nice idea to buy something for the orphans in Malawi if you’d like to. There is an Amazon link at the top of the page or if you are at the supermarket and want to put some bars of soap or toothbrushes, toothpaste or pencils in your trolley, they would be very much appreciated. When there are approximately 800 vulnerable children and young people being supported there are never enough pencils or bars of soap!!

Many thanks and best wishes for 2022, thanks for reading, Sarah x

Goodbye 2021 and Happy New Year

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