First of all I’d like to thank Jack for spending time at The Foundation. Also Andy from Community Sports Leaders Africa for organising and paying for Jack to travel north to Chitipa. Thank you to Strathendrick Rugby Club for donating rugby balls and to the people who donated money to make this possible…thank you so much.
Jack Mphande who is a Malawian rugby player and coach is at The Foundation to introduce and teach some of the young people to play rugby.
Jack and Levison have been sending me photos and I’m going to share some of the things Jack has said about the children.
“There were a good number of players….very intelligent”
“We managed to introduce the game and make some basic drills and played some games”
“It amazed me because it was like they have been playing the game for some time”
“Good handling and passing”
“They really enjoyed it and everyone is looking forward to the afternoon session”
During the morning session they were able to play on a local football pitch but that was being used in the afternoon so they were at The Foundation grounds after lunch. Eventually the clouds became darker and darker and then the rain started so everyone headed inside for a talk about rugby skills.
There are some great action shots in the photos, especially of a girl called Mphatso. Just look at the joy and concentration on her face. She’s having such a good time and it’s wonderful that the children, who until a few years ago have been used to being excluded and forgotten, are now having amazing opportunities to learn new skills. I’m so pleased it’s been a successful day and that it’s been such an enjoyable time for the children. Enjoy these photos …I’m sure they won’t be the last! Thanks for reading, Sarah x
There are a few small charities, supporting the most vulnerable in Northern Malawi, who work together when we can and also learn from each other as some are more experienced in certain areas than others.
We helped Andrew Bottomer, of Community Sports Leaders Africa, to get boxes of sports equipment to the people he works with in Malawi, not far from The Foundation. Andrew lives in the north of England so we met him in Edinburgh and took his boxes with ours to The Bananabox Trust in Dundee to await the container. Then Levison collected and delivered Andrew’s boxes to where they needed to be. Amongst those boxes were lots of rugby balls.
Community Sports Leaders Africa has paid Jack Mphande’s expenses to Chitipa for him to be able to teach rugby there for the first time. He’s been busy teaching adult coaches who have loved learning about and playing rugby and Jack’s enthusiasm for the game has been infectious. Jack plays rugby at international level so we are delighted that he is going to spend time with 25 young people teaching them basic rugby training which they can then teach their peers and younger children.
You’ll notice from the ages of the young people that they are all older than you’d expect for the class that they are in. All of these vulnerable young people have missed school, some more than others, to try to work for a pittance to make enough money to buy some food. One boy, who is thankfully now sponsored and doing well, worked for a farmer with his cattle for the equivalent of £1.50 per month…which hardly buys anything. Thankfully, more children are attending school now that they are fed by the weekly feeding programme. Unfortunately, young people in their last year at primary school are busy studying…hopefully they will be able to attend a future course.
The young people who have been picked to attend this first rugby coaching course are; Brian Sichamba, 16 (S1), Chancy Chisale, (S1), Moses Ng’ambi, (S1), Titus Ng’ambi, 14 (S1), Makayiko Simkonda, 13 (p5), Chimango Nyondo, 13 (p6), Chigomezyo Nyondo, 12 (p5), Hopeson Nyondo, 14 (p7), Fumbani Sichamba, 15 (S1), Elisha Sichamba, 15 (S1), Walusungu Nyondo, 12 (p5), Lameck Kanyika, 16 ( ), Manase Nyirenda, ( ), Chancy Kaonga, ( ), Chickumbutso Mtambo, 14 (p6), Pemphero Mbyghi, 13 (p7), Victoria Kayange, 16 (S1), Maria Chizumila, 16 (S1), Elizabeth Nyondo, 13 (p6), Tyness Sichamba, 15 (p6), Mitren Nyondo, 12 (p6), Tryness Sichamba, 16 (S1), Esther Nyondo, 16 (F1), Tamandan Nyondo, 15 ( ), Granda Nyondo, 13 (p7). (Lameck, Manase & Chancy K are the team making the eco stoves so not at school). We are very glad that 14 out of the 25 young people have been matched with sponsors…. if anyone would like to sponsor one of the other 11 taking part in the rugby, or any of the other children you’ve seen on our posts, then please do get in touch. It’s only £25 p/m to change a child’s life.
We are looking forward to bringing you lots of photos and we want to thank Jack for his time and sharing his talents with the children at The Foundation. To meet someone famous will be a new experience for them… someone they might be able to watch on tv. Opportunities like this to learn new sports and have organised events during the school holidays is still very new and exciting for them. They are orphans and very vulnerable children… why should people do things for them? Thankfully they are starting to realise that each of them is important to us. Thankfully they are starting to realise that people do care about them and are trying to improve their lives little by little. With your help we continue to be able to support The Foundation by Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Each week approximately 500 orphans and other vulnerable children come to The Foundation for a substantial, nutritious meal. Some children walk up to 20km for their meal….there are no big agencies feeding children in the far north of Malawi….this is probably the only proper meal these malnourished children get each week. Some days, some children might go without any food.
It requires a big team around these children and we are very grateful for all who are part of that team. However, we need more people in our team to continue to be able to change these children’s lives using an holistic approach. They now have better clothes, they have clean water to drink and showers to wash themselves instead of drinking and washing in the river. They can concentrate better at school because of the food they are receiving. Their self-esteem is better as they feel better about themselves and how they look. The children are enjoying team sports and are learning life skills. They have books and now computers in the library. All of these things are thanks to the team we have supporting these children. Thank you.
To help support the children email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Can you see the difference in the third and fourth photos compared to the first two? The children all have clothes donated by our generous supporters. They are clean, their clothes are clean. Their drinking water is clean. They have been fed. They have opportunities. They know people care. Please help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Now that we have the added bonus of being able to play videos on our website, I thought it would be nice to see this little video again that was previously shown on facebook. Tables and chairs were sent on the last container and this is the children from the nursery in Emma’s Rainbow Library.
These children (ages 4-6) are sitting at tables for the first time and have been given books to look at. Compared to our children they have missed out on lots of stages of pre literacy; sitting on an adult’s knee as a baby whilst an adult reads a story, learning whilst a toddler to turn the pages of a book to continue the story, looking at all the pictures and talking about that with the adult or pointing to items in the pictures. Then children usually will follow the text with their index finger, even though they aren’t at the right word they know by that stage that words go left to right and that the words make up the story.
Hopefully, now there are books in the library the children will have lots of opportunities to look at books and have stories read to them. There are nursery bags on the container that is about to leave Dundee next week that will be given to each child who starts at The Foundation Nursery. These bags contain; a blanket, two red t-shirts, 2 pairs of pants, toothbrush & toothpaste, soap and a picture book. Each child will then have a book at their home and books and reading will become more of an everyday part of life. Enjoy the video, Sarah x
There are almost 90 vulnerable children and young people who have already been matched with kind sponsors who are changing their lives. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child and give them the security of food and education. There are no wages or admin fees with our charity as we are run by volunteers. You can sponsor a child as an individual, a family, two friends sharing the cost, or a business or club. Each of these children is malnourished and has experienced loss and trauma. We need you. The children need you. We always say it’s teamwork and we need to be the team around these children to give them the opportunities they deserve. The food they need. The education they should have. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to sponsor a child. Thanks for reading and for your support, Sarah x
These children are waiting to be matched with a sponsor…. which child can you help today?
Last week we found out that Malawi International Rugly player, Jack Mphande, is heading north to introduce rugby to the young people. Thanks to Sports Leaders Africa for sponsoring his trip.
The children start two weeks school holiday tomorrow. There is a four day course starting on 21/3/22 to which 6 young people from The Foundation can attend. On the Friday, Jack is spending a day at The Foundation supporting the 6 young sports leaders to put their new skills into practice with some of the younger children. Strathendrick RFC donated rugby balls for which we are very thankful. A plan is coming together!
We have had 3 generous donations to fund 3 young people to attend this course. We would love 3 more rugby fans to sponsor a child each to attend the course. Their total expenses will be £40. So if you are a rugby fan and would like to encourage future rugby fans in the far north of Malawi we’d love for you to support a future sports leader to attend the course. If you can gift £40 that would be amazing or even £10 would be a great help if a few people donated. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Victoria and Elisha are two of the young people who have already been selected. Hopefully, another 4 will be going with them. Thank you rugby fans, Sarah x
A few days ago, I found out via a message from my son’s school, that 10th March is International School Meals Day. At his school, there is a different menu choice for today which is why we received the message. I understand, from the internet, that it is a way of promoting healthy eating and having conversations about food. This is a good idea.
However, because of my passion for helping those who are the most vulnerable, once we had established what my son wants for his lunch choice today, my next thought was how many children in the world don’t ever get a school dinner let alone a choice?
500+ orphans and other vulnerable children come to The Foundation Feeding Programme that runs once a week. They are fed a substantial and nutritious meal. Some walk up to 20km to receive their one proper meal of the week. All suffer from malnutrition. We can only afford to support The Feeding Programme to run once a week. There are no agencies in the far north of Malawi feeding children in schools. Already, teachers are able to see that these children’s concentration has improved thanks to one proper meal a week….imagine if we could afford to feed them more often. Some children can go for a day or a couple of days without eating. That is heart breaking.
The end goal is for The Foundation and the village to be self-sufficient, but until that time arrives, these most vulnerable, malnourished children need our help. Please can you support us to support them? Please? If you could commit to giving a regular small donation each month then please contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details. Or another way to donate to the feeding programme is to text FEEDING to 70490 .Together we can make malnutrition a thing of the past and you can help us to continue Changing Lives Malawi. Maybe one day International School Meals Day will be a day that all children can celebrate and be included in. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
I sent 5 recorders to The Foundation on the container….looks like Asante (red trousers) and Madalitso have found them! This is great playing as they’ve never seen a recorder before. Well done boys!
I’m quite pleased too….David (one of the trustees and the technical expert) upgraded the website….so this is the first time I’ve been able to post videos! I promise I’ll leave it a few days before there are any more videos of recorder playing! Thanks for reading, watching & listening, Sarah x
We’ve had an Amazon wish list for a while but the wind up torches were out of stock for ages! It gets dark at 6pm all year round so children and their families are in the dark after 6pm unless they can afford to buy a candle.
I posted the link to the wish list and I’ve enjoyed receiving packages over the past few days. Thank you to everyone who has bought a gift for the children. Your kindness will make a difference to them and they will know that people care about them. Thank you. Here is the link and thank you for reading, Sarah x https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1JZISVA9X45UF?ref_=wl_share
It’s been another busy day at Changing Lives Malawi HQ (our house) and the Logistics Manager (my ever helpful husband, Stuart) has been kept extremely busy and I’ve been busy helping him.
At 8.30am this morning we had a delivery of 22 large boxes of school uniform. Most of it is new. Very sadly, a school closed and all of this is their excess uniform. I saw a post on a fb charity site so made contact. The lady that has collected and sent all this uniform was determined that it wasn’t all going to go to landfill.
We are only about a third of the way through repacking it in stronger boxes but here are some photos of the lovely clothes and bags that will be on their way to Malawi very soon. There will be lots of very smartly dressed children who will be delighted to have the gift of brand new clothes. We will, of course, post lots of photos when things eventually arrive at The Foundation. Many thanks for your generosity. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
approximately 20 new backpacks are on their way to the children at The Foundation, jumpers, cardigans, trousers, shorts, pinafores, skorts, polo shirts, shorts, trousers and waterproofs (and that’s only the boxes we’ve opened so far….all clothes age 4 – 10 years)
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
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
