More little piglets! Great news from the pig project at Bright Futures Campus.
Sarah’s blog 31/8/26
There is more good news from Bright Futures Campus. Another five more little piglets have arrived safely.
There is another pigsty being constructed and almost finished. There will soon be plenty of room for the expanding Bright Futures Pig Family.
Mr Kanyimbo, Deputy Head Teacher at Bright Futures Secondary School, is pictured caring for the five more little piglets. He has been working hard alongside a small team of other teachers and staff. They have been looking after the welfare of the adult pigs, the juvenile pigs and these new piglets.
There will be great excitement and interest amongst the students at BFSS when their agricultural lessons start again. They will be delighted to see that there are more little piglets to care for. We all love baby animals, don’t we?
This project has the potential to help the school work towards self sufficiency as more piglets are born and sold. What a great way to learn practical agricultural skills, complementing what the students are learning in the classroom in their agriculture classes. They are also learning about self sufficiency and business.
We are delighted to see that quality education is happening at Bright Futures Secondary School. Students, who are all living in extreme poverty, now have a brighter future. We need to grow our team to continue supporting the school and the young people. Will you be part of our team? Can you spare £5 or £10 per month to make a difference?
Enjoy the photos and videos. There are two videos of the other piglets, born a few weeks ago, now growing well. Thanks to everyone who supports the students. To the organisations and individuals who have believed in us and provided funding for Bright Futures Secondary School.
School starts back very soon and we are looking for sponsors for individual students which is £25 per month and also ‘Friends of Bright Futures Secondary School’ and ‘Friends of Bright Futures Nursery’ to support these projects with a monthly or one off donation. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Will you help us support some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi please? Together, we can be a team that can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x
Great news from Bright Futures Campus….five healthy piglets have arrived!
Sarah’s blog 3/8/26
Great news from Bright Futures Campus today and great excitement. One of the pigs has given birth to five healthy piglets. Who doesn’t like to look at photos and videos of new baby animals?
These are the first Bright Futures piglets to be born on campus. They give hope for a brighter future. Students learning how to look after the pigs as part of their agriculture course. By selling some of the pigs it will bring a good source of income enabling this to become a sustainable project.
Money has been sent to start building another pigsty. Thank you to everyone who has contributed towards this project. Should anyone wish to make a donation towards the pig project then you can email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Or you can donate via the donation page on the website https://changinglivesmalawi.com/donations/ . Our fundraiser to buy extra food for the hundreds of malnourished children and to buy notebooks is still open. We’d love your help to provide for those most in need. gofund.me/48b11b1a1
You’ll see below the video that Liz and Levison made while during our recent trip to Malawi. The pigs and pigsty feature in the video. Whilst Levison had said there could be up to 8 or 9 piglets, he’s absolutely delighted that these five have arrived safely and the pig project is growing. In the video, he shows the maize that is being grown. What he doesn’t say is that, because of the huge numbers of children to feed, this maize will only be enough for two weeks. Then they will have to return to sourcing and buying in maize which is a huge job and cost.
But today is a celebration of five healthy piglets and the promise that hard work and some support to set up sustainable projects will enable the people of Ibuluma to have a brighter and better future. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
There are so many things that are happening and I am just hoping they all come together in time for the new term starting.
Everyone in Malawi is working hard on building staff accommodation and checking supplies for the new term as well as setting up income generating projects as well as planting vegetables to eat. Applications for the new teaching positions have been received and are being reviewed. This is in addition to the pastoral work that Levison does for the most vulnerable children and continuing to source supplies for the weekly feeding programme.
Here, Jackie is doing an amazing job with crunching numbers and making the donations we have received go far. There is never enough money for all the wish lists and requests that are needed to support 500+ of the most vulnerable children and young people but we are trying our best. Currently, Jackie is ensuring there is money to buy more text books as well as all the various supplies needed for the accommodation block build, wages and other monthly costs. We really are grateful for all she does.
What am I doing? Sometimes that is difficult to answer lol. Some days, caring responsibilities take over and I don’t have as much time to give as I’d like to our charity, but I can only do my best with the time I have. Other days, I am working hard from morning until evening ticking off jobs on my list as I go. I am trying to make our charity known to more people with the hope that more donations will come in over time. I’m trying to find more sponsors so young people can go to secondary school and have a brighter future. i work closely with Levison and we are a good team. I’m writing blogs, and updating social media as well as liaising with potential donors…. and (when there is time) writing new grant applications. Oh and packing boxes with my husband Stuart who does an amazing job of organising all of the boxes to be packed properly, labelled and taped up ready for the next part of the journey to Malawi.
One of the goals that we are working towards is to help the community we are supporting to be self-sufficient. We have some small projects on the site DonorSee. Here is the income generating pig project link which just needs a few more people to donate and then it will be totally funded. https://donorsee.com/project/23894?share=1
Below is a previous post with details of the students who are looking for a sponsor to help them take up their place at Bright Futures Secondary School. All of these students passed their primary school leavers exams, which is excellent, but they need your help to support them at secondary school contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you so much to everyone who helps and supports us to make lives brighter for the young people, Sarah x
Sustainability and Self-sufficiency are the end goals. Please read today’s blog about how we are trying to help achieve this.
Sarah’s blog 3/7/24
Every day I want to wave a magic wand to do progress all our projects asap. Clearly that doesn’t work and my magic wand has been sent for repair!
One big issue that we have is that no big charities are feeding malnourished children in primary schools that far north. We cannot ignore this issue. We are feeding 500 of the most vulnerable children once a week. They have a substantial, nutritious meal. Some of them are walking 15km-20km for this food. It’s not good enough but all we can afford. We need your help and support with this please as costs keep rising.
We are trying to help set up sustainable projects for a better future for all of them. By planting fruit tree saplings, they will have future food and a sustainable income – being able to sell surplus fruit at the local markets. The same is happening with a chicken project and a pig project – providing future food and income. There are other small projects that will be set up providing jobs, income and food for families. The community needs and wants a hand up not a handout.
We have started using a fundraising site called DonorSee. We have a page on there with several projects posted. The idea is that the more people who donate to your projects, the more visible the projects are to other potential donors. We are conscious that we are asking a lot of our supporters, so this is one way of trying to find new supporters. The majority of the people on DonorSee are in USA.
What I would be really grateful if you could do please… is I need 15 people to each donate £5 (or $5) just a small amount. Login or make an account on DonorSee and just give a small amount and we will move further up the page that others will see our projects….we’ve already received over £1,000 and fully funded 4 projects. Please? It’s always about teamwork and we need you on our team.
I’ve chosen education again for December 5th as it is a core project and something we all feel very strongly about. Thanks to grants and donations from our supporters, Bright Futures Secondary School was opened in November 22.
Currently, there are three classes S1, S2 and S3. In September 2024 there will also be an S4 class. When there are four classes there will need to be several more teachers employed at the school. Therefore, next year’s running costs will be significantly more than this year’s.
One way that the school is planning to be more self-sufficient and have some income to be able to buy their own exercise books, science equipment and money towards trips etc is to set up a Pig Project. Agricultural classes are part of the core curriculum and particularly S2 have a topic on keeping pigs. Future piglets can be sold; the income will be for the school and the students will have practical experience which will be invaluable in the future. Quality education will be the key to a better and brighter future for these students with choices and chances. If you would like to buy a piglet as a Christmas gift for the person who has everything it only costs £45. https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3acontact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for your support, Sarah x
Tomorrow (Tuesday 28/11/23) is known as Giving Tuesday. It started in America, being the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving Weekend. People began donating money, time or talent to charities and other good causes as a way of giving and being thankful for what they had in their lives. Giving Tuesday has grown over the years and is now a recognised day of giving to good causes.
So, this leads me onto our new fundraiser and hoping that you might give to our charity and the good causes we are supporting. Costs keep rising in Malawi and food is becoming more scarce. Hundreds of children are relying on us to feed them a substantial, nutritious meal once a week. That isn’t enough, but it’s all we can do until we can get others partnering with us to provide more.
Food – Please can you help us to keep feeding 500 orphans and other vulnerable children each week? A one off donation would be really helpful or you could set up a monthly donation of £5 or £10 if you’d prefer. https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Fruit Trees – We want the community we support to be self-sufficient. They want that too. Can you please help us? Fruit tree saplings have already been planted a couple of years ago and we want to plant more. This will provide future food for the orphans and other vulnerable children as well as some fruit being sold and bringing in an income. Planting trees and bushes also helps prevent soil erosion during the heavy rains and is good for the planet. Four fruit tree saplings cost £10. Will you support this project please? If you would like to give this as an alternative gift at Christmas or for someone’s birthday then please let me know and I can send a gift card on your behalf. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Pig Project – At Bright Futures Secondary School Agricultural Lessons are part of the core curriculum. The second year students, along with their teacher, are setting up a Pig Project where they will learn to care for and breed pigs. Some of the future piglets will be given to vulnerable people in the community and some piglets will be sold. This income will go back into making the school self-sufficient as they will be able to purchase exercise books and other equipment they need. A piglet costs £45 to purchase. Would you like to buy a piglet? This could make a good alternative gift to buy for the person who has everything! I can send a gift card on your behalf stating what you have bought. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.comhttps://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Sewing – We sent some hand turn sewing machines to Malawi and some of the older girls who have left school have been learning how to make reusable sanitary towels for all who needed them, ensuring all girls do not miss a week of school each month and, therefore, are receiving the same amount of schooling as the boys. Now, we would like to set up two or three of these girls in business so they can start making school dresses and other clothes to sell. Would you like to ensure these girls have a sustainable and better future? £50 will buy fabric that they need. I can send a gift card if you decide to buy this as an alternative Christmas gift. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.comhttps://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Education – Secondary Education in Malawi needs to be paid for. All of the young people at Bright Futures Secondary School would not have been able to afford to continue their education without help and support. Could you pay for a student to attend school for a month please? It costs £25. Or you could become a sponsor to a student for £25 p/m. These vulnerable young people, many of whom are orphans, deserve a better and brighter future. If you would like to pay for this option as part of an alternative Christmas gift, please do let me know and I can send a card to the recipient on your behalf. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
As you can see, we cannot do this alone. It is always about teamwork. Please will you join our team to help support these children as we work towards a sustainable and self-sufficient future for them? They deserve every opportunity to be the best they can be. They deserve choices and chances. They deserve to know they are important and that people care about them. If you would like to support one of the above projects in particular then please do put that project against your name when making a donation, otherwise we will allocate funding between the projects. Many thanks for your continued support. Together we can make a difference and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x Donate here: https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Feeding some of the vulnerable children once a week
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting sweet potatoes as part of their agricultural lessons
Exam time at Bright Futures Secondary School
Giving Tuesday Logo
We keep the Sustainable Development Goals in mind for all of our projects
