Tag: poverty

More great donations – thank you!

Great donations from Jordanhill Out of School Service, Balfron Primary School and Kelvinside Academy. Thank you for all the support!

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Sarah’s blog 10/06/24

Just a short blog today…Stuart and I were packing boxes this morning ready for them to go to Dundee to await the next container. It won’t go for another few months but the previous container that is on its way will arrive in Malawi very soon.

This morning we were packing up boxes of books for the School Literacy Project. The primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi have hardly any resources. Starting with Chambo Primary school, which has over 500 students in 8 classrooms (only 3 have desks and benches) we are donating boxes of preloved books to help students become confident readers and raise literacy levels.

This evening, we received more books, delivered by Angus Black, Balfron Primary School’s head teacher – I will take photos of these tomorrow – thank you so much.

Also this evening, we had some lovely books donated by Jordanhill Out of School Service. It was very kind of them to come all the way to bring them to my house and great to meet them. Thank you very much for this generous donation! They took away leaflets for the families that use their service and stickers for the children. We are very grateful when people go out of their way to support us and our projects.

Also in this morning’s boxes we packed some great donations of sports kit from Kelvinside Academy. These will be donated to one of the primary schools we support and they will be delighted to receive proper sports kits. Until recently, none of the primary schools had a matching kit. There were holes in all the sports kits too, so when we helped support the rugby tournament last year, the teams from the primary schools were so pleased to receive lovely new matching kits. We are grateful for all donations of sports kit and now this donation from Kelvinside Academy will be on its way to new students. Thank you.

Each box costs £17.50 to send on the container, so if anyone can help us pay for boxes we would be very grateful contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Many thanks to all our donors and supporters, Sarah x

Josie from Jordanhill Out of School Service delivering a great donation of books to Sarah
Thank you to Kelvinside Academy for this generous donation of preloved clothes

Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games – Thank you Allander Rotary

What a great day we’ve had at Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games. Thank you so much to Allander Rotary Club for inviting us and supporting us.

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Sarah’s blog 8/6/24

What a great day we’ve had at Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games. Many thanks to Allander Rotary for inviting us and for supporting Changing Lives Malawi. There were a few heavy showers but most of the day was bright sunshine and there were plenty of people about.

Allander Rotary had an old fashioned game – rolling 10p to try and get it onto a square – with all the proceeds for our charity. The children were really enjoying that and queuing up for a go. We had packs of cards for sale that lots of people were admiring and buying and we handed out lots of leaflets and stickers.

Here are some of the photos from today and, no doubt, there will be a few more to add.

We are so grateful to Allander Rotary members for inviting us along and supporting us. It was a great opportunity to meet more people. Thank you also to Jackie for all her hard work and for her endless enthusiasm. Hope you enjoy the photos, Sarah x

Teamwork! Sarah & Jackie
Setting up for the Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games
Allander Rotary organised this fun fair game which was very popular
Ian, Stuart and Jackie with the games mascot!
Ian and Jackie with Provost Gillian Renwick

Sarah with Pam Gosal MSP

Volunteers Week – a big THANK YOU!

There are so many people to thank during volunteers week – we are grateful to you all.

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Sarah’s blog 7/6/24

I wanted to use this opportunity to thank everyone who helps us. Changing Lives Malawi has no employees, we are all volunteers so you can be sure all money we receive goes to the projects we support in rural northern Malawi.

We have a team of trustees who, as well as making decisions together, collect donated items, pack boxes, drive boxes to Dundee to await the next container, raise funds, etc etc and are generally a great support network. Oh and one helps me with IT issues as my forte is certainly not technology! however I am learning! One of our trustees, Christine Cresswell (my mum), is a talented artist and sells her paintings with all proceeds for our charity. We have had some of her paintings made into cards and selling paintings and packs of cards has raised a great amount of money. christine cresswell artist

A special mention goes to our accountant who volunteers a huge amount of time to keep everything shipshape and makes sure every single penny we receive counts towards the projects we are supporting and keeps us right with budgeting and planning.

We’ve got people who have raised funds for us in various ways – including sponsored walks, fire walks, band & quiz nights – we value every single one of you. Of course, fundraising is ongoing so we are always looking for volunteers to help us raise vital funds. Could you hold an afternoon tea for your friends and family? Could you do a sponsored event? What about an evening event? Or could a school or club raise some much needed funds?

There are too many people to mention who help us – thank you so much – it’s always about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without you. However, there are three groups of people that I want to thank publicly as they really do go above and beyond.

Allander Rotary Club have been supporting us for the last year with fundraising and we will be with them all day tomorrow at Bearsden and Milngavie Highland Games. If you are local then please do pop along to West of Scotland Rugby Club where the Highland Games take place – Saturday 8th June. Thank you to the members of Allander Rotary Club who are all volunteers for the time and effort you put in to support Changing Lives Malawi. allander rotary club

Vets with Horsepower are currently on their annual motorbike tour, volunteering and giving lectures to other vets and sharing their expertise on Equine Medicine. They raise money for different charities each year and we are very thankful to be one of their beneficiary charities this year. It has also been very helpful that they have shared our posts as more people now know about the community we are helping to support in rural northern Malawi. vets with horsepower

Bananabox Trust in Dundee organise the containers that take boxes of aid to Malawi. The people who process the boxes and pack the containers are all volunteers and we are very grateful for their help and support. the bananabox trust

If you would like to get involved and be a volunteer for Changing Lives Malawi then please do get in touch – we always welcome new people to our team! Thanks everyone, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Some of the packs of 8 blank fundraising cards made from original paintings by one of our trustees, Christine Cresswell. We will have these for sale at Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games on Saturday 8th June £5 per pack of 8. They can also be ordered from me at £5 plus p&p.

Another student matched with a sponsor to go to Bright Futures SS

An update on the students who need sponsors to be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School.

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Sarah’s blog 6/6/24

Recently, I shared a post about 18 young people, who were about to leave Chambo Primary School and expected to pass their primary school leavers exams, needing to be matched with sponsors to help support their secondary school education which has to be paid for in Malawi. None of these young people can afford to pay so unless they have help they won’t be able to continue with their education.

I’m delighted to share that 4 of those young people have now been matched with sponsors and will be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School in September. Agness, Silvia, John and Myless all have sponsors and we are very grateful to them for offering to support these young people. Agness was matched today with her sponsor which is why I’m using her picture in this post.

It only costs £25 per month per student, less than £1 per day, and you can sponsor as an individual, split the cost with friends, sponsor as a business or a club… anyone can make a difference to these young people, giving them choices and chances they wouldn’t normally have had…giving them a brighter future.

I have the huge responsibility of trying to match the other 12 young people with sponsors before the end of August, which is only a couple of months away, so that they too can attend Bright Futures Secondary School and receive free education, school uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day – for most this is the only meal that most of them have each day so your support is vital for their wellbeing.

Here is the link to the previous post with all the young people who need your help. Please do contact me if you want be a helping hand for one of these vulnerable young people contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you to each and every one of our sponsors… your generosity really does help. Please do get in touch if you’d like more info or to tell me you’d love to help. Thanks, Sarah x

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/05/23/sponsors-needed-for-p8-students/

If you haven’t seen our small fundraisers on DonorSee please do click on the link. Thanks, Sarah x

S2 Exams & Successful Grants

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Sarah’s blog 3/6/24

The Malawi National Junior Certificate of Education exams start tomorrow. These are formal exams taken at the end of S2. Here are some of the S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They’ve been to register and get their IDs today and Levison has given out more school uniform as they have 6 full days of exams to do and each student only had one white shirt.

They are thankful for their new water bottles and stationery they were given last week all of which will be very useful for them as they do their exams. I had bought a batch of water bottles, pens, pencils, erasers & sharpeners plus small bars of soap and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Each water bottle was filled with these gifts and Levison gave them out recently. As you can see, there were lots of happy students. Small gifts like these help to keep them motivated and let them know we are thinking about them. Good luck to the S2 students in their exams.

Almost every week I am writing grant applications in the hope of getting money that hundreds of other small charities are also applying for. Lots don’t reply. Some reply to say ‘sorry’ they have a large number of applicants etc etc. but this week has been an extremely good week as there have been three successful responses. Very many thanks to the following for supporting us to help support the orphans and vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi;

  1. The Gilchrist Trust gave £1,000 towards text books for the new S4 class at Bright Futures Secondary School that will be needed in September.
  2. CB & HH Taylor Trust donated £1,000 towards purchasing fruit tree saplings for a new School Orchard Project.
  3. The Souter Charitable Trust sent a cheque today for £3,000 for a solar panel kit for one of the new buildings and also solar lamps for students.

We are so grateful to individuals who support us and also organisations like the above who support our work and the work happening in Malawi.

We have also joined DonorSee where we are trying to reach out to a new audience. So far we have had three small projects fully funded which we are delighted about. There are some more projects that we have uploaded so, if you’d like to donate a small amount please create an account and login to donate. If you could leave us a review that would really help others to see and trust us. Thank you. https://donorsee.com/project/23641?share=1 is the link for the Chicken Project and the link to view all of the small projects we have on DonorSee just now is DonorSee .

We are still looking for sponsors to support these students who have just finished p8 at Chambo Primary. Unless they have someone to help pay for their secondary education, they will need to look for jobs in the fields as that is their education over. Will you be a sponsor please? It’s only £25 per month contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Here is the link to a recent post with photos of all the students who need your help for a brighter future. Please help if you can. We always say it’s teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without you. Thank you so much, Sarah x

Sponsors needed for p8 students

CLM is 5 years old today!

Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old! Thanks for your support and here’s to the next 5 years!

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Sarah’s blog 29/5/24

Happy 5th birthday to us! Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old today. We are very grateful for all the support we have had along the way and thankful for everyone who has sponsored a vulnerable child or young person.

A lovely happy birthday message from some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School

Here are a few highlights;

  • 500 children and young people are being fed a nutritious meal once a week at the Feeding Programme. This is the only proper meal of the week for some and children are walking 15km-20km to receive this food. Some young people carry their younger siblings with them. Once a week isn’t enough but all we can afford while we are helping with setting up other projects. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in that area so most are malnourished and all are hungry.
  • All who need them have been given reusable sanitary towels so they don’t miss a week of school every month. Girls now have equality with regards to their education and school attendance. These sanitary towels have been made by a group of girls who have been using the hand turn Singer sewing machines we sent. They want to start making clothes to sell.
  • up to 75 pre-school children attend Bright Futures nursery and are being fed breakfast each day.
    • Vulnerable young people, whom we match with sponsors, are able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School free of charge. BFSS was built with the help of our supporters and opened in November 2022. More sponsors are needed for the students that want to take up their places in September 2024 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s less than £1 per day. Students receive a free education, uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day.
    • There is clean drinking water, and a shower block for all the young people to use.
    • Our school literacy project is supplying primary schools with boxes of preloved books to help students become more confident readers and to raise literacy levels.
    • Fruit tree saplings have been planted for a sustainable future food source.
    • Crops have been planted to be used in the feeding programme and students are learning how to care for them and the chickens as part of their agricultural lessons.
    • Mother & baby project – we have some very talented people knitting beautiful blankets and clothes for the new babies on the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre. The mums are extremely grateful for these beautiful things. If they go back a few weeks later, they are given other gifts for their babies and this is another chance for health professionals to see that mother and baby are well.

The above are just some of the ways that your support goes to help the most vulnerable people in Ibuluma. It’s always about teamwork and we very much appreciate everyone’s support.

There is still so much that needs to be done to help this community to get back on its feet. They want to be self-sufficient and just need a helping hand to get there. We will continue reaching out to try to connect with more people over the next five years so that there is a bigger team enabling more work to be done.

Thanks also to the core team of volunteers – you are an amazing support!

We have a few projects on DonorSee that we are raising money for and would appreciate your help. If you could ‘follow’ and give us a review on DonorSee that would be great, as it helps us get seen by more potential donors.

https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1

DonorSee

Thank you all again and here’s to the next five years! Sarah x

Vets with Horsepower Charity

Vets with Horsepower have given us an amazing opportunity and we are very excited about this partnership.

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Sarah’s blog 26/5/24

We are over the moon and so grateful to be one of the chosen charities for the Vets with Horsepower trip this year. https://www.vetswithhorsepower.com/

We will be posting more about this exciting opportunity over the next few days and weeks. Please have a look at the short animation that will introduce what Vets with Horsepower is all about.

Wishing the Vets on Horsepower a safe journey and a successful trip. We will be following your progress. Thank you again, Sarah x

https://fb.watch/siVz5MLZO5 – a short animation about Vets with Horsepower

This is what they have posted on their facebook page today: Many of us live in societies in which having the latest mobile phone is considered to be an important ambition… a recent appeal by Changing Lives Malawi was either heartwarming or heartbreaking- depending on your view point. Their appeal was simply for pencils and paper for their school. That was it. Pencils and paper. Because they didn’t have enough for the students, so the students could learn.

CHANGING LIVES MALAWI is a new charity for Vets with Horsepower and we are delighted to be involved.

Changing Lives Malawi was started in 2019 to support the people who live in Ibuluma which is a village in an impoverished rural area of Northern Malawi.

The aim of the charity is to help this community improve their lives by working towards self-sufficiency mainly through education.

Initially they started with a variety of projects:-

1 – A Feeding Programme for over 500 children (they could not learn if they have nothing to eat)

2 – A Literacy Programme (they could not learn if they have nothing to read)

3 – A Preloved Uniform Programme (they would not attend school in just rags)

4 – A Period Poverty Programme (providing reusable sanitary products so girls did not miss a week of schooling each month)

5 – A Sponsored Children Programme (ensuring monthly food parcels a given to the most desperate children so they can attend school and not have to work to get food for the family)

These projects have all made a difference to the community, but it became clear that a big issue was secondary education.

In Malawi, Primary School education is paid for by the Government. However Secondary School must be paid for. Their nearest secondary school is in Chisenga 20km away. Due to lack of quality roads/public transport pupils who are successful in getting a place (there are not enough places available) need to board adding extra costs that most families cannot afford.

In the summer of 2022, 8 of the sponsored children passed their leaving certificates for Primary School but were unsuccessful in obtaining a place at Chisenga Secondary School.

They decided that to ensure that these children did not miss out on their next stage of education, a Secondary School should be build at The Foundation. It was a huge undertaking for the charity, but they understood the difference it would make to the community. It would also compliment the nursery that had already been set up and be a bonus to the local Primary School in Chambo, 1km away.

After a massive fundraising campaign on 7th November 2022, The Bright Futures Secondary School opened its door to its first pupils. The school is funded through the sponsorship of students.

For the 22/23 Academic year the school had 2 Classrooms and an S1 and S2 pupils. During this year they raised more funds to build 2 more classrooms so for the 23/24 Academic year they could have S1, S2 and S3 pupils.

At the end of S2 the pupils sit their Junior Certificate of Education. If this certificate is obtained, they can progress to S3. ALL the pupils in S2 passed their exams and were able to move up in to S3. It was a huge achievement for such a new school and a credit to the determination of the pupils and teachers.

Being such a rural location accommodation for teachers is very difficult to find.

In the first year with 2 classes, the school needed to have 5 teachers. They built accommodation for them. In the second year with 3 classes the school needed to have 7 teachers. They have built additional accommodation for the teachers.

However in the third year when the school will have 4 classes, the school needs to have a minimum of 12 teachers. They therefore need to build another accommodation block to ensure we meet the requirements of the Education Board and are able to keep providing opportunities for the pupils and the wider community.

With a sizeable proportion of the funds raised and the support from Vets with Horsepower, they will ensure that the project is completed.

Pencils and paper…..

(and this is the appeal they are talking about) https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1

(this is the link to their facebook post)

https://fb.watch/siVz5MLZO5 – a short animation about Vets with Horsepower

Community Magazine Article – Allander Rotary, Allander Probus, Scotland Malawi Partnership & Changing Lives Malawi

Four organisations, working together to support some of the most vulnerable people in northern Malawi to self-sufficiency and sustainability.

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Sarah’s blog 24/5/24

The Rotary Club of Allander (Milngavie) have been supporting Changing Lives Malawi in a variety of ways over the past year and we are very grateful for their support. We are attending Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games with them on Saturday 8th June, so if you are attending the event, please come and say ‘hello’.

In March, I was invited as a guest of Stuart Sharkie, President of Allander Rotary, to attend a talk on Malawi at The Probus Club of Allander. We were both made extremely welcome by William Ho, President of The Probus Club and all the other members.

Changing Lives Malawi is a member of The Scotland Malawi Partnership which promotes positive relationships and connections in Scotland and Malawi where people in both countries can learn from each other and work collaboratively. Chad Morse, is Deputy Chief Executive of The Scotland Malawi Partnership and was giving the talk. This was the first time I had met Chad in person and his talk was fascinating as he and his family had lived in Malawi for many years.

As well as benefitting from hearing Chad’s talk about the work of the SMP and his time of living in Malawi, he had some wonderful photos of the beauty of Malawi. There was also an opportunity to chat with people and I met some lovely people.

William arranged for an article to appear in Bearsden & Milngavie’s Community Magazine and he has sent me a copy of it as it was delivered yesterday. I’m thankful for the opportunities and support that The Rotary Club of Allander, The Probus Club of Allander and The Scotland Malawi Partnership have given to Changing Lives Malawi and I hope that we can all continue supporting the hundreds of vulnerable children, and their community, through a variety of projects with the end goal being sustainability and self-sufficiency.

Stuart, William and Chad – thank you for your support of our work. I’m grateful for your help and kindness. I always say it’s about teamwork and, little by little, our team is expanding.

I’ve included the link to two recent blogs I have written to give examples of some of our projects, then the magazine article and photo. If anyone would like to get involved then please let me know contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Two new video appeals
Sponsors needed for p8 students
l-r: Stuart Sharkie, William Ho, Sarah Black, Chad Morse

MYEBOOK – Community Magazine – Bearsden & Milngavie – June 2024

Sponsors needed for p8 students

Sponsors needed to support these vulnerable students to get to secondary school! http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

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Sarah’s blog 23/05/24

***SPONSORS NEEDED for P8 students***

Students in their final year at Chambo Primary School started their national primary school leavers exams yesterday and we wish them the very best of luck.

We are hoping, with your help, that this isn’t the end of the road for their education. Imagine passing your exams but being so poor that you couldn’t go to secondary school.

None of these young people can afford to go to secondary school, which needs to be paid for in Malawi. These 18 students are all expected to pass their exams. We now need to match these vulnerable students with sponsors to help pay for their education at Bright Futures Secondary School. It’s only £25 per month per student. This pays for their education, uniform, stationery and a cooked school lunch each day – for many this is their only proper meal of the day.

Let’s help give these young people the brighter future they want and deserve. If you would like to make a difference to a young life please get in touch. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

NB – the older these students are, the poorer their family is. They have missed big chunks of school to try to earn a living to by food. They have missed out so much of their childhood. Let’s give them a Brighter Future!

Myless Ng’ambi had dropped out of school due to family circumstances but they managed to get her back to school which is why she is 17 already. She (like the others) is desperate for an education. I am delighted to have matched her with a sponsor, so providing she passes her exams, she will be attending Bright Futures Secondary School in September.

Seventeen more young people are still needing your help! You can sponsor as an individual, share the cost with a friend/s or family, or a business can sponsor a young person or a school, church or club could share the costs. It might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these young people. Thank you, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Child Sponsorship/P8 Chambo Primary

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Sarah’s blog 20/5/24

Morning everyone! I’d said that, as our 5th birthday is coming up at the end of May, I would be highlighting some of our projects. We have received lots of preloved books recently for our School Literacy Project which will have a big impact on literacy levels. We are collecting another big donation of books from Strathblane Primary School today and are very grateful for their support.

Most of the orphans and vulnerable children we support attend Chambo Primary School where there are over 500 children across 8 classrooms. The students in p8 are about to start their national exams on Wednesday. They cannot go to secondary school unless they pass all these exams. Even if they pass these national exams, unless they have the funds they cannot attend secondary school as only primary education in free in Malawi. None of the children we help to support can afford school fees. So should they only have access to primary education because they are living in extreme poverty?

https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1 This is a link to our fundraiser to supply the students with stationery at Chambo Primary School. Please click on the link to see the video. A generous donor has agreed to match what we raise up to the total of $200. Please support this project.

With a lot of help from our supporters, we built Bright Futures Secondary School for the most vulnerable students. We have generous supporters who have kindly agreed to support students through their 4 years at secondary school. It costs £25 per month and this helps pay towards their education, a cooked school lunch each day, school uniform and stationery. However, Bright Futures Secondary School has lots of space for more students.

So, highlighting our Child Sponsorship Project, we need to find more kind hearted sponsors to enable more of the young people who live in extreme poverty to go to Bright Futures Secondary School. Will you sponsor a young person? Or a group of friends could share the cost? It might be the most important thing anyone does for that vulnerable young person. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Please, please help us fill Bright Futures Secondary School with sponsored students giving them opportunities for a much brighter future. Silvia, Elizabeth and John are all expected to do well in their exams…please give them a chance. Through education, these children can be the brighter future for their community. Thank you, Sarah x

Food parcels for some of the sponsored children & YP

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Sarah’s blog 13/05/24

As you know, every month, sponsored children and young people are given a food parcel to supplement the food in their homes. Sometimes there can be a bit of delay in getting the food to them, especially during the rainy season. Food is so scarce at the moment, has gone up in price and heavy rains cause issues and delays. When it is raining heavily, most of the children will stay at home, especially if they have rivers to cross and it is just too unsafe to do so.

Levison and team have to source enough maize and it then has to be collected and paid for. The maize needs to be milled, which is more expense. A maize mill in the village has been everyone’s wish for a very long time. This would provide jobs and save the long journey that so many of the children make to the nearest maize mill, putting themselves at risk of attack.

Anyway, here are the photos Levison has sent. Thank you to those of you who sponsor a young person….you are making a big difference to their lives. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child. You could sponsor as an individual or could a group of 5 friends each pay £5 per month to sponsor a young person? Or could a class, group or congregation sponsor a young person? It might be the most important thing anyone does for that child. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for supporting the children, Sarah x

Say ‘no’ to child marriage

Can you help us save some vulnerable teenage girls from becoming child brides? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

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Sarah’s blog 10/05/24

The young people we help to support are so vulnerable and life is extremely hard for them. Levison and team are doing an amazing job, working tirelessly to try to give hundreds of children and young people a brighter future.

Maria was at risk of being married off at age 11 because her grandparents couldn’t afford to feed her. Imagine being so desperate that you’d allow an 11 year old to get married to a man. It’s just beyond comprehension. Young girls are far more likely to die during childbirth or have lifechanging injuries.

We have been thankful that sponsors have come forward to support the most vulnerable girls and that they now have a monthly food parcel going into their home to supplement the meagre supplies they already have.

However, Levison has had an extremely trying time over the past few days. One of the sponsored young people isn’t well. Levison found out that the parents were going to take him to a witchdoctor. He spoke with the parents and said that they should take him to the health centre. Levison also spoke with the village chief and he agreed that any sick children should, in the first instance, be taken to the health centre. This will be communicated to the community.

Levison also found out, when he was doing welfare checks at sponsored children’s homes, that two of the young teenage sponsored girls were being married off to men. Arrangements were already underway. Levison went to see the village chief and councillors about this illegal practice. One of the men involved has fled to Zambia. The village heads are going to remind the community about this not being allowed and that parents/carers will be taken to court. For now, these girls are safe. But the situation with families struggling is always in the background. Attitudes to child marriage need to change.

However, there are many girls, like Maria, who have been saved by having a sponsor to support them and through the selfless work and caring attitude of Levison and team. Also, through sponsorship and education, girls who are in school are less likely to become pregnant. Many girls have been saved from becoming teenage mothers by being in full-time education.

We need more sponsors to protect more girls. If you would like to help a vulnerable girl have a secondary education and a brighter future then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Please help us prevent more child marriages by sponsoring a girl who needs our help. It’s only £25 per month which is less than £1 per day. You can share that cost with a friend to ensure that as many girls as possible are saved from being child brides. Please help them have a place at Bright Futures Secondary School and choices and chances that they don’t currently have. It might be the most important thing you ever do for them. Thank you, Sarah x

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