poverty Archives

Joanne & Alison’s Fantastic Firewalk

https://gofund.me/c127c5e9 to show your support for Joanne & Alison, two of our fantastic firewalkers http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 25/03/24

What an amazing evening it was last night for our four firewalkers taking part in the charity firewalk event in Milngavie, organised by Allander Rotary Club.

We are going to share Joanne and Alison’s photos and videos first of all. David Braid and Alistair Blair, who are teachers at Balfron High School, want to do a presentation to students at school on Wednesday. We have said we will share their photos and videos after Wednesday. So here goes for Joanne & Alison – thankfully their feet have survived ok…Joanne got a blister and they both had very dirty feet that needed a good wash before bedtime!

Joanne Byrne is my younger (and much braver than me) sister. She owns Killearn Driving School. Joanne has had a rough few years as she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy, several other operations due to infections and is now waiting for reconstructive surgery. She is such an amazingly strong person and I am so proud that she challenged herself to do this firewalk. She was amazing! It’s not the first time she has raised money for Changing Lives Malawi so we are very grateful.

Alison Rennie is Joanne’s best friend and such a lovely person. She is a friend to everyone and always has a big smile. She has issues with her joints and can be very tired due to having lupus. Despite this, Alison was up for a challenge and did brilliantly last night. She had a minor mishap prior to the firewalk….she nearly got stuck in the toilet! She assured us she wasn’t trying to get out of the firewalk but was genuinely worried she would miss it! Thankfully, she made it out on time!

Thank you to everyone who has donated already. If you haven’t then we would be very grateful if you could give a few £££. Their link is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9 Enjoy the photos and videos!

All money will be going towards building a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and buying textbooks. Currently, the teachers are using classroom 4 as their staffroom. However, in September, there will be another intake of students and all four classrooms will be in use for teaching. Also more teachers will need to be employed by September so a staffroom is a necessity for them. As there is no S4 yet, we have no textbooks for next year’s S4 students yet, so this is another essential resource we are fundraising for.

Many thanks to Allander Rotary for organising the event and to Milngavie Guides for hosting. Thank you again to all our supporters and to Joanne & Alison and David & Alistair for being such good sports and taking part to help give vulnerable students a brighter future in rural northern Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x

NB Apologies for the poor quality of some of the photos – smoke from the fire was to blame rather than my bad photography lol.

Alison, Alistair, David and Joanne…. our four fantastic firewalkers!

https://videopress.com/v/0XY2EF68?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Brilliant! Well done Alison!

Great job Joanne…well done!

Brilliant Joanne! The smile says it all!

World Water Day

We are grateful to everyone who has supported us to provide clean drinking water, water for washing hands and showering and latrines for hundreds of children.

Sarah’s blog 22/3/24

On World Water Day we just want to thank all of our supporters who have helped bring water to all the vulnerable children and young people we help to support.

We still have lots to do but, thanks to our supporters and grants we have received, children at Bright Futures Nursery, Chambo Primary School, Bright Futures Secondary School and of course the 500 children who come for a meal at the feeding programme each week, all have clean drinking water.

We would like to thank again The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for their funding to enable us to facilitate using the clean water supply at Chambo Health Centre to lay pipes and provide taps for drinking clean water at Chambo Primary School. By letting us ‘think outside the box’ we made best use of their grant. Thank you to those people who have done sponsored events to raise funds and to others who have made personal donations or shared our posts. You have all made a difference.

As well as clean water to drink, it’s also important that there is clean water & soap for washing hands, proper latrines and there is the shower block where all the young people and staff are able to wash. Thank you all for making this possible, Sarah x

CLM t-shirts for the firewalkers

Sarah’s blog 22/03/24

It’s getting very exciting now! Only two days to go until our four fearless firewalkers get to do their fundraising firewalk on Sunday evening.

If anyone wanted to attend in person, it’s at 7pm at the Guide Hall in Milngavie on Sunday Evening. But don’t worry if you can’t…there will be photos and videos that we will share!

T-shirts with the Changing Lives Malawi logo have arrived and we are looking forward to Sunday evening. Thanks to Allander Rotary Club for organising this event and being so supportive of our charity.

My sister, Joanne Byrne (Killearn Driving School) , and her friend, Alison Rennie, are fundraising for Bright Futures Secondary School to have a staffroom and new textbooks. Their fundraising link is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9

Mr Blair and Mr Braid, teachers from Balfron High School, are giving half of their money to Changing Lives Malawi towards the staffroom and new textbooks, and half of their money raised is going towards next year’s school trip to Zanzibar where 20 students will be doing voluntary work within local communities. To donate to them it’s https://gofund.me/9430b2af

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far….we really appreciate all the help we receive whilst we try to support vulnerable children and young people to be the best they can be and have opportunities they wouldn’t usually have had. Thank you, Sarah x

Our Firewalkers are in the news again!

link to previous article about the firewalk

Mr Braid & Mr Blair, teachers at Balfron High School

Food for Sponsored Children/Young People

Each sponsored child/young person has their own page on our website. Sponsors can visit that page to see photos and information on the young person they sponsor. We need more sponsors for the next intake of S1 students to Bright Futures Secondary School. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 15/3/24

We are so grateful for the monthly contribution that all our sponsors make for the most vulnerable children and young people they help to support.

We are trying to ensure that all sponsored children and young people are more visible. Last year was such a successful but extremely busy year with so much building work going on in Malawi that we didn’t get as many photos as we would have liked. However, we are rectifying that now. Each sponsored young person has their own page on our website. There will be a new photo/information posted at least every three months but, hopefully, more regularly than that on their pages. Sponsors will be able to visit their young person’s page for the most up to date photos/information and it is also a good way to look back at previous photos to see the positive difference your sponsorship is making.

Sponsorship for the young people who are at Bright Futures Secondary School gives them free secondary school education. Without sponsorship, their education would stop after primary school as, in Malawi, secondary education has to be paid for. As well as free education, the students receive a cooked school lunch each day. For most, this is their only proper meal of the day. They also have school uniform, stationery and other school supplies all for free.

For those children and young people not at secondary school, they receive a monthly food parcel that supplements the food already coming into their home. They also receive clothes, shoes, soap etc when available. All children and young people receive regular welfare checks.

There are students in their last year at Chambo Primary School who won’t be able to progress to secondary education without your help and support. Bright Futures Secondary School is only half full currently, however we need more sponsors to be able to help the next S1 intake into Bright Futures Secondary School. Will you help a vulnerable young person please? It’s only £25 per month and you can split that cost with a friend. Please help us to ensure the places in Bright Futures Secondary School are filled so that the most vulnerable students know that they have chances and choices that they wouldn’t previously have had. With your help we can ensure young people have a brighter future for themselves and their families. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

There are a few young people who aren’t in these photos but we hope to have photos of them over the next few days. Thank you everyone who supports these young people. It’s always teamwork and we are grateful that you are part of our team. Sarah x

The Feeding Programme

Sarah’s blog 10/3/24

Today the team fed hundreds of hungry children. Most are orphans. All are very vulnerable and suffering from malnutrition.

No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in rural northern Malawi. Most of these children do not eat properly every day. They go to bed hungry. They go to school hungry. They are tired. They cannot concentrate.

We are a small charity, run by passionate volunteers. We can only afford to feed 500 children a nutritious meal once a week. Some walk from as far as 15km-20km to receive their one proper meal of the week. Life isn’t fair. We need to do more. But we need to build our team as we cannot do everything by ourselves.

If you can commit £5 or £10 per month to support the feeding programme then please set up a monthly payment with these bank details: Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Sort Code 80-22-60, Account Number 21081462 or we would be grateful for single donations too in order that we can keep feeding the children each week as prices are constantly rising and maize is very scarce. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

You will notice that I have zoomed in on one of the photos as a girl has a baby on her back…her younger sibling. Lots of children and young people carry babies to the feeding programme. This baby refused food as he is sick and we hope that the parents have enough money to take the baby to the health centre. As it is the rainy season, malaria is very common from the huge amount of mosquitos.

I’ve struggled to write this tonight as it’s Mothers’ Day here in the UK and I’ve had breakfast, been out for lunch and had a lovely dinner cooked for me and had gifts from my three boys.

The contrast between our lives here and children receiving one proper meal per week is stark. It’s not enough. We must do more. But we need your help. I’ve borrowed some words from others which I thought would help get my message across. Please help if you can, Sarah x

‘Hunger is not an issue of charity, it is an issue of justice.’
Jacques Diouf (former Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation)

‘If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.’
Mother Theresa

‘Hunger is an outrage in a world of plenty.’
Antonio Guterres (Secretary-General of UN)

‘Poverty is a very complicated issue, but feeding a child isn’t.’
Jeff Bridges (Actor)

‘There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.’
Mahatma Gandhi

International Women’s Day

Sarah’s blog 8/3/24

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Invest In Women: Accelerate Progress’.

‘There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.’
Michelle Obama

Thanks to our wonderful supporters, Changing Lives Malawi is making a difference to hundreds of orphans and other young people each day.

Because we believe in equality and inclusion, girls and women have needed more help and support due to the dire poverty they live in. The women and girls are strong; grandmothers caring for grandchildren, widows bringing up six children alone, mother’s caring for disabled children whilst being judged by society as it must be their fault that their child is disabled. When things are so bad, these brave women, who have been strong for so long, need a helping hand to get back on their feet. We try to get their children matched with sponsors so that their is some food going into that home to supplement the meagre amount they have.

The end goal is that all families will have enough to eat, all children will be thriving and in education and the community will be self-sufficient through employment and sustainable projects.

One of the first things that happened is that we sent hand turn sewing machines and fabric to Malawi. A group of girls were shown how to make reusable sanitary towels for all who needed them. This is an ongoing project. Hundreds of girls have and will continue to attend school ALL MONTH the same as the boys. Previously they had to stay at home for one week each month so missed out on a quarter of their education. So equal access to education is improving for girls.

Another way that girls are being helped is that, although illegal, some girls are still at risk of being married off too young, whilst still children, as their families cannot afford to feed them. By matching them with a sponsor, they have food coming into their home and have welfare checks and, of course, access to quality education.

All the young people are desperate for education. They know that this is their way out of poverty. We are ensuring that girls, as well as boys, who wouldn’t normally be able to go to secondary school, receive a quality secondary school education and a cooked school lunch each day. This is free of charge as we match them with sponsors whose monthly contribution of £25 helps pay for their place at Bright Futures Secondary School.

In September, there will be the next intake of S1 students to Bright Futures Secondary School from pupils who are in p8 at Chambo Primary. Very few families can afford to pay for their child’s secondary education at one of the state secondary schools, which is why it was so important that Bright Futures Secondary School was built. However, each of these young people will need to be matched with a sponsor to enable them to attend Bright Futures Secondary School.

If you would like to help a young girl, in her last year of primary school, have the opportunity to be the best she can possibly be by sponsoring her through secondary education then please do get in touch. It’s only £25 per month and the cost can also be split between two friends or a group. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com On International Women’s Day 2024, this might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these girls.

We have good, strong role models in female teachers and staff and, of course, this offers employment and makes women independent in their own right. Also, there are wonderful women who volunteer their time to support the work in Malawi and of course here in Scotland and internationally. I personally want to thank them. I have strong women supporting me everyday and I am grateful and want them to know how much I appreciate them.

So on this International Women’s Day, will you invest in a young woman and accelerate progress? Will you stand up for girls’ education?

‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.’
Maya Angelou

Thank you for your support and hope you enjoy the photos from Bright Futures Secondary School and nursery this morning. Happy International Women’s Day, Sarah x

Miss Chisenga is the humanities teacher at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Miss Mkumbwa, Head Teacher and English Teacher.

Group discussions outside. It’s good to see some sunshine after the heavy rains.

Miss Chisenga, humanities teacher, Miss Mkumbwa, Head Teacher & English Teacher and Miss Siyame, nursery teacher. All are good role models for the vulnerable girls we help to support.

The preschoolers (4-6) enjoy coming to nursery and are fed at each session.

BFSS Essay Competition S3 – February

Lawrence has won February’s S3 essay prize…. well done Lawrence

Sarah’s blog 7/3/24

The S3 students are becoming more confident at writing essays and their writing is giving some very good and useful insights into how hard life is for each of them, how important education is and what they like to do.

Lawrence was the winner of February’s essay prize. Just like so many young people all over the world, he likes listening to music and dreams of being a famous singer.

It has been an amazing achievement that we, as such a small charity, and all our dedicated supporters, have been able to build Bright Futures Secondary School and that the most vulnerable young people are benefitting from a good education that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford.

We have had to concentrate on the necessities like desks and chairs, textbooks and exercise books to start with. We still need to buy textbooks for the new s4 next year (Lawrence and his fellow students). We have provided some basic science equipment but much more is needed. We also need more books on a variety of topics for the library. However, we hope, in time, to be able to provide some art equipment and also some musical instruments to extend and enhance their learning, opportunities and overall school experience.

S4 text books are approximately £10 each. There are 12 subjects and we need at least 15 sets…so that is £1,800. For science we need some electric circuit kits, a molecular model kit for chemistry, some magnet sets, more safetly goggles, various chemicals etc. We’d like to provide pastels, drawing paper and other basic art materials as well as a CD player with a variety of CDs to listen to difference genres of music and eventually some musical instruments and recording equipment. If anyone would like to contribute then please do contact me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It might be that, if you live local to us, your own children might have finished with their circuit sets or CD player etc. Providing things are in very good condition, we would love to repurpose them. Each box we send does cost £17.50 on the container so we do ask for a financial contribution to help towards costs.

I hope you enjoy reading Lawrence’s essay. Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x

Our Firewalkers are in the news again!

Our charity and our brave firewalkers have made the local and national news!!

Sarah’s blog 4/3/24

Well, last week the story of our four amazing firewalkers appeared in our local paper, The Stirling Observer. This week it is in the national paper – The Daily Record. Thank you to both of these newspapers for running this story and raising awareness of our charity and the firewalking event organised by Allander Rotary. The firewalk is taking place in Milngavie on 24th March.

Scots friends take on daring fire walk to raise vital funds towards African charity – Daily Record

We are raising funds for a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and to buy more textbooks. All of the money that my sister Joanne and her best friend Alison raise will go to our charity. Their link to donate is https://gofund.me/c127c5e9

Also, we have Mr Braid and Mr Blair, teachers from our local school – Balfron High School. Their fundraising is half for our charity and half for next year’s school trip volunteering in Zanzibar. Their fundraising link is https://gofund.me/9430b2af

Please show your support for these four brave volunteers as they raise much needed funds. Thank you for your support, Sarah x

Alison Rennie and Joanne Byrne

Allander Rotary Club are organising this firewalk on 24th March in Milngavie

Introducing Our x 4 Charity Firewalkers – please show your support!

Introducing our four amazing firewalkers; Alistair Blair and David Braid – teachers at Balfron High School and Joanne Byrne and Alison Rennie. Good luck and thank you!

Sarah’s blog 27/02/24

Have you ever fancied walking across hot coals? Not me….I’m not brave enough for that! Luckily we have four (willing) volunteers who are going to do just that!

Allander Rotary Club are organising a Firewalk on Sunday 24th March in Milngavie and Changing Lives Malawi is one of their three chosen charities. We are very fortunate to have their support and it’s much appreciated.

Let me introduce our fearless firewalkers!

Team 1 – Joanne Byrne & Alison Rennie

Joanne Byrne (right) is my sister and has raised funds for us before for the shower block and a latrine block. Alison Rennie is Joanne’s best friend and didn’t even hesitate when she was asked if she wanted to take part in this challenge!

All of the money raised by Joanne & Alison will be going towards building a staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School and buying more textbooks for the next intake of students. https://gofund.me/c127c5e9

Team 2 – Alistair Blair & David Braid

DHT Mr Braid (left) and Mr Blair (English Dept)

Mr Blair is a teacher in the English Department at Balfron High School and Mr Braid is one of the Deputy Head Teachers at BHS. We are delighted that they have agreed to do this challenge and we are very grateful for their support.

You can read more about Mr Blair and Mr Braid’s fundraising by clicking on their Go Fund Me link, but half the money they raise will come to Changing Lives Malawi towards the new staffroom and purchasing more textbooks for Bright Futures Secondary School. https://gofund.me/9430b2af

The other half of the money that the teachers will raise is going to the Zanzibar School Trip in 2025. Twenty current S4 students at Balfron High School will be going to work with three local communities supported by Mr Blair and Miss Vickers.

There will be more posts and more information but, as this event is only just over a month away, please donate, please share, please tell your friends and with teamwork we can make a difference to young people who are living in extreme poverty. Education is the way out of poverty and by donating a few £££ these children and young people will have choices, chances and opportunities that they wouldn’t previously have had. There are more photos and information on each team’s Go Fund Me link.

Thank you Joanne, Alison, Alistair and David for agreeing to this challenge and thank you to you all in advance for donating and sharing. You can keep up to date with progress by signing up for my blogs on our website or following us on social media. Thanks, Sarah x

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/blog/

Scotland Malawi Partnership Meeting

Food Insecurity in Malawi – Scotland Malawi Partnership meeting

Sarah’s blog 26/02/24

As Changing Lives Malawi is a member of the Scotland Malawi Partnership, we get notification about various meetings and invitations to attend. Last week there were three sessions I had wanted to listen to but we had lots of germs in our house last week and a child who was off school for a couple of days.

I was really glad to have been able to attend this meeting via zoom. Topics for this meeting included;

Malawi’s Current Food Insecurity Crisis which is impacting 4.2 million people.
The Malawian Parliamentary Women’s Caucus.
Human Rights in Malawi.

There were Malawian MPs, a Human Rights Commissioner and an NGO Board Member as speakers as well as members of Scottish Parliament and lots of charities and third sector representatives.

After listening to the speakers, who were extremely interesting, there was an opportunity to ask questions or make comments. I typed my comment into the text box, as did some others, and I was fortunate to be able to tell the panel about Changing Lives Malawi and the struggles that we face because we are helping such a remote community. There are no big charities feeding children in primary schools in that area. All the children we are helping to support are suffering from malnutrition.

If you’d like to hear me speak, you can skip forward to 49.30. You will hear I’m full of the cold but still speaking out for the thousands of vulnerable children in the rural far north whose voices aren’t heard. I was very thankful to have this opportunity. One day there will be enough food for everyone but until then, I will keep using opportunities like that on behalf of orphans and other vulnerable children who cannot speak up for themselves to say how hungry they are.

If you’d like to help towards feeding hungry children then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you, Sarah x

Introducing Our x 4 Charity Firewalkers – please show your support!

Introducing our four amazing firewalkers; Alistair Blair and David Braid – teachers at Balfron High School and Joanne Byrne and Alison Rennie. Good luck and thank you!

Sarah’s blog 19/02/24

Have you ever fancied walking across hot coals? Not me….I’m not brave enough for that! Luckily we have four (willing) volunteers who are going to do just that!

Let me introduce our fearless firewalkers!

Team 1 – Joanne Byrne & Alison Rennie

Team 2 – Alistair Blair & David Braid

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/blog/

Stuck in the mud – the daily struggle

Sarah’s blog 17/02/24

I wanted to share this photo with you. I wish I had a magic wand I could wave to make things better. This is the reality in rural northern Malawi for the team supporting over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children.

There are no ‘proper’ roads. In the rainy season, they turn to mud. There is no maize to buy….. the situation is serious…no big charities are feeding children in schools in the rural far north so most children are malnourished. We can only afford to feed 500 children once a week – of course it’s not enough – but we are trying to help set up sustainable projects for a better brighter future.

Levison heard about some maize for sale 40km away….. in the towns that would be quite straightforward….not in the rural far north ….. Levison sent this photo….stuck in the mud. It’s a labour of love looking after these children. It would be easy to say that they aren’t able to fetch maize with the road conditions….but the team care about these children so much. They are living in extreme poverty and they are going to bed hungry each night.

If you can spare £5 or £10 per month to commit to helping us with the feeding programme, it would be so appreciated. Rice is available but it is more expensive than maize. The situation is dire. The charity bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Account no 21081462, Sort Code 80-22-60. Or could you make a one off donation to help towards sustainable projects like buying fruit tree saplings or sweet potato vines or other vegetable seeds? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed today and feeling like a huge responsibility for feeding these children is on my shoulders. Life is such a struggle in that part of the world. Please help us build up a bigger team to feed and support hundreds of very hungry children living in extreme poverty. Thanks, Sarah x

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Have you ever fancied walking across hot coals? Not me….I’m not brave enough for that! Luckily we have four (willing) volunteers who are going to do just that!

Let me introduce our fearless firewalkers!

Team 1 – Joanne Byrne & Alison Rennie

Team 2 – Alistair Blair & David Braid

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Have you ever fancied walking across hot coals? Not me….I’m not brave enough for that! Luckily we have four (willing) volunteers who are going to do just that!

Let me introduce our fearless firewalkers!

Team 1 – Joanne Byrne & Alison Rennie

Team 2 – Alistair Blair & David Braid

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