Tag: poverty

Chambo Primary has clean water!

Thanks to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust, Chambo Primary School now have a clean water supply.

Sarah’s blog 20/08/23

Another great news story!

Months ago we applied to The Kitchen Tables Charities Trust on behalf of Chambo Primary School. The criteria for their grant was to help primary schools and, as most of the younger children we help to support attend Chambo Primary, we decided to try to help them.

There are 8 classes at the school and only one classroom has desks and benches. There are no latrines and no clean running water for the students to drink or wash their hands. Chambo Health Centre is a short distance away and we paid for a survey to be done to ensure it was viable to tap into the Health Centre’s water supply and pipe it to the primary school.

We were awarded a £6,000 grant to be split between clean water and supplying desks and benches for another couple of classrooms. The water project is almost complete…just the concrete bases to put round the three taps at the primary school. It was such hard work digging the ditch from the Health Centre to the school. It is the dry season now so the ground is hard. They had to wet the ground to make it a bit easier to dig. Some of the young people wanted to help, as you can see from the photos, and also some of the apprentices were paid to help with digging the ditch.

We feel very humbled to have been able to help in this small way. All we did was fill in the grant application and the hard work has been carried out in Malawi. Thank you so much to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for entrusting us to carry out the work to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. They may not have anyone feeding them in school yet, but having clean water to drink and wash their hands is a great start in changing their lives for the better.

Enjoy these photos and videos – I’m sure there will be more to come once the children start back to school on 11th September. Now the clean water project has been completed, Levison will engage carpenters to make the desks and benches with the remaining grant money. The plan is that the apprentices will be allowed to help the carpenters with some of the easier tasks.

Gracious Nyondo, who is in p8, is the boy in the video who is thanking the donors for bringing clean water. Mr Enock Nyondo is the headteacher. As well as thanking the donors he says that they used to have to draw water from a well or the river and is delighted that they no longer have to do this and that the children have clean water to drink.

Things we take for granted make a HUGE difference. We are so happy to see that things are changing, bit by bit, for the most vulnerable children. They deserve so much more. Thanks for reading and supporting us, Sarah x

Levison (blue Maple Leafs t-shirt) discussing the height for the taps with the plumbers
Gracious Nyondo, in p8, thanks us and the donors for the clean water at Chambo Primary
Enock Nyondo, Headteacher at Chambo Primary is thankful for clean water at the school
Enjoying clean running water

100% exam pass rate S2 BFSS

Amazing exam results at Bright Futures Secondary School! Congratulations!

Sarah’s blog 18/8/23

We are all absolutely delighted with the news that all of the students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School have passed their S2 national exams.

This is a huge achievement for several reasons;

  1. Bright Futures Secondary School (classrooms 1 & 2) didn’t open until 7/11/23 so they haven’t had a full school year.
  2. Resources have been limited.
  3. These are some of the most vulnerable teenagers in Malawi. Many are orphans. Most are older as they have missed out big chunks of school to try to earn money to feed themselves.
  4. No big organisations are feeding children & young people in primary schools in this area so, until they started at secondary school, they weren’t eating properly every day. Most young people in this area are malnourished.
  5. At Bright Futures Secondary School students receive a free cooked lunch each day. This might be their only proper meal each day.

Teachers have worked hard with the students and organised study classes after school and for a few days during the Easter holidays. It is dark every day at 6pm so unless students had a candle or small torch they wouldn’t be able to study at home during the evenings. Students have now been gifted solar lamps for home use.

Congratulation to the students, to the teachers and to Levison for overseeing the whole project. It is even more vital that phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School is completed by mid September so that these students can continue their learning journey in S3. If you can, please donate to https://gofund.me/ece5753a as we need to continue building on this success. Thanks for supporting us to support the students, Sarah x

Keeping the fires burning

The kiln is kept alight all night.

Sarah’s blog 16/8/23

There is a huge amount of work happening currently. The foundations are being laid for the next classroom block…. no machinery….just hard work. Bricks have been made by hand and, after drying, have been stacked into kilns ready to burn. All the wood was gathered – ox and cart had to be hired as the area was inaccessible to the truck.

Last night, a group of men stayed up all night, each being responsible for keeping one of the many fires going under the brick structure which was then covered in mud. The fires are now out and the bricks will take up to two weeks to finish baking and cooling down. Thank you to everyone who has donated towards Bright Futures Secondary School phase 2 project. We appreciate all your help. We had grants towards phase 2 from The Rhododendron Trust, The Archer Trust and The Inverclyde Trust for which we are very grateful.

However, we haven’t reached our target yet and would love it, if you are able, to make a donation to our fundraiser https://gofund.me/ece5753a We still need a roof, windows, a door and text books.

In addition to this, work has started on digging the trench to take water from Chambo Health Centre to Chambo Primary School meaning the children will have clean drinking water for the first time. The funding for this project is thanks to The Kitchen Tables Charity Trust who gave us a grant to help the primary school. There is also money to make some desks and benches too.

Yesterday, I received word that The Eleanor Rathbone Trust had kindly given us £1,000 towards building latrines at Chambo Primary School. We are grateful for all the people who are trusting us with their money to improve the lives of hundreds of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi.

Enjoy the photos and video of the progress from the team in Malawi, Sarah x Lots of hard work!

Bright Futures SS – Phase 2 -Foundations

So much hard work as it’s all done without machinery
The bricks are made and left to dry, then stacked with gaps at intervals. The structure is covered in mud and fires lit making a kiln to bake the bricks. It will take up to two weeks for the bricks to cool down enough to use.
Each fire has a man responsible for ensuring it burns all night

Lots of hard work!

lots of hard work being done to ensure the bricks are fired and the foundations are laid for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School.

Sarah’s blog 13/8/23

Here are some photos and videos of the work progressing on phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. The builders have worked so hard to lay the foundations for the next classrooms. There is no machinery. Everything has to be done by hand. They have now started pouring the cement to fill the foundations….this will take a few days to do….here a cement mixer lorry would be able to do this job easily.

Bricks have been made by hand and have been drying. They now need to be baked in kilns. The bricks are being stacked, leaving holes underneath where fires will be set after the kiln structure is covered in mud. The fires will burn all night and then it will take up to two weeks for the bricks to be cool enough to use.

A large amount of wood is being gathered to ensure the fires are kept alight. Unfortunately, where the wood is being gathered, the terrain is not suitable for the truck, so oxen have had to be hired to help transport the wood. Nothing is straightforward and is extremely labour intensive with everyone working as a team. https://gofund.me/ece5753a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

As the classrooms are built in a block of two, the foundations are being prepared for classrooms 3 and 4. However, as funds are limited we are potentially just building classroom 3 and completing classroom 4 at a later date. Planning is difficult when we are so dependant on the generosity of people supporting us and, therefore, supporting the orphans & vulnerable teenagers in Malawi.

If you are able, please give to our fundraiser to ensure that education continues for the next class of teenagers wanting to start at Bright Futures Secondary School next month. These are some of the most vulnerable teenagers in Malawi, living in extreme poverty. Education is their best way out of such poverty, giving them choices and chances for a brighter future. https://gofund.me/ece5753a Enjoy the photos and videos and please support this project if you can. As we are volunteers, all money donated goes to the projects we support, so you can be sure you will be making a difference and helping us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x

Bright Futures SS – Phase 2 -Foundations

Brick Making Videos

https://videopress.com/v/1pwog8gE?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Joanne’s July Journey

Please show your support for Joanne who is fundraising for a new classroom for Bright Futures Secondary School. Read today’s blog to find out how brave and strong she is.

Sarah’s blog 31/07/23

My sister is amazing. My sister is strong, brave and determined. She has been through so much in the last few years; finding out she had breast cancer, having her breast removed, several operations, lots of infections, not to mention the mental trauma of all of that.

Whilst she was waiting for her original surgery, she raised money towards the shower block by doing a walking challenge. Now, whilst she is waiting for reconstruction surgery and needing to reduce her BMI slightly, she has taken on another challenge for us. Thank you Joanne.

Bright Futures Secondary School opened last year with two classrooms. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi and none of the teenagers we help to support could afford this. There will be another intake of vulnerable teenagers wanting to start at Bright Futures Secondary School in September, but we need to build another classroom. As there will be more students, we also need to build another toilet block. Will you help us?

She set herself the challenge of walking 200km in July….she’s almost finished…5km left to go and this is her last day. It’s pouring with rain here today, so she would welcome some support. Can you help?

Joanne’s fundraising link is here: https://gofund.me/91721cad If you could spare a few £££ it would be much appreciated. Joanne has taken photos from her walks round the village of Killearn where she lives. If you are a business in Killearn who would like to support Joanne we will give you lots of mentions on social media. We welcome businesses partnering with us to help support the hundreds of orphans we help in rural northern Malawi.

Hope you enjoy Joanne’s photos and please support her if you can. Thank you, Sarah x

Thank you Allander Rotary

Thanks to Allander Rotary Club for their generous donation

Sarah’s blog 30/07/23

I was invited to speak at a meeting of The Allander Rotary Club last month and the response to the photos and videos I showed was really positive. They were really interested in the progress that is being made in Malawi through the various projects we help to support.

One way that they have been able to help us is by donating a laptop and three ipads, all of which are nearly new. These were delivered yesterday along with some football kit.

We are extremely grateful for this support and the laptop and ipads will be used to support learning at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Our fundraiser for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School is https://gofund.me/ece5753a and if you can spare a few £££ towards the next classroom and toilet block to ensure the next intake of vulnerable students have a classroom we would be very appreciative. Thanks for supporting us, Sarah x

Some orphans learning how to use the computers in Emma’s Rainbow Library at The Foundation. The laptop and three ipads will be great additional resources.

Please help!

please help us to help some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi. http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 29/07/23

This isn’t a long blog tonight. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed today, as there is so much to do, so as the saying goes ‘a picture paints a thousand words’. Please help if you can. Thanks, Sarah x

https://gofund.me/ece5753a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thanks for the t-shirts West Group!

Thank you West Group Technical Services

Sarah’s blog 26/07/23

Levison and his helpers arrived back safely yesterday afternoon from Ekwendeni with all the boxes and parcels. Boxes will be opened over the next few weeks and a bit at a time. The first box to be opened contained workwear that had been kindly donated by West Group Technical Services. They replace clothes for their staff each year and asked us if we could make use of their preloved uniform.

Members of staff and apprentices were delighted to receive a polo shirt each today with the West Group logo. There are still sweatshirts and fleeces that will be given out when the weather is a bit cooler. We would like to thank West Group Technical Services for their generosity and for partnering with us in this way to make a difference to the young people we are helping to support.

Most of the young apprentices we help to support are helping care for the goats and crops. Jean is becoming competent at sewing and cooking and Loveness supports the preschool children in the nursery and also coaches team sports. Soon, some of these young people will be helping on the project to bring clean water from the health centre to Chambo Primary School. Anold is Levison’s right hand man and supervises the apprentices and other young people who are learning how to grow crops.

West Group Technical Services are a growing, well respected electrical contractor based in central Scotland and their website link is https://www.westgrouptechnical.co.uk Thank you again for supporting our young people, Jack Lyon and team.

Hope you enjoy looking at the photos and there will be more photos soon when other boxes have been opened. Thanks, Sarah x

before receiving their new t-shirts from West Group

Container 11 has arrived!

The container has arrived and been unloaded

Sarah’s blog 24/07/23

It’s a long process to send boxes to Malawi. Firstly, we take the boxes to Dundee to The Bananabox Trust warehouse. When their warehouse is full of boxes (from individuals and other organisations) they order a container which goes to Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. We are charged £17.50 per box to cover the cost of the container. It takes approximately 3 months for the container to arrive in Ekwendeni which is still several hours drive south of where The Foundation is.

Levison and two helpers left last Wednesday to be in Ekwendeni for Thursday when they were hoping the container would be there. Unfortunately, the lorry that the container was on broke down and only arrived this morning. So there has been a lot of wasted time, waiting around, and a lot more expense for meals and overnight accommodation.

However, this morning, the waiting was over and the container was opened. The boxes and other items were all unloaded and handed to the people from charities and organisations who were there patiently waiting to collect them. It’s always a good time to catch up with friends and acquaintances when everyone gathers on container day and Levison was able to spend time with several people he knows.

Once they were sure they had everything safely, it was time to pack the truck. They are now on their way home with all the boxes which will be opened over the next few weeks. Levison is also delivering boxes to a football coach in Chitipa on behalf of Community Sports Leaders Africa (who donated the netball posts in recent photos). There are resources for Bright Futures Secondary School, lots of baby knitting and primary school uniform donations as well as three big boxes of school shoes from charity https://www.salsshoes.com for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They will be amazed and delighted when they see the gifts and resources that have been sent.

We want to thank The Bananabox Trust in Dundee for their hard work in organising the container and the volunteers who label the boxes and pack the container and everyone in Ekwendeni who helps on container day. It’s difficult for Levison, travelling from a long distance away, to collect the boxes we send (most people are local to Ekwendeni or Mzuzu) but we are very grateful for those friends who give of their time and offer assistance to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

We are looking forward to bringing more photos when boxes are opened and of the progress of building the next phase of the school. My sister, Joanne, has been doing a wonderful job with her walking challenge in July. She is trying to raise money towards the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School whilst facing personal challenges. Her story and the link to her fundraiser is here https://gofund.me/91721cad . If you can share a few £££ then please do head over to her fundraising page to keep encouraging her towards the end of her challenge. Showing your support will make all the difference to her and to the orphans in Malawi who need another classroom. Many thanks for all the support so far, Sarah x

Levison surrounded by boxes
some of the donations from Community Sports Leaders Africa
Levison’s truck
The container arriving at Ekwendeni

Three little birds

Happy, Moreen & Shalon were delighted to be allowed to hold the new chicks

Sarah’s blog

Further to my post about the 68 chicks that had hatched in the incubator, unfortunately 4 haven’t survived….but that is still leaving 64 chicks so we hope those are all strong enough to survive and grow.

We thought you’d like to see these photos…. three little birds….and also three children holding the three little birds. Happy Chanya (age 9, p2), Moreen Mbale (age 8, p2) and Shalon Ng’ambi (age 6, p1) all enjoyed being the first to hold the new chicks. Happy, Moreen and Shalon all need sponsors if anyone is able to help them please. It’s £25 p/m to sponsor a child which ensures they have clothes and a monthly food parcel in addition to the feeding programme and they also receive welfare checks. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thanks for supporting us to help hundreds of children like these, Sarah x

68 baby chicks!

More bricks!

Happy, Moreen and Shalon all need a helping hand

Update – Bright Futures Secondary School – phase 2

https://gofund.me/ece5753a We really need your help to have phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School ready for the next intake of students. Please help?

Sarah’s blog 15/07/23

Thousands of bricks are being made for classroom 3 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Classroom 3 needs to be completed and ready for the new term starting in September 2023. Land is starting to be prepared today. Foundations will be done for classrooms 3 and 4 but, currently, we only have enough funds for classroom 3. As long as classroom 3 is built then classroom 4 can be completed at a later date. Thank you so much to The Inverclyde Trust for their generous donation of £4,000 towards phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School.

We also need funds for latrines and more teachers’ accommodation, so need to raise approximately £10,000 for these to ensure there are enough toilet facilities for the extra intake of new students and also accommodation for the extra teachers that need to be employed.

Will you help us to ensure this happens please? Can your company help sponsor this? Your name can be painted on a building. Can you donate £500 or more and you can have your name (or someone else’s name) above the classroom door? or above the doors of the teachers’ accommodation? or how would you like to sponsor a toilet? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com £10 x 200 people will pay for a toilet block…. will you donate £10 or more towards new toilets? Privacy, safety, dignity and hygiene are priceless and something every teenager deserves….especially the girls need to have safe, adequate toilet facilities. Will you help us help them? https://gofund.me/ece5753a We cannot do this on our own. We always say it takes teamwork. Will you be part of our team? Can you spare a few £££? Please? If enough people will help then we will reach our target. The students need us.

During the first year of opening it was decided that there would only be very vulnerable students who wouldn’t have to pay school fees, or for uniform, school supplies or school lunches. The majority of places at Bright Futures Secondary School will still be for these vulnerable students. However, from September 2023 there will be ten places in each year group for fee paying day students which will help towards expenses at the school. These fees still won’t be as much as other schools charge but will provide an option for those who can afford to pay to send their children to Bright Futures Secondary School if it is nearer than the other secondary schools. Bright Futures Secondary School has smaller class sizes than other secondary schools and offers computer lessons and encourages practical agricultural classes in addition to the core curriculum subjects.

Please help us to provide a brighter future for up to 120 of the most vulnerable teenagers (3 classes x 40 students). These teenagers receive a substantial and nutritious school lunch each day which is their only proper meal of the day. School lunches are helping them concentrate in school and supporting their overall development. This is a big commitment we have made to these students but they need people to believe in them. They need people to give them choices and chances. They need opportunities to thrive and to shine. Will you help us continue Changing Lives Malawi? Please email me on contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like more information or you would like to help with ensuring Bright Futures Secondary School is ready to welcome more students and teachers in September. The link to our fundraiser is https://gofund.me/ece5753a these vulnerable teenagers really do need your help. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Bright Futures Secondary School – We are Changing Lives Malawi

some of the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School with their solar lamps enabling them to see to study at home as it is dark year round at 6pm in Malawi. (solar lamps were bought with money donated by The Souter Charitable Trust)

students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting sweet potato vines

This rugby kit was kindly donated by Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh – students are outside the first classroom block – classrooms 1 & 2

68 baby chicks!

great news – 68 chicks have hatched!

Sarah’s blog 14/07/23

A while ago, Lochlie Construction generously donated money for an incubator to be bought.

Electricity has been so sporadic that it meant the incubator wasn’t able to be kept at the proper temperature so eggs didn’t hatch.

The incubator was linked up to the solar power kit that we sent on the last container and we thought that there would soon be lots of chicks hatching. Nothing is ever straightforward though. A few batches of fertilized eggs were bought but Levison ended up asking for a refund as none of these hatched.

So last month a few eggs were gathered each day until 103 had been placed in the incubator. Thankfully, 68 of those have hatched. They need to be kept warm until they have grown a bit bigger and, hopefully, they will all survive.

This is such amazing news and far bigger than just 68 chicks successfully hatching. Here are some of the reasons we are all so excited about this good news story;

  1. more eggs can be hatched each month in the incubator
  2. some of the chicks can be sold as a regular income for the Foundation
  3. some chicks will be kept to increase the amount of ‘chooks’ in the Foundation flock.
  4. The Foundation flock will, when big enough, be able to provide eggs for sale bringing in extra income. Eggs and (occasionally) chicken will be able to supplement The Feeding Programme.
  5. Hopefully, there will be employment opportunities created once the number of chooks increases.
  6. There is a possibility that vulnerable families could be given a couple of chooks, meaning they would have their own eggs helping them to feed their families.

So this is just the start and we need to keep our fingers crossed that these chicks survive and the next batch are successfully hatched in the incubator too. This is one of the ways that The Foundation will start to become self-sufficient. They are proud and clever people. They don’t want handouts. They just need helping hands just now as things are so difficult and malnutrition is rife. Let’s hope this is the start of a brighter future.

This chicken project is going to take a long time before it starts making a difference. The feeding programme is providing 500+ hungry orphans with a substantial meal once a week. Some children are walking from up to 20km away. No one is feeding children in schools in this area. We need your help to help us continue the feeding programme as prices continue to rise. Can you commit to £5 or £10 per month please? Our bank details are Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, A/C 21081462, S/C 80-22-60 and use the reference ‘feeding’ please. Your help WILL make a difference to hungry, malnourished children. Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x

Appeal for help to feed 500 vulnerable, malnourished children

Please help the Kasonda children