Yesterday, 72 children were given a hat each. A few of these were sun hats but most were knitted hats that had generously been knitted by talented supporters. All children were given food and also a pencil.
At this time of year it is cold at night and in the early mornings. These vulnerable children live in brick or mud houses that aren’t watertight and are full of draughts. They don’t have comfortable beds with duvets and pillows. If they are lucky, they have a reed mat and a thin blanket. There is obviously no heating so a hat will help to keep them warm.
Hats are given out regularly, as talented people knit for us, and if children haven’t received one this time then they will next time. My auntie Margaret is one of the people who are generous with their time and talents. She is staying with my parents this week and yesterday showed me her latest creations for the children we help to support…..she has knitted 150 hats….each one is different. Thanks to Auntie Margaret and all the other knitters. Children love receiving gifts and these will make a real difference in helping to keep them warm.
We are also grateful for knitted baby blankets, baby cardigans & hats and knitted teddies. Thanks for reading & supporting, Sarah x
please read about this family who really do need our help
Sarah’s blog 09/07/23
Sometimes when Levison sends me photos they make me happy when I see the children and young people smiling, having fun, achieving and benefiting from learning new skills to enable them to have a better future.
At the end, it’s not about what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.
Denzil Washington
Other times, like today, when I look at photos I am sad and I am upset. I’m also angry that we don’t have a magic wand to be able to help everyone more than we are. Let me tell you about the Kasonda family.
Mum and dad are, in Levison’s words, peasant farmers. They are very poor and neither of them is in the best of health. Levison and team have been helping clothe the children and the older ones come to the feeding programme. Their home is 5km away and today Logical Kasonda (age 9) and her brother Kumbukani Kasonda (age 11) each carried their one year old twin sisters, Selida and Queen, the 5km to the Foundation, fed the twins before themselves, and carried them the 5km home again.
My heart is breaking for these children (and the many, many more like them). As you can see, Logical and Kumbukani are both in p3. This means that Kumbukani has missed 4 years of school to work to try to bring in a pittance to help his parents, and Logical has missed 2 years of school for the same reason. NO BIG CHARITIES ARE FEEDING CHILDREN IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN THE FAR NORTH OF MALAWI. We send enough money for the feeding programme to feed 500 children once a week. This is the biggest meal they have each week. Some children walk up to 20km for this food and then 20km home again.
Crops are being grown at the Foundation but it’s nowhere near enough to feed all the children. We have 80+ of the most vulnerable children matched with sponsors. This costs £25 per month. This helps pay towards school lunches for the older sponsored children at Bright Futures Secondary School and the younger sponsored children receive a food parcel at their home each month. All children receive clothes, school supplies and a meal at the weekly feeding programme.
As The Foundation that we are helping to support is in a very rural location, we are trying to do everything. We need people (and other charities to partner with us). Please help?
Why should Kumbukani and Logical each carry a one year old sibling 5km for food and 5km back again? Why should they only get one decent, nutritious meal a week? How can we expect Kumbukani and Logical to be able to learn at school with sore, empty tummies? How are the twins expected to grow properly and not be stunted and suffer from malnutrition by only having one proper meal each weekend?
These children deserve food, clean water, safety, warmth, clothing, rest, education, play etc etc just like our children. These children have names; Kumbukani, Logical, Queen and Selida. These children need sponsors. Can you please sponsor one of them for £25 p/m? you can share that cost with a friend. Or why not help us run the feeding programme more often than once a week by committing to £5 or £10 p/m? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Our bank account details are Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, S/C 80-22-60, A/C 21081462. Or could you make a one off donation? Just put ‘feeding’ as your reference please.
My heart is with these vulnerable children and I know that together we CAN make a difference. Together we can give these children brighter futures. Together we CAN continue Changing Lives Malawi. Please get in touch today. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Brick making has started ahead of classroom three being built. An area had to be cleared, the trees will be used for wood for the kilns and new trees planted to replace them. It’s a long process to make the bricks as so many need to be made. They need to be left to dry then stacked in a kiln. The kiln is fired and takes two weeks for all the bricks to cool down again.
We don’t yet have enough money for classroom three but had to start making the bricks in the hope that we do have enough funds in place once the bricks are ready to use.
We were very thankful to receive a cheque today from The Archer Trust for £3,000 towards phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. We appreciate the support they have given towards ensuring there is an extra classroom in place for the next intake of students in September.
Please could you contribute to our fundraising page? https://gofund.me/ece5753a The vulnerable students we help to support deserve a brighter future full of choices and chances. They deserve a quality education to be the best they can be. Please help us to help them. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
clearing the ground to start making bricksthese bushes will be used to fire the kilnsmaking the bricks by hand and then leaving them to dry
The brick making is due to start for the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. There will be a team of 15; four will ferry the water, five will be digging and six will be making bricks. They will be making 60,000 bricks. Once the bricks are made they are left to dry and once dry they are stacked to make a kiln. Fires are lit under the kiln and, after firing, the bricks take two weeks to cool down. So this is a huge undertaking…we’d love your support https://gofund.me/ece5753a
At least one new classroom is needed for the new intake of students at the start of September. One classroom is costing approximately £10,000. We also need to build some extra accommodation for teachers and a new latrine block. We need your help please. We don’t yet have all the money we need for a third classroom. Will you help us please? Can you make a financial donation to our fundraiser? Or could you do a sponsored event or organise your own fundraiser eg a bake sale or an afternoon tea for your friends? here is the link for our fundraiser and we will be very grateful for any assistance you can provide https://gofund.me/ece5753a or email for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading & supporting the vulnerable young people, Sarah x
Please support this rugby event in September. Give vulnerable children the joy of rugby.
Sarah’s blog 9/6/23
We are delighted that Jack Mphande, Rugby Development Officer for Malawi Rugby Union, will be making a second visit to rural northern Malawi to introduce the sport of rugby to orphans and other vulnerable children.
Jack will be heading north from Lilongwe in the south where he is based for two weeks in September. He will be working with two clusters of schools during the two weeks and with the older orphans we help to support during the middle weekend. Teachers from each school will be trained and there will be tournaments too.
As there are no big charities feeding children in school in that area of Malawi, all the children that we help to support are malnourished. We help provide funds for a feeding programme for 500+ children once a week….but it’s not enough. Children are hungry and some are walking 20km for that one proper meal of the week. We need to feed all the children who are taking part in the rugby tournament. We can’t expect them to have the energy to play and enjoy themselves if their tummies are sore and they are tired because they have not eaten. Can you help please?
We have been very fortunate to have support from Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, Balfron High School, Scottish Rugby Union, Strathendrick Rugby, Stirling County Rugby, Grangemouth Rugby Club, Hillfoots Rugby, Blaydon Rugby, Annan Rugby Club and others who have helped and supported us with kit, boots and rugby balls.
We are charged £17.50 per box/bag on the container to cover the cost of getting everything to Malawi. Will you help please? https://gofund.me/46e63377
Thank you to those who have already donated via Facebook. We need to pay for Jack Mphande’s transport costs, his accommodation, food and expenses for the two weeks he has kindly set aside for the hundreds of vulnerable children who will benefit from his visit. We need to provide food for the children taking part in the coaching sessions and tournaments. We need financial help with sending kit to Malawi. We need your help please to spread the joy of playing rugby to orphans in rural northern Malawi. Until recently, they were ignored and forgotten. They didn’t have opportunities like this. Please help us make this happen for them. You can donate via our fundraiser https://gofund.me/46e63377 or by emailing for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com I’ve put some links to previous relevant posts where you’ll see some great photos and videos. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
some of the sponsored children with their food parcels today
Sarah’s blog 15/5/23
I don’t think any of us realise exactly how busy Levison is each day. One of his many tasks is doing welfare checks for the sponsored children and young people. Two sponsored young people have had bereavements in their families recently. The custom is that everyone who is able goes to the funeral which takes two days. Levison showed his support for both these families by attending. Another young person needed some medical treatment. Levison spent time with them prior to this talking with them to establish that they would benefit from a trip to the health centre. He needs to visit another family tomorrow to check on another sponsored child after not finding anyone at home today when he visited.
Also one of the key members of staff had a bereavement in their family last week and Levison attended that funeral. Days of planned work can go out of the window due to someone in the village passing away and also welfare checks on the young people. Several days have been spent trying to find enough maize to purchase for the children and young people’s monthly food parcels. Food is scarce and prices are high. It is not easy when so many people are relying on you.
Here are photos of some of the sponsored children and young people who came to collect their food today. I’m hoping for more photos later this week in order to get up to date photos of all sponsored children. If you would like to sponsor a child then please do get in touch. It’s only £25 per month and you can share that cost with a friend or family. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
Agriculture Classes at Bright Futures Secondary School
Sarah’s blog 10/05/23
Agricultural Classes are a core part of the curriculum in Malawi. The students at Bright Futures Secondary School are amongst the most vulnerable in Malawi and would not have been able to attend secondary school as this has to be paid for in Malawi. Bright Futures Secondary School is free of charge.
Today is the start of the primary school leavers. These are national exams and you cannot progress to secondary school if you have not passed these exams. But you can’t go anyway if you cannot pay – even if you have passed your primary school exams.
Because of the huge level of poverty, children and young people drop in and out of school to help their families/carers earn money for food. They earn a pittance for a full day’s work with no food or water. Laston (pictured in one of the photos) worked for a farmer looking after his cows for the equivalent of £1.50 per month. Thankfully, Laston now has a sponsor and is doing well at school. So students are probably 2 or 3 years older than expected becaus they have missed so much school. The older the student, the poorer their family. Most students in these photos are still needing a sponsor to support their education. This will help us pay the teachers salaries, provide uniform and the supplies they need for school and pay for breakfast and lunch each day. It’s £25 per month to sponsor a student. Can you help give one of these students a brighter future? Or you could split the cost with a friend and pay £12.50 p/m each. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks to our supporters, phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School was completed and opened in November 22. Students (and teachers) have been working hard and will have exams in a few weeks time. We certainly aren’t expecting all students to pass their exams. We just expect them to do their best. We will obviously be delighted for those who are able to pass exams. These young people have been so malnourished and had such difficult lives that basic survival was all they could manage. Things are improving. Now all students will have a brighter future by being in school. Even if they do not excel in exams they are more literate. They will have better numeracy skills. They will also be learning skills for life. There will be far less teenage pregnancies and child marriages due to young people being in school and being fed in school even if their families cannot afford to feed them.
Self-sufficiency is the end goal for the community we are working with. However, no children in primary schools in the far north of Malawi are being fed by big agencies. All are malnourished and all are hungry. We support a Feeding Programme that feeds 500+ orphans a substantial meal once a week. We wish we could provide more money for food but we are also investing in their education. We would love you to commit to £5 or £10 per month to support the feeding programme as food is getting more and more expensive contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
The Agricultural students at Bright Futures Secondary School have already built a polytunnel using an old trampoline frame we sent. They have started growing vegetables. They have also planted a field of sweet potato vines to produce food to eat. Now, the teacher has set them the task of clearing an area of ground by their homes to plant some vegetables. More skills for life and, hopefully, food to share with their families. Also, if successful, they will have a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement and be more confident about their skills for a brighter future. The photos are just a few of the students. We will look forward to updates from the teacher.
If you’d like to sponsor a student, contribute to the feeding programme or donate towards phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School to build the next classrooms then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate to the school fundraiser at https://gofund.me/ece5753a . Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Grateful to the student who made these short videos for us.
Sarah’s blog 27/4/23
We always knew that, if we were to help to build a school in Malawi, it would have to be done a bit at a time as, unfortunately, there is no big pot of money either here or in Malawi. But, time and again, thanks to hard work and our very generous supporters, we manage against the odds.
It is a struggle when there are hundreds of malnourished children who need feeding too, but we cannot spend all the donations on food or there would be nothing in place for their futures. Crops are planted to help provide vegetables. The fruit trees that were planted a couple of years ago are starting to produce fruit. No children are being fed in primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Everyone is hungry and malnourished. If you would like to support the feeding programme which feeds 500 children a substantial meal once a week then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
We are a very small charity, run by volunteers who are passionate about helping to improve things for the most vulnerable children and young people in rural northern Malawi. As we are volunteers, we have no salaries or admin costs so 100% of all donations go to the projects we help to support.
Phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November 2022 and the vulnerable students have been benefitting from free uniforms, school supplies food and education. Secondary education usually has to be paid for in Malawi which means that it is usually out of reach for the young people we support.
The Form 1 and Form 2 classrooms were built, along with some staff accommodation. There were already latrines, a clean water supply, a shower block and a library that had been previously built, thanks to generous donations. Now we need to start thinking about phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. The rainy season is almost over so it is the ideal time to start building in preparation for the new term in September.
Two more classrooms are needed for Forms 3 & 4. The Form 3 classroom is essential for September when everyone moves up a year and the new students start Form 1. More latrines are needed, more staff accommodation and hopefully a dormitory for these most vulnerable girls who have the furthest to walk. Will you help us please? These young people deserve our help. They deserve chances and choices. They deserve a brighter future.
Can you do a sponsored event for us? Will you host an event for your friends in aid of our charity? Could you invite us to speak at your club or church? Anyone who donates £500 or over can have their name, company name or the name of a loved one painted over a classroom door. Or how would you like to have a whole building named after your family or business? Or something painted on the roof of one of the buildings? As a team, we can do this together. Do you have a jar or coins that you’ve never got round to counting? We’d love to have them….every little helps.
I’m delighted to have another short video to share with you, made by the student who has been using his skills to help us. We’d be grateful if you were to share this with your friends and contacts on social media. I look forward to hearing from anyone with any ideas of how to raise some funds for phase 2. Thanks for your continued support, Sarah x
We need your help. We need 100 people to commit £5 per month to provide more food for the 500 malnourished children we help to support.
Sarah’s blog 12/4/23
I’m very grateful to have had the help of a student to make a short video about the Feeding Programme. As prices have risen, and maize has become more scarce due to the rainy season and supplies being rerouted to the cyclone victims in the south of Malawi, we are appealing for help.
As a small charity, run by a group of volunteers, passionate about making a difference, every penny you donate goes to the projects we support. So if you want to help the 500 vulnerable, malnourished children and young people who attend the Feeding Programme each weekend, you can be sure that all your money will go towards feeding them.
Most of these 500 children and young people are orphans. All are malnourished. None are being fed in primary schools. All don’t eat at home every day. Some walk up to 20km to attend the weekly Feeding Programme. Can you help us to provide more food please? Can you help us to run the Feeding Programme two or three times a week instead of just once?
We need 100 people to donate £1 per week (£5 per month) or £10 per month to make this happen. Can you spare the price of a meal deal, a takeaway coffee or a bottle of wine? These children and young people are never going to reach their potential without our help. Please will you help us help them? Or could you donate £100 to sponsor a Feeding Programme day? We can give a shout out to your business if you could help us with this. Please help?
contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to send me a message or you can text FEEDING to donate £5 or an amount of your choice. Or you can commit a monthly amount to our charity bank account. Sort code 80-22-60, Account Number 21605268.
Enjoy watching the video and I look forward to hearing from you if you would like to help some of the most vulnerable young people in rural Northern Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
Today Levison has sent photos of students at Bright Futures Secondary School and p8 at Chambo Primary School enjoying (if that’s the right word) their extra lessons and revision ahead of their exams in May. Even if they aren’t enjoying the additional classes, they are very thankful for the opportunity of having these extra lessons.
What all the students are delighted about is that they are having a substantial, nutritious, cooked school lunch every day. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive this every day, however this is a novelty for the students who are in p8 at Chambo Primary. There are over 60 of them so that is a lot of extra mouths to feed but how could we organise a study school and not provide food? How would they be able to study properly? Most of these students won’t find any food when they go home, or if they do, it will only be a very small amount.
So out with these Easter holidays, students at Chambo Primary School only receive one substantial meal at a weekend via The Feeding Programme. It’s not enough but there are 500 children to feed each weekend. We cannot do more alone. However, if we all commit to a small amount each month, then these vulnerable students will start to thrive. Their grades should go up as they are able to concentrate better. We wouldn’t expect our children to concentrate properly without breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yet these young people are expected to pass exams with just one proper meal each week. Children who are sponsored do receive some extra food at home each month, but it isn’t enough for the whole month.
What can you do to help? Can you commit to a few £££ each month? Our bank account is at Bank of Scotland, account name is Changing Lives Malawi, account number 21605268, sort code 80-22-60. Or can you make a one off donation? or alternatively you could text FEEDING to 70480 to donate £5 or an amount of your choice. Lets build a team around these vulnerable young people and give them the chance of a better and brighter future. Let’s give them the chances and choices they deserve contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
What does Sunday lunch mean to you? I guess it means something different to each of us. It might be that some people are working on a Sunday so it’s just a quick sandwich. Or that your kids are involved in sport so it’s something quick to eat when you can. Are you able to sleep late and have a lazy brunch on Sundays? Or do all the family come and eat together round the table and have a roast dinner?
Whatever the traditional Sunday is at your house, I doubt you look forward to the food you will eat as much as these children do. These children are mostly orphans, living with extended family, or vulnerable children from very poor families. None of these children have a proper meals every day at home. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in this area. This is the most substantial and nutritious meal these children will get each week.
I cannot imagine only eating once a day. I cannot imagine eating less than this meal for six days of the week. I cannot imagine going to bed so hungry that I couldn’t sleep. I cannot imagine not being able to feed my children. I cannot imagine having to walk a long distance in order to have a meal.
Some of these children have walked up to 20km for this food. And then they walk up to 20km home. We can only afford to run The Feeding Programme once a week. These children need and deserve more. The end goal for this community is self-sufficiency but, until that can happen, we need to feed these children. Up to 500 children of all ages come to receive food each week. Yesterday there were 412 came to be fed. The youngest are always fed first. How can they manage until next weekend’s Feeding Programme? Maize prices have risen and things are even harder than they were.
Can you help us please? We are asking 100 people to commit to £1 per week to help us ensure The Feeding Programme can continue and we can provide for everyone who needs food. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Will you spare £1 per week to help us continue feeding these malnourished children? please do help us to continue helping these vulnerable children. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
On International Women’s Day, I want to thank all the sponsors and other people who help us, who are making a big difference to the very vulnerable girls whom we help to support.
Every single vulnerable girl is being given a chance to have a better and brighter future. They are being given chances and choices that they wouldn’t otherwise have been given. These girls now have more employment opportunities open to them; even if they don’t pass their final school exams…they will have better literacy and numeracy skills. Hopefully, more girls will pass exams and go on to further education or learn a trade. If you would like to help support a girl then please email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
By supporting teenage girls with simple projects like The Period Poverty Project, girls are no longer missing school each month. They now have the same opportunity for education as the boys in their school. We sent sewing machines for some of the girls to make reusable sanitary towels. A small, low cost project making a big difference!
We want to thank and celebrate all the women who are living in extreme poverty and doing their best as single parents, or bringing up grandchildren or even fostering children. These are strong women, quietly making a difference in a very difficult situation.
These girls are the future women who will make a difference. Thanks to all their role models and to everyone who is helping to shape their futures. Happy International Women’s Day, Sarah x
Maria is gifting some of the donated baby clothes to these women for their babies.Christina’s family are living in extreme poverty and she needs a sponsorChifundo’s mum died recently. She is now ‘mum’ to her younger brother. She needs a sponsor.Can you sponsor a girl like Maria? Look at the difference a sponsor can make.vulnerable girls at Bright Futures Secondary School….thanks to everyone who supports them and who was involved in helping fund the school.Vulnerable teenage girls now have the opportunity of secondary education at Bright Futures Secondary School. Female teachers are great role models for these girls.Alice, Loveness & Jean. Alice has come to work at The Foundation while she waits to become a teaching assistant at a government primary school. Loveness had support from The Foundation and went on a sports coaching course. She helps in the nursery and with sports but also has a part-time job with another bigger charity supporting adult literacy. Jean was sponsored to go to secondary school and have the opportunity to finish her education. Unfortunately, because of the extreme poverty she grew up in and the effects of that, Jean didn’t pass her final exams. However, she is being supported to learn tailoring and Levison reports that she is a very hard worker. Three young women with chances and choices for brighter futures, thanks to the people who help us.
