Tag: poverty

Sponsored – Melise & Mwiza – update

This story is about the Mtambo family, living in rural northern Malawi. Not many of us can imagine just how tough life is for this family.

Sarah’s blog 4/4/22

This family has four children and a mum and a dad. That sounds a good way to start a story. Depending where in the world this family live they might have a big house and 2 cars and plenty of money in the bank or a smaller house with the children having to share bedrooms and only one car in their family. Life might be a bit more of a struggle for them but they still have enough to get by.

But this story is about the Mtambo family, living in rural northern Malawi. Not many of us can imagine just how tough life is for this family. Not many of us can imagine just how poor they are. Mum is trying to earn some money to feed her family and hold everything together. Dad is ill and unable to work or help her with housework or the care of the children. There are three girls and a boy. Mwiza, the boy is disabled. He is left to his own devices a lot of the time, sitting on a mat, as mum cannot spend all day with him as she is working and the girls are at school and nursery. Grandma sometimes comes to help.

The story of this family and the mother’s struggle touched people’s hearts and two kind people came forward to sponsor Mwiza and Melise. The other two girls, Thokozani and Eliness, still need to be matched with sponsors. Melise’s sponsor also wanted the mum to have some money to spend on food or what she needs so she pays an extra £5 for the mum which Levison gives her and for which she is very grateful.

Having two out of the four children sponsored has made a big difference to this family. They have two monthly food parcels which supplement what mum can earn, so it takes a bit of pressure from her knowing that her children and herself and her husband have something to eat. The four children have been given new clothes and blankets and Mwiza has received a mattress and lots of toys and books to stimulate him and build up his muscles as he reaches for them. A chair is on the next container for him too.

Mum has said to Levison that she is amazed at the difference in Mwiza since the family started to have regular food and he had books and toys to stimulate him. Also, Melise although just 5 has been given a place at primary school as she is very bright. Usually children start primary school in Malawi at age 6. The extra food is obviously helping her concentration and growth and also the books sent for Mwiza will be helping all three of his sisters too. Families like these do not have the luxury of books so children miss out on lots of literacy that our children have from a very young age. It is great that the books that have been donated and sent are having a positive impact already.

This family still need a lot of help and support but the difference so far is great to see. Having the ongoing support of The Foundation and the two sponsors is helping to change these children’s lives. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos and if anyone feels they would like to join the team around this family by sponsoring Thokozani or Eliness then please do contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for reading and for all the support we receive helping us to continue Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x

Some of the most vulnerable children

These are the most vulnerable children and most in need of a sponsor. Can you be a helping hand to one of these children?

Sarah’s blog 5/4/22

I wanted to highlight some of the orphans and vulnerable children that Levison has taken photos of previously. He’s done this as they are some of the most vulnerable and most in need of a sponsor. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child and you can do that as an individual, a group or two friends. 85p per day will mean the world to these children.

I’ve highlighted each child with a coloured background because I think they deserve to be seen. They deserve to have the same chances our children have. They deserve to have food, clothes, education. They deserve to reach their potential. They deserve to have a helping hand. They deserve to know that someone cares.

Please…can you be a helping hand to one of these children? It might be one of the most important things you ever do. It might be one of the most rewarding things you ever do. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thank you for reading and I hope to hear from some of you and match you with a child. Sarah x

International School Meals Day – but not for all

Sarah’s blog 10/03/22

A few days ago, I found out via a message from my son’s school, that 10th March is International School Meals Day. At his school, there is a different menu choice for today which is why we received the message. I understand, from the internet, that it is a way of promoting healthy eating and having conversations about food. This is a good idea.

However, because of my passion for helping those who are the most vulnerable, once we had established what my son wants for his lunch choice today, my next thought was how many children in the world don’t ever get a school dinner let alone a choice?

500+ orphans and other vulnerable children come to The Foundation Feeding Programme that runs once a week. They are fed a substantial and nutritious meal. Some walk up to 20km to receive their one proper meal of the week. All suffer from malnutrition. We can only afford to support The Feeding Programme to run once a week. There are no agencies in the far north of Malawi feeding children in schools. Already, teachers are able to see that these children’s concentration has improved thanks to one proper meal a week….imagine if we could afford to feed them more often. Some children can go for a day or a couple of days without eating. That is heart breaking.

The end goal is for The Foundation and the village to be self-sufficient, but until that time arrives, these most vulnerable, malnourished children need our help. Please can you support us to support them? Please? If you could commit to giving a regular small donation each month then please contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details. Or another way to donate to the feeding programme is to text FEEDING to 70490 .Together we can make malnutrition a thing of the past and you can help us to continue Changing Lives Malawi. Maybe one day International School Meals Day will be a day that all children can celebrate and be included in. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

New clothes, shoes & maize for a needy family

Sarah’s blog 2/3/22

We saw this family last week. The roof had almost totally blown off their mud house in the wind and rain. They were able to temporarily ‘borrow’ another house….the roof isn’t much better on this one but at least they have shelter.

The family had been invited to The Foundation to receive some gifts. Today they came. Here are the photos. They cried tears of joy and couldn’t believe the lovely things they had been given. Thanks to Moses and Angela now having sponsors, Levison was able to give the family a bag of maize.

They are all malnourished and extremely sad and upset by what has happened to them. They are exhausted due to lack of food. Levison has assured them that The Foundation will look after them. We will bring you more photos of them which will, hopefully, show the improvements in their health and wellbeing.

If you would like to sponsor a child to help change their life then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

The family’s ‘new’ temporary home
The roof of the family’s mud house has almost totally been destroyed by the wind & rain

Feeding & Weeding

Sarah’s blog 27/02/22

It had rained heavily again in Northern Malawi this morning so not as many children turned up. Only 301 orphans & vulnerable children turned up instead of the usual 500. The others will have to wait until next weekend for their next substantial meal. If we had more funds to feed them twice or three times a week it wouldn’t be so bad that they hadn’t been able to come today.

So the 301 were fed and also watched some cartoons on the tv, played with the trainset and then helped with weeding the vegetables in the fields.

We have a new way to donate. Text FEEDING to 70490 to donate £5. Hopefully, people will make use of this and help us to provide more money for food.

Hope you enjoy today’s photos. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Chisenga School Visit

18/2/22

Exam fees needed to be paid by today and Angela’s school fees too now that she has a sponsor.

Levison visited the school and was able to take some supplies to the young people that had arrived on the container recently. They’ve had underwear, toothbrushes & toothpaste and other toiletries, some clothes and calculators.

All the young people are doing well and were pleased to receive their gifts and they look very smart in their school uniforms.

Levison managed to take some individual photos too, which I will post tomorrow, before the torrential rain started again. I’ve made a note of who had photos taken and will ensure that anyone who didn’t will get their photo taken next time.

Many thanks again to all the sponsors for giving these young people opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the photos, Sarah x

Planting a Sustainable Future for People & Planet & also helping those affected by the recent hailstorm

Sarah’s blog 14/2/22

There is an orchard at the Foundation with lots of fruit tree saplings. The children have been caring for the saplings by weeding and watering them.

People have generously donated money to buy more fruit tree saplings and yesterday over 100 were planted. These will give future food for the children and hopefully be a source of income too for the Foundation from selling surplus fruit. This will help towards their end goal…self-sufficiency.

Obviously tree planting is very important for the planet and the hope is that the trees will also help in the rainy season by providing protection for the crops from the wind and rain.

The first photos are from a few months ago and the rest are from planting the saplings yesterday before heavy rain storm in the afternoon.

Also, a few weeks ago we had an appeal for a few families whose houses had been damaged in the wind and hailstorm. Thank you to the people who had contributed to that appeal. I’d like to thank the people who donate clothes etc to us as these people were given gifts yesterday for which they were very thankful.

They received clothes and shoes, maize and walking sticks for the very elderly. They were also gifted fruit tree saplings to plant near their homes. The photos of the recipients of these gifts are after the photos of planting the fruit tree saplings. Hope you enjoy the photos and, as always, if you want to get in touch it’s contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading, Sarah x

The first Sunday in Advent

Sarah’s blog 28/11/21

As we approach Christmas, today is the first Sunday of Advent. I’m sure, whether you are a Christian, of a different faith or none, most children and adults enjoy the celebrations at this time of year. Advent calendars filled with chocolate, decorations, sparkling lights, parties, concerts and presents and also the lovely food are some of the special things we can enjoy as well as being with people we love. Whilst there have been some restrictions recently, they are nothing compared to what people living in extreme poverty are facing every day of the year, wherever they are in the world.

The first Sunday in Advent is traditionally of HOPE like a light shining in the darkness. That is what The Foundation is for the hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children that it supports. Hope of better things to come. Hope of food, of full tummies. Hope of clean water. Hope of education. Hope of jobs. Hope of health. Hope of better housing. Hope of fun and friends. Hope of a childhood without trauma. Hope that they will no longer be forgotten. Hope of sponsorship. Hope of clothes & shoes. ALL children deserve these things.

We are making great progress but with so many children there is never enough money. It costs £100 to feed 500 children once a week. This is their most nutritious, substantial meal of the week….some children do not eat every day and most suffer from malnutrition. We need to reach more people to help us continue to improve the dire situation that these children face. Can you share our posts or tell your friends about our charity?

There are many ways you can help us support the children and continue to send money to feed them. Donations of money are extremely helpful as are purchasing our e-cards and e-gifts as meaningful Christmas gifts with all the money we receive going to Malawi. The link is here https://www.dontsendmeacard.com/ecards/charities/changing-lives-malawi

Please help us to bring hope to hundreds of the most vulnerable children. If we don’t support them…..they have nobody. Together we CAN make a difference. Together we can change lives in Malawi. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . I am working tomorrow then I am taking the rest of the week off as I have a hospital appointment. I won’t be away for too long though as the children really do need us to help them. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

The Foundation, now with electricity, is a shining light of hope in the darkness

Saving a Life

Sarah’s blog 26/10/21

Chikambusko is an orphan. She was living with her grandad who went into hospital and subsequently passed away. Chikambusko was alone, suffering from malnutrition and malaria. Levison found her a sponsor and a home with another sponsored child, Timothy, and his grandmother who is now fostering Chikambusko. Although she has been through so much trauma and upset, as you can see from today’s photos, she is looking well, settled and happy. Who knows what would have happened to Chikambusko had The Foundation not helped her. As an holistic approach is taken (not just feeding them) caring about each of them, over time they start to blossom. Today’s photos have made my heart glad. Thanks to her sponsors for their support. If you would like to make a difference to a child like Chikambusko then please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . It’s only £25 per month. There are so many people helping in small ways and part of the team and together we are Changing Lives Malawi. You can sign up to receive updates. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Reading in Emma’s Rainbow Library

Sarah’s blog 17/10/21

Fundraising enabled a library to be built and named after Emma Buchanan, a lovely girl who sadly passed away. She loved reading and, if she had been in better health, would have loved to have visited Malawi.

Shelves have been built in the library and we’ve been sending books. There are more on the next container; educational books as well as fiction. Also some tables and chairs.

This morning Levison sent me photos of young people sitting reading in the library. I asked if he could ask a couple of the young people what they were reading and why they picked the books that they had. It was really enlightening to hear from them and find out a bit a more information.

Moses is in the white t-shirt and Lameck in the pink t-shirt. Moses has a sponsor and is on the apprenticeship scheme. Lameck doesn’t have a sponsor and does casual piece work to try to buy food.

Moses said he wanted to look at stories in books and, if possible, wants to write his own stories. Unfortunately, Moses had only completed his first year in secondary school and then dropped out due to lack of resources and money to pay his fees. He then was able to be sponsored to go on the apprenticeship scheme for two years. After hearing he would like to write stories, I contacted his sponsor today to ask if they would be willing to support Moses for three years if he was to go back to secondary school and finish his education as Levison said that is what Moses would love to do. His sponsor was delighted to be able to help with this. Moses will find out tomorrow that he is able to return to secondary school in January and I’m sure he will work hard.

Lameck told Levison that he was interested in learning more about culture so that’s why he chose that book. Lameck has no sponsor. He didn’t even complete primary school and sit his leavers exams through no fault of his own. He only had rags to wear. He didn’t have notebooks and pencils that he needed to write his lessons. He had no choice but to drop out of primary school. So, despite wanting to learn, unless his luck changes, he is destined for a low paid job (if he can find a steady job) or doing piece work as and when work is available.

It would be amazing if someone could sponsor Lameck to go on the apprenticeship scheme for two years to be taught practical skills or if he could finish his last year in primary school, do his exams, and then go to secondary school for four years. It’s £25 per month to sponsor a child or young person. You can sponsor as an individual or a family or share the cost with a friend. Can you imagine if we hadn’t been able to go to school because we didn’t have a notebook and pencil? Sponsoring Lameck might be the most important thing anyone ever does for him. Can you give Lameck the gift of education. Please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading, Sarah x

Lots of young people reading books in the library this morning. Lameck was reading about history and culture and Moses was reading different books with stories as he’d like to write stories too.
Moses had completed one year of secondary school but dropped out due to poverty. His sponsor has been supporting him on the apprenticeship programme but is going to support him to go back to school. Life is looking good for Moses thanks to his sponsor.

Lameck didn’t even get to finish primary school due to extreme poverty and has been trying to do casual work ever since to buy food. Lameck deserves a chance to finish his last year of primary school and go on to secondary school. He clearly likes learning and reading and is trying to better himself. Please can you give Lameck the gift of education?

Thank you for our clothes

Sarah’s blog 11/10/21

I’ve always said to my own children that there will always be people with more than them but there will also always be people with less than them.

If we all shared what we have then there would be enough for everyone in the world. A very simplistic view, I know, but there is no reason why we can’t share with others, wherever they are in the world, if we have the ability to do so.

There were five children that Levison sent photos of yesterday. Five children suffering from malnutrition and dressed in rags. Children who have missed school to find piecework for the equivalent of 10p per day. These children are desperate for sponsors to improve their lives so please, please do get in touch if you can help. Or could you and a friend split the cost of sponsoring a child? It’s £25 per child per month, so sharing with a friend or family member would only be £12.50. Each sponsored child now has their own page on our website so you can keep up to date with new photos and information there. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

Do you recognise these children from yesterday? Clothes make such a difference. Thank you if you donated clothes and/or helped to pay for transport costs. Yesterday was an important day for these children. Let’s see if we can find sponsors to turn their lives around and make their dreams come true. Sarah x