Tag: pregnant

Why vulnerable teenagers need sponsors

Whilst there is still so much to do to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, here are some of the reasons how being a sponsor can and does make a difference.

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Sarah’s blog 18/7/25

Levison sent me a graph today with information about teenage pregnancies in Malawi. I knew the rates were high but I am shocked by just how high. Chitipa District, in the far north, has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies in Malawi. Over half of teenage girls age 15-19 become pregnant. The actual figure is 543/1000. Since Bright Futures Secondary School opened in 2022 there have been only 2 teenage pregnancies.

As well as helping to vastly reduce teenage pregnancies, here are some of the ways that having a sponsor is helping to give vulnerable teenagers, living in extreme poverty, hope for a brighter future:

  1. Secondary School has to be paid for in Malawi. None of the students who attend Bright Futures Secondary School could afford to go to secondary school without having being matched with a sponsor to help pay for their education. There are so many more young people wanting this opportunity.
  2. Being matched with a sponsor means that, as well as their education being free, each student at BFSS, receives a substantial and nutritious school lunch each day. This, for most, is their only meal of the day, and means their families don’t have to worry about feeding them with the family’s very limited food supplies.
  3. Having a nutritious lunch each day is helping students to stay healthy and help them concentrate on their lessons.
  4. Being matched with a sponsor means free school uniform, stationery, shoes and a torch for studying at home.
  5. Being matched with a sponsor means that there is hope for a brighter future through education, instead of doing piece work in the fields for a pittance.
  6. Being matched with a sponsor means that students are kept busy at school and after school activities and less likely to get into trouble.
  7. Being matched with a sponsor means that young people have access to counselling as all have lost family members and lived through trauma. Bright Futures Secondary School takes a holistic approach to caring for the students both in and outside the classroom.
  8. Being matched with a sponsor means that girls are far less likely to be married off too young. Some families are so desperate they consider giving their daughter to an older man in exchange for a dowry to feed the rest of the family. Levison has managed to prevent girls as young as 11 being married off.
  9. Being matched with a sponsor is helping ensure young people are more literate, numerate and have skills for their futures.
  10. Being matched with a sponsor is giving vulnerable young people, living in extreme poverty, choices and chances that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

We need more sponsors to ensure that more students can have these opportunities and have hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families. Will you help us help them please? It is only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can sponsor as an individual, a business or a group of friends or family. It might be the most important thing anyone ever does for that teenager. Will you make a difference to one young person and change their life? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors and supporters for helping to make a difference to each of the students. Also, for the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School, to Levison and the rest of the team …. a huge thank you. When we see statistics like this it is very clear that, although there is much to do, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x

S2 students received new uniform and stationery when they sat their exams recently
planting banana tubers in practical agricultural lessons
Students prepared the ground and planted sweet potato vines as part of their practical agricultural lessons. This crop helped feed them and their fellow students.
BFSS – S2 JCE Exams
Independence Day in Malawi

our new QR code to make a donation

International Women’s Day 2025 #IWD2025

#IWD2025 We are highlighting the story of one young woman whom we help to support. We want all women to have equality & empowerment and the choices and chances they deserve.

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Sarah’s blog 8/3/25

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY #IWD2025
The themes for 2025 are – Accelerate Action for ALL women and girls: Rights, Equality & Empowerment.

For International Women’s Day, I’m going to share with you part of the story of one of the young women who has been supported for the last few years. Her life is hard and she is living in extreme poverty. There are lots of issues in this story, so it is very apt for International Women’s Day.

Maria had missed out on a lot of education due to her family circumstances. Being so poor, she had to work for a pittance to help buy food. Maria came to Levison and said that she wanted to be able to attend secondary school. Levison could see what a hard worker she was and so gave her some extra coaching so that she could pass her primary school leavers exams…which she did and was delighted.

We found a sponsor for Maria so she could attend secondary school free of charge and she progressed well, passing her national school exams at the end of s2 (final exams are at the end of s4).

Maria lives with her aunt and her younger sister and has a two hour walk to get to school. That in itself is a huge burden and exhausting and shows real commitment to getting an education.

However, Maria became pregnant. We do not know the full story. Maria will not talk about it, nor did she actually realise she was pregnant until one of the women who helps with the cooking noticed. Maria was supported to attend the health centre regularly and, because she was having a nutritious school lunch each day, she was in fairly good health whilst pregnant.

Maria had a very difficult birth. Her aunt stayed with her at the hospital. Patients have to have someone with them to help care for them and have to provide their own food. Conditions are very basic. So Maria and her aunt were supported with food during this time.

Thankfully, Maria gave birth to a healthy baby boy – Wakisa. Maria asked to return to school for the new term and her aunt agreed to look after Wakisa during the school day.

This has been really hard for Maria but she is dedicated to her son and has been trying to navigate being a new mum, a full-time student and living a distance from school in extreme poverty.

Her son, Wakisa, has been poorly on and off for a few months so Maria has either been at the local health centre with him, at home with him or sitting in class worrying about him. How could she think about her lessons when she was thinking about Wakisa and also worrying about how to make life better for her and her son and provide for him?

Maria has now made the decision to drop out of school as she was getting more and more behind with her work and she obviously wanted and needed to be with her son. As she has a good work ethic, Maria has been trying to find piece work in farmers’ fields to earn a pittance.

I cannot imagine how hard life is for Maria and so many young women like them. But they don’t give up. They keep trying to do the best for their family. They have no choice.

Maria is still sponsored at the moment even though she has dropped out of Bright Futures Secondary School. So that means she will get a monthly food parcel to help supplement any other food coming into their home. However, we need to give her a hand up not a hand out so she cannot be sponsored forever.

Little Wakisa has also just been sponsored, so he will also have a food parcel each month. So those are two good practical things that are happening for Maria and Wakisa, thanks to their sponsors.

Because we know Maria is such a hard worker we do want to support her to get back on her feet and feel like life isn’t so hopeless. If you would like to help Maria then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Let’s make a difference to young women like Maria so that they can bring up their families to have a better and brighter future with choices, chances and opportunities.

The village chiefs, during a recent conversation with Levison, said that by keeping girls in education it has lowered the teenage pregnancy rate greatly. Obviously, pregnancies will still happen and also because of long distances walked in very rural locations, girls and women are still very much at risk.

I am glad that things are improving for girls and women but there is a great deal more to do. I always say it is about teamwork, so if you’d like to be part of Maria’s team and make a difference on International Women’s Day #IWD2025 then let us know. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you again to all our sponsors and everyone who supports our work. Thank you, Sarah x

Maria (top right) during a science lesson at Bright Futures Secondary School
Maria recently working in a farmer’s field for a pittance whilst carrying her son on her back
Maria and Wakisa after receiving new clothes for him, a blanket, a food parcel and soap
“My name is Maria Chizumira. I was schooling at Bright Futures Secondary but I have dropped out of school because I need more time to get food, soap and other resources for my child. It was my wish to continue with my education but circumstances have made me not to.”

Knitting & Babies

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Sarah’s blog 05/12/23

We are so thankful for all the knitting we receive for the Mother & Baby Project. There is a small maternity ward at the local health centre and yesterday some students from Bright Futures Secondary School made a visit with some of the boxes of beautiful baby things we sent from our supporters.

As you can see from the short video, there were lots of lovely baby clothes & blankets, and the staff at the health centre, as well as the new mums are so grateful for this support to keep the babies warm.

Yesterday, the pregnant ladies who were waiting to be seen by their midwife, received little cardigans too. The next container with more supplies will be there soon, so there will be more boxes for the health centre too.

The ladies on the maternity ward were gifted blankets and clothes for their newborn babies. Part of the aim of this project is that they can return in a few weeks to receive some more clothes, giving the staff at the health centre another opportunity to have an informal check up with mum and baby.

Enjoy the photos of these lovely babies and thank you to everyone who has given generously of their time and talents to ensure that these little babies are warm. Thank you, Sarah x

An interview on the radio

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Sarah’s blog 2/2/22

Tuntufye Radio in Malawi interviewed Mr Msukwa the Education Advisor for the whole of Chisenga District in the north of Malawi where the Foundation is. I hope to be able to put his interview onto our facebook page but here is a summary of what he said about Levison, The Foundation and the sponsorship programme.

“Levison Mlambya does a lot of work here in Chisenga through lots of different projects. He has supporters in the UK (and elsewhere) we call it The William Stewart Foundation. There are 30 students in Chisenga school and 2 students in Wenya school. There are 19 girls sponsored and in school. I wholeheartedly appreciate the job this young man has done for us. It’s not easy to do what he does. Instead of girls getting married, they are being kept in school. Levison Mlambya already paid all the students fees at the beginning of term and all the learners are in school. I pray they work hard. I encourage them to work hard for university. He (Levison) has done a good job and hope he continues doing a good job. He has a good heart and he his a God fearing man.”

High praise indeed for Levison who works so hard for the hundreds of children supported by The Foundation. Praise that is extremely well deserved. We are extremely lucky to have him. As we keep saying, it’s all about team work. The Education Officer, Mr Msukwa, is so appreciative of how the sponsors are supporting these children, giving them opportunities and changing their lives and it is great to receive feedback like that from the authorities that they recognise that we are all making a difference to orphans and other vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi.

We still have 11 young people who passed their primary school leavers exams who have sponsors but did not get selected for secondary school. We have been told to wait until the education authorities see what places become available due to students who cannot afford to take up their offered places at secondary school. Hopefully, our 11 will get places then. If not then we will look at hiring a teacher for them at The Foundation.

Levison’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since that radio interview with people requesting funding for their children. Maybe one day he might be in a position to say ‘yes’ but at the moment there are still hundreds of children supported by The Foundation who need a sponsor. 80 children matched with sponsors is an amazing achievement but we do need to try to find sponsors for other orphans and vulnerable children and give them the chance of education too.

It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can sponsor as an individual, a family, split the cost with a friend or your business could sponsor a child. Or you could commit to our Feeding Team and sign up for £5 or £10 per month to help feed the malnourished children more than once a week. On average 500 children are fed a substantial, nutritious meal every week. It’s a great start but not enough. It costs £100 to feed 500 children one meal. Some children don’t eat every day. We appreciate the help of every single person who has committed to these children…but we need to expand our team. Please can you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Levison with some of the children at their Christmas party. They were given new raincoats that had been generously donated and a pencil and lollipop each.
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