running Archives

Giving out gifts from the Balfron 10k

Thank you for the donations from the Balfron 10k last year. Some great photos from Malawi. We will be collecting preloved shoes at this year’s event too.

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Sarah’s blog 3/3/26

We were at the popular Balfron 10k race last year collecting preloved training shoes to send to the vulnerable people we support in rural northern Malawi. We were given almost 100 pairs of training shoes (children’s and adults) to send. Over the last few days, Levison and team have been giving out gifts from the Balfron 10k event.

There were t-shirts left over from previous races and the organisers kindly gave these to us. As you know, it takes a long time for things to arrive at their destination. However, last week, trainers and other shoes were given out to students at Bright Futures Secondary School and also to staff and volunteers. Everyone was very thankful for these gifts.

Yesterday, staff and volunteers were gifted the Balfron 10k t-shirts. On behalf of everyone who received these gifts, thank you so much. They are delighted to have been thought about. A small gift like a t-shirt means a great deal to the people who are living in extreme poverty.

We are going to be at this year’s Balfron 10K race again on Sunday 3rd May…exactly two months from now. Changing Lives Malawi will again be collecting trainers and other shoes of all sizes (no heels please). We must ask that all footwear is in good CLEAN condition. Would you be still happy to wear them? Do they have holes in the soles? The people receiving your preloved shoes and trainers walk miles every day, so the footwear needs to be functional and clean.

Can you tell your friends and spread the word so that we collect more than 100 pairs this year? There are hundreds of children and adults that we help to support and they would all love a new (to them) pair of shoes. Also, we would be grateful for a donation of £1 per pair of shoes to help towards transport costs. We are based in Balfron so this is our ‘home event’. Lets make it another successful one this year. Thanks also to Shoe Share Malawi who also donated training shoes to us and put us in touch with the organisers of the Balfron 10k event. Thanks so much, Sarah x

Also, some other news to share, myself and another trustee, Liz, are visiting the projects we support in Malawi for the first time in May. We are very excited and you can read about our plans here https://gofund.me/866bf18f0 and if you’d like to get in touch, our email is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy the photos. Thanks again, Sarah x

Balfron 10K – collecting shoes

Balfron 10K – collecting shoes

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Sarah’s blog 05/05/25

What an amazing morning we had yesterday at Balfron 10K (sponsored by The Mulberry Bush Nursery). The sun was shining and spectators and runners were out in force…what a great community atmosphere!

Many of the hundreds of children and young people we help to support do not own a pair of shoes. They walk long distances to get to school and nursery and their feet need protecting. Also they need trainers for playing their favourite team sports; football, netball and rugby.

So many people where we live have several pairs of shoes and children are growing quickly so their shoes still have lots of life in them. We were delighted when the race organisers agreed that we could come along and collect preloved shoes that we had asked for via social media. We also asked for £1 donations to cover the cost of sending each pair of shoes. We pay £17.50 per box on the container that goes to Malawi and there are associated costs in Malawi to collect the boxes.

We were absolutely delighted with the response and the 85 pairs of shoes/trainers that were donated. Thank you so much everyone! This is life changing for young people who do not have shoes or their shoes are far too small. I have also had two bags of shoes handed to me today so that takes us over 100 pairs now! This is an ongoing project so we are happy to accept preloved trainers, shoes, crocs or sliders at any time. Could we please respectfully ask that shoes are clean and in good condition.

I have included in the photos below our QR code if you didn’t manage to make a donation to cover sending your shoes yesterday or if anyone would like to make a donation in general via the QR code or website or you can email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details.

The 10k organisers kindly donated some surplus t-shirts from one of the previous races. These will help young people feel part of a team when playing football etc so will be shared between local primary schools. Thank you.

We had a great time chatting to people yesterday and made some good connections. I want to say thank you to my hubby Stuart who, as he calls himself, is the lifter and shifter… couldn’t do this without you. Also to Jackie who provides so much support in the background and willingly helps at events like this. We really do need more volunteers though just to make things a little bit easier and share the load. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like to get involved. Many thanks everyone and hope you enjoy the photos and video, Sarah x

ps we are also raising money to buy soap for each of the children and young people to take home to their families to help protect against the Mpox outbreak. If you can help then here is the link, thank you. https://donorsee.com/project/27307?share=1

Thank you for the books Balfron Primary School!

Kilometre Challenge News

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Sarah’s blog 08/11/22

Because of all the exciting news about Bright Futures Secondary School opening yesterday, we haven’t had an update on the Kilometre Challenge recently.

First Day of Bright Futures Secondary School 07/11/22 – Changing Lives Malawi

Our Kilometre Challenge is to virtually add kilometres to total the same distance that our boxes travel between here and The Foundation. On one of the routes that the container ships follow (plus land kilometres) the total kilometres are 13,144km. We have been asking people to donate their kilometres from their daily walk, run or cycle. Whether you only walk 2km or you’ve cycled 20km – every little helps so please get in touch to give us your kilometres to add to our total. The race is definitely on as the container ship gets nearer its destination. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We took our boxes to Dundee to the Bananabox warehouse. Once their warehouse is full, they order and pack a container which then goes to Grangemouth Docks. The container started off on The Alana which went from Grangemouth to Antwerp. The container then changed ship to The Chloe. This container ship left Antwerp for Le Harvre and then onto Las Palmas. From there The Chloe travelled to Cape Town and has now reached Durban.

Some of the people who have been supporting our challenge are Team Mackay. They were on holiday recently and, between the four of them, clocked up 574km. Very well done and thank you for your support, Team Mackay! One of our other supporters had t-shirts made for Team Mackay, and as you can see from the holiday photos Jackie has sent, the t-shirts were worn proudly! Thank you to Jim for the t-shirts!

The new update on the totals is (drum roll) 8,249.205 which is 62.76% of the total journey!! Amazing!! Please do message with your kilometres so we can try to win the race against these boxes that will arrive very soon! contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Although phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School has been completed, we still need desks and more textbooks and then will continue fundraising to provide more classrooms. If you can donate and support education for the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi, then please donate here https://gofund.me/44a92444 Thank you all for your continued support and for helping us continue Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x

How many kilometres now?

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Sarah’s blog 22/9/22

Lots of people have been busy in the background adding kilometres to the total for our challenge. We are fundraising to build a desperately needed secondary school in rural northern Malawi and decided we would follow one of the routes that the boxes of aid travel. The total route is over 13,000km and we need more people ‘donating’ their kilometres to help us get to our total.

Do your children walk to school? Could they take part and let us know their totals for the week? Do you walk them to and from school? That means you will do double what your children do. Are you walking the dog every day? Or supermarket shopping? We need your kilometres please whether the total is big or small. The more people who help then the quicker we will get to our total. The local newspaper said they will feature our fundraising story every time we get to a significant goal. So please join in and tell us how many kilometres you’ve walked in a day/week. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

A few of the children that the Foundation supports ran 3km yesterday adding to our total. They were delighted to be helping and they also received some new clothes and flipflops too. So, the new total is 4,940.423 km which is 37.59%. Very well done everyone who has helped us so far…and if you’ve not donated any kilometres yet….please can you help us?

We are building Bright Futures Secondary School as there are not enough places available in the secondary schools nearby. Also, young people have to board as it’s too far to walk every day. Secondary education has to be paid for, so it makes it prohibitive for the majority of young people who are supported by the Foundation unless they have sponsors.

The school is being built in phases as we are on a shoestring budget as usual! Two classrooms will be built to start with, and we will add to the school over the next few years. Please will you help? These young people need a way out of poverty… they are desperate for education as they know this is the way to a better future for them and their families.

To donate you can get in touch by email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our bank details or you can donate here https://gofund.me/44a92444 You can make a difference today. We need you to help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Hope you enjoy the photos and videos of the children running yesterday. All of these children (apart from Catherine) would benefit from being matched with a sponsor, so please get in touch if you’d like to support one of them. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

These four girls ran 3km and also received some new clothes. Only Catherine (pink top) has a sponsor. If you’d like to be a sponsor email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Chimwemwe and Ivet received new clothes and ran 3km to add to our total. Both need sponsors.

How many kilometres now?

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Sarah’s blog 31/7/22

Wow, how did we get to the end of July already? It’s certainly been a busy month!

Just thought I’d do a quick post with an update as to how many kilometres have been travelled so far on our journey to help build a secondary school for some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. We are following one of the routes that the boxes of aid travel between my house and until they arrive at their destination. That’s over 13,000km!

We have several people working hard and adding their kilometres from walking, cycling and running…however, we need more people taking part…we need you! Do you walk round the supermarket? Do you walk the dog? Or take your children or grandchildren to the park? All of those kilometres count! Can you attach a pedometer to the children whilst they are doing football training or playing with their friends? Every kilometre will help us help the children. Please get involved.

Jackie has just updated the total and has completed a bike ride with her son, Ben, this afternoon…well done both of you!

So the UK kilometres are 1,652.655 and the Malawi kilometres are 320 so the total so far is 1,972.655 = 15.01%

This is brilliant but the more people we have taking part then the quicker the journey. Please take part. Please add your kilometres. Every kilometre counts.

The whole point of this journey is to raise funds to build a desperately needed secondary school which is going to be named Bright Futures Secondary School. Currently, there are not enough places in secondary schools in that area so if you don’t get chosen for a place then you don’t go. We want all children to have access to education. The children know that education is their way out of poverty…their way to a brighter future.

Here is the link to donate to help build Bright Futures Secondary School https://gofund.me/44a92444 and give the gift of education.

This is the link for all the information you need to take part in the challenge https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9 We’d love you to join us! This is a huge challenge and we need your help. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Thank you Ben and Jackie… you can put your feet up this evening!

Jackie’s very wet adventure

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Sarah’s blog 25/7/22

Jackie is one of the people who has embraced our kilometre challenge and has been doing lots of cycling. She is also keeping a note of the totals for me.

Jackie and family have been helping to move a boat through the locks on the Crinan Canal. There are 15 locks along the canal to move the boats from one level to the next. Jackie had her bike with her and was running and cycling between the locks adding to her total kilometres.

If you want more info on the canal here is a link: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/crinan/crinancanal/index.html

It is a beautiful place and I had said to Jackie last week that there would be lots of tourists watching them open and close the locks as the boat travelled through the different sections. There were no tourists! The rain could not have been any heavier and poor Jackie (and everyone else) got absolutely soaked. She is very brave for allowing me to post a photo of her looking a little bit wet and fed up! Well done Jackie and thank you for adding lots of kilometres to our total.

So I’m going to post a couple of photos to show you how beautiful the scenery is then Jackie’s photos and the route she was running/cycling back and forward!

The new totals are U.K. 1,250.285 kilometres, Malawi 320km = 1,570.285 kilometres which is 11.95% of our total.

To take part in our challenge to travel one of the routes the boxes of aid take from here, Balfron, to northern Malawi… over 13,000km click here https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9 and to donate to help us build a much needed school … Bright Futures Secondary School https://GoFund.me/44a92444

If you think Jackie has done a brilliant job this weekend then please donate a few £££. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Internet photo – One of the locks on the canal on a sunny day

Another photo from the internet… this is what Jackie would have been doing but in the pouring rain!

Jackie’s bike and the boat they were helping to move through the 15 locks in the torrential rain

Jackie covered quite a few kilometres running and cycling back and forward

A very wet and tired Jackie! Well done Jackie and thank you for sharing your kilometres with us!

More Kilometres!

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Sarah’s blog 15/07/22

Some more kilometres to add to the total…. but we want more people to get involved! We know you aren’t lying in bed all day! Some of you will be tracking your fitness anyway….give us your kilometres please!

Paul, one of our trustees, is on holiday and we are very impressed that he has sent photos from the hotel gym….10km…well done Paul!

Douglas, a great supporter of ours and who helps take boxes to Dundee, has been out walking. Since the start of July he has walked 98.975km… thanks Douglas and that’s a great amount to add to our total.

Jackie is keeping the totals and we are now 8.74% of the way…only 166km to go until we get to 10%! UK 828.335km + Malawi 320km = 1,148.335km….well done everyone….great effort so far! here is the link for all the information and to get involved https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

We need you all taking part in our 13,000km journey…following one of the routes the boxes take from here to The Foundation. £1 per km sponsorship money will really help us build this desperately needed school for some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi. To donate: https://gofund.me/ece5753a

The more people who take part, the quicker we will do this. The more people who share posts, the more people will see it. By sharing we can reach a new audience and more people can get involved and or donate to our challenge. That way we aren’t always relying on our same generous group of supporters. So, who is up for the challenge? https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

Every child deserves an education. In fact it is every child’s right to have an education. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen for lots of children. Let’s make it happen for the children whom The Foundation supports. You can make a difference today. We can make a difference today. Let’s give the gift of education. Let’s give these vulnerable children a way out of extreme poverty. Let’s build a school! Let’s build Bright Futures Secondary School! I’m looking forward to seeing photos of your walk, gym visit or run. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

To donate: https://gofund.me/ece5753a to get involved: https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

Paul clocked up 10km in the hotel gym…well done Paul!

Juliet is asking for a secondary school as there are currently not enough places for all students

Fundraiser – get involved – let’s build a school

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Sarah’s blog 30/6/22

I’m not very technically minded but, thankfully, I know a few people who are. Very soon, we will be launching a fundraiser where anyone who wants to be involved; wherever you are in the world, whatever your ability or age….you CAN make a difference.

We are going on a very long journey, and you can join us, by whatever means you want. The more people who join in then the more sponsor money there will be and the quicker we can complete this challenge. We need to build a secondary school as there aren’t enough places currently. We need to raise more money in order to do this. We need your help and they children are relying on your help and our help. So will you join us?

You can walk, run, cycle, hop, skip or jump or use your visit to the gym to log miles on the running machine, exercise bike or rowing machine. Kids can join in, families, individuals, friends. There can be a competitive element between friends or a whole club could see how far they got in a night by adding their miles together. Please, please join us. We can’t do it without your help.

ALL CHILDREN DESERVE AN EDUCATION WHEREVER THEY ARE IN THE WORLD. Can you help us by raising a few £££ sponsorship money or sponsoring us? Let’s do this. As a team we can build a school and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Get in touch to register your interest and watch this space for more information. Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

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