Tag: school

Agricultural Classes at Bright Futures Secondary School

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

Agriculture Lessons at Bright Futures Secondary School Reviewing the first week of Bright Futures Secondary School

Bright Futures Secondary School – phase 2

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.

Will you donate to our fundraiser? https://gofund.me/ece5753a Or could you commit to donating a monthly amount? our charity bank details are Sort Code 80-22-60 Account Number 21081462. Or you can email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

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

First Day of Bright Futures Secondary School 07/11/22

Agriculture Lessons at Bright Futures Secondary School

School Lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School

https://videopress.com/v/H2ta6Zyd?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&autoPlay=true&loop=true&playsinline=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Clean Water to Drink

Something we take for granted – this is the joy that having clean water can bring http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 26/04/23

These two photos show the importance of clean water. The first photo was taken at the weekend. The second photo was taken on the day the tap was first connected to the clean water supply at The Foundation. The nursery children in that photo were the first ones to drink from it – actually the little girl, Josephine, was first.

So it’s the same tap with photos taken a few years apart but they are almost identical. A group of young children who are able to turn on a tap and delight when fresh, clean water flows out. (I altered both photos to black and white as it is easier to see the water droplets.)

These children attend Chambo Primary School where there is no water. We want to be able to replicate these scenes at Chambo Primary School. Clean drinking water should be available to all children. Thanks to a grant we have received from The Kitchen Table Charities Trust, soon there will be a tap just like this outside Chambo Primary School. We know that something we take for granted will bring those children great joy. We look forward to sharing those joyful photos with you.

WILL YOU HELP US? We are still hoping for more support with feeding these vulnerable children. If you can spare £5 per month towards our Feeding Programme you can either text FEEDING to 70480 or contact me for bank details to commit to a monthly amount. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you for helping us continue to help these malnourished children, Sarah x

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

Great News for Chambo Primary School

We are delighted to have received a grant.

Sarah’s blog 22/4/23

Yesterday was a day for good news. To be honest, I haven’t stopped smiling every time I think about this.

Yesterday our small team of volunteers finished the challenge to travel the same number of kilometres as the boxes we send to Malawi on a container ship. If you’d like to donate to help us build phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School then the link is here https://gofund.me/ece5753a and here is the link to yesterday’s story From here to Malawi – The challenge is complete! – Changing Lives Malawi we would be so grateful for any donations.

As part of trying to raise funds for our charity, I am regularly applying for grants. I’m not just thinking about The Foundation but about the whole community so when I saw a grant that the criteria was for a primary school, I thought of Chambo. However, lots of other charities are applying for the same grants so it isn’t often that good news comes back from an application. Thankfully this time the answer was ‘YES’.

Chambo Primary School, which is nearest to The Foundation we help to support, has only one classroom with desks and chairs. The children sit on the floor in the other classrooms. There are not many resources. We have already provided 17 boxes of books to help the students become more confident readers.

Lots of these children are orphans and make up the 500 children and young people we help to feed every weekend. This is the only substantial meal many of them get each week as no big charities are feeding children in primary schools in this area. At Chambo Primary School there is no water supply. There are no toilets.

We have secured a grant of £6,000 from The Kitchen Table Charities Trust, a small charity set up by John Humphries, to help the students at Chambo Primary School. This grant will provide them with a clean water supply and also two more classrooms will have desks and stools. We are so delighted as having clean water to drink will help their concentration and they will also be able to wash their hands. Thank you so much to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for enabling us to help the hundreds of vulnerable children at Chambo Primary School.

I will keep everyone updated as this project progresses and there will be lots of photos coming regularly from Malawi. The headteacher, staff and students at the school haven’t even been told about this yet….Levison is looking forward to sharing this wonderful news on Monday morning.

So thank you again to The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for trusting us and helping make a difference to very vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. There is still much to be done but, bit by bit, we are Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Students in p8 at Chambo Primary School. We paid their teachers to run a study school during the Easter holidays to prepare them for their national leavers exams. We also ensured they were fed each lunchtime.
Children at Chambo Primary looking at some of the books we sent to help them become confident readers.
The 17 boxes of books we gifted to Chambo Primary School. Many of these were preloved books donated by our supporters. We are now supplying other primary schools with boxes of books.
The Health Centre which is near to Chambo Primary School. They have a clean water supply and have kindly allowed this to be used to pipe water to Chambo Primary School.
A water tower at the Health Centre. We paid for a survey to be done to ensure that this project was feasible. Staff at the health centre are delighted that the clean water can be shared.
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School. These two classrooms were built as part of phase 1. We are now fundraising for phase 2.
Feeding the 500 orphans and other vulnerable children are fed a substantial meal once a week

Easter Study School, School Lunches & hungry students

Sarah’s blog 05/4/23

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

Sweet Potatoes, Maize & Beans – Changing Lives Malawi

Sunday lunch – Changing Lives Malawi

Easter Holiday Exam Preparation – Changing Lives Malawi

Easter Holiday Exam Preparation

Sarah’s blog 28/3/23

There has been so much going on behind the scenes here. I have been busy applying for grants and working out costings with Levison so I am sorry it has been a while since my last post.

We have some really exciting news that will be of benefit to the students at Bright Futures Secondary School and the p8 students at Chambo Primary too.

First of all we are delighted that four teachers at Chambo Primary School have agreed to work for part of the Easter holidays to give extra tuition to the 66 students in p8 to help them prepare for their end of term exams. This will give them a better chance of passing their national primary school leavers exams. All of these students are welcome to sign up for this study school. We are paying the primary school teachers and will provide lunch each day for students and teachers.

None of the students at Chambo Primary receive food at school. Most are malnourished and lots attend the weekly Feeding Programme where they receive their one substantial and nutritious meal of the week. During the Easter holidays they will receive a cooked lunch each day to help them concentrate.

The teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School have volunteered to work for part of their Easter holidays and will be paid extra for this. We are grateful for all the teachers giving of their time so that these vulnerable students have some extra lessons, especially the S2 students who have national exams in May.

The format for the two week Easter break will be four full days lessons each week; three hours in the morning, a break for lunch and three hours lessons in the afternoon. On Good Friday and Easter Monday there will be a couple of hours of organised team sports to ensure that the students get a break from their studies and have some competitive fun and physical exercise with their friends.

ALL STUDENTS WILL BE RECEIVING ONE SUBSTANTIAL, NUTRITIOUS COOKED MEAL EACH DAY WHICH IS MORE THAN THEY WOULD BE HAVING AT HOME IF THERE WAS NO STUDY SCHOOL. This is where we need some extra help from our kind and generous supporters. Will you help us feed these young people during their Easter break?

We need approximately £300 extra to buy additional maize and beans to feed these teenagers each day. Unfortunately, it is the rainy season and maize prices are high. Maize is also getting more difficult to find as a lot has been sent south to help feed the victims of Cyclone Freddy, which is making prices higher still. Levison said that today, lots of roads are flooded due to heavy rain which will also make it difficult to source maize. However, Levison always finds a way to ensure the young people are fed and is phoning round to try and source maize and reserve it.

So will you help us feed the young people in p8 at Chambo Primary School as well as the students at Bright Futures Secondary school whilst they work hard and study for their exams? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or text FEEDING to 70480. Even if you can spare £5 or £10 it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and for your continued support, Sarah x

The young people love team sports. This kit was kindly supplied by Fakenham Town FC
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School enjoying lunch after their Christmas Party thanks to a kind donation
Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, kindly donated this rugby kit, boots and rugby balls
Science at Bright Futures Secondary School
Mock exams at Bright Futures Secondary School
Some of the students in their new uniform
All young people have access to the library and students are learning how to use computers
Rugby was introduced to the young people last year. We are hoping to facilitate another coaching session in September
only p8 students have desks and benches in their classroom the other classes are bare and the children sit on the floor

International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day….

Sarah’s blog 8/3/23

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 sponsor
Chifundo’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.

World Book Day

On World Book Day…find out the difference books are making to the orphans and vulnerable children we support in rural Northern Malawi.

Sarah’s blog 2/3/23

On World Book Day, I want to share some photos with you. These photos aren’t the usual fun photos that will be shared all over social media today.

Children at many schools will be dressing up as their favourite characters from fiction books to celebrate World Book Day. This is great fun and celebrates the importance of reading, love of books, favourite authors and most loved stories.

The children we help to support in Malawi are aged between 4 and 20 and all deserve to have an education and access to books. Our Literacy Project is addressing literacy for those in the nursery to the students in Bright Futures Secondary School. Previously, books were few and far between. How can a child be a confident reader if they don’t have access to books?

We are gifting boxes of books to rural primary schools where reading material is at a minimum and children are sitting on the floor in classrooms. A library has been built (The Emma Buchanan Rainbow Library) which now has a full wall of books of all subjects for children to read in the library and also to borrow. There are some computers in the library too (no internet yet) where students are learning to to type and learning about using computers.

All 75 pre-school children have been given a book each to keep. There are also picture books been donated to the nursery. All of these vulnerable children, have missed out on years of pre-reading. They weren’t able to sit on an adult’s knee as a baby and have books read to them daily. They weren’t given the opportunity to turn pages and look at pictures and then pretend to read the story by following the words with their fingers. I wonder, how many hours of ‘reading’ have our children had before they even get to school? These children have missed out on all of that.

So let’s celebrate, on World Book Day, that these children now have access to books every day. Let’s celebrate that the students in the new Bright Futures Secondary School have text books, bibles and dictionaries, as well as access to the library. Because of the School Literacy Project, will we see literacy levels increase amongst these vulnerable children in the next few years? Education is their way out of poverty. Education is the key to a better and brighter future for them. Education means chances and choices. Let’s celebrate that things are changing for these children and books are a big part of this change.

Here is the link to the fundraiser for the next classrooms at Bright Futures Secondary School https://gofund.me/ece5753a We would be so grateful for any donations to ensure that we can continue to build phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School and ensure that the education of the most vulnerable young people can continue.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the photos, Sarah x

The first boxes of books that we sent that people had kindly donated. This was an amazing day for these children who were delighted to be able to look at these books with their friends.

Seventeen boxes of books were gifted to Chambo Primary School
Children sit on the floor at Chambo Primary School…only the p8 class has tables and chairs
At Bright Futures Secondary School – we sent bibles donated by St Michael’s Church, Slateford Road, Edinburgh
We are hoping that by gifting books to preschool children, literacy levels might start to improve as children become more confident readers
S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School
This was the first time that these preschool had sat at tables and chairs. They enjoyed the novelty and liked choosing a book each to look at
Looking at books in Emma’s Rainbow Library – named in memory of Emma Buchanan
Finding out how to use a computer
As well as lots of donated pre-loved books, we have sent a selection of books about black people in history and black role models, and Levison has been able to buy books written by Malawian authors
Mwiza has additional needs and isn’t able to attend school. He has been given toys and games to stimulate him and to help his muscle strength and coordination. His youngest sister has started school a year earlier than was expected because she is very able. Is this because she has had access to books at home?
We were very grateful to receive a grant from The Souter Charitable Trust which we used to buy text books for Bright Futures Secondary School

An Amazing Quiz & Band Night!

Thanks to everyone who supported our very successful fundraiser for the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School.

Sarah’s blog 25/2/23

Thank you to everyone who came along last night….it looked like everyone was having a brilliant time! The quiz that Douglas did for us was great fun! He’d put in a lot of work to prepare it and present it – so thank you so much Douglas!

There were so many raffle prizes that had been donated – thanks so much to everyone. We are very grateful to the following businesses; West Group Technical Services Ltd who donated a firepit made by Foldaway Fires, a cycling jacket from Endura, a hamper from Endrick Trading Ltd, vouchers from Tir na nog Holistic Centre, Milk & Honey Artisan Ice Cream, The Woodhouse, The Kitchen Window, Briarlands Farm, Wellsfield Farm, Ticketyboo Hair Design Buchlyvie and Exceptionail Buchlyvie. We had some wonderful prizes!

There was also a bottle of single malt whisky donated by one of our trustees, David Bell, to use as a prize for throwing £1 coins at….the nearest coin wins the bottle. There were so many coins being thrown and someone’s coin touched the bottle whilst lots of people were still waiting for a turn. So David, very kindly offered to buy a second bottle of whisky so everyone else got a turn to throw their £1 coins… this and the amount of raffle tickets that were purchased made a lot of money for our charity.

Then there is a huge thank you to local band, Acoustic Station, who gave their time and talents free of charge. Stuart, the drummer, is one of our trustees (and my husband) so I am slightly biased but they were amazing and people were up dancing all night!

After a very late night, I counted all the money this morning and added what was already paid directly into the charity bank account. £1,503 is the grand total! An amazing start to our fundraising for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Thank you for buying tickets, raffle tickets, donating raffle prizes and being so supportive of what we, as a small group of volunteers, are trying to do. 100% of the money will go towards building the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. Thank you so much to those who helped set up and tidy up and, as always, it’s been amazing teamwork.

I hope you enjoy the video clips of Acoustic Station from last night. The link to our fundraiser is https://www.gofund.me/ece5753a and, as always, if you want to get in touch then the email address is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks again, Sarah x

Bright Futures Secondary School – desks, chairs, uniform & exams – Changing Lives Malawi

Merchiston Castle School – another rugby donation – Changing Lives Malawi

We had some amazing donations for our raffle!
Bright Futures Secondary School – Phase 2 Fundraiser
Acoustic Station – River Deep Mountain High
Acoustic Station – You Never Can Tell
Acoustic Station – I Think We’re Alone Now
Acoustic Station – Proud Mary

A visit to the Health Centre

Sarah’s blog 21/2/23

Some of the wonderful donations of clothes and knitting for babies that have been donated were delivered to the Health Centre that is near to The Foundation. There is a maternity ward in the health centre and staff are very happy to have the connection with The Foundation and to receive clothes for the new babies.

Levison and the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School want the young people, who are receiving free education, school meals, uniform etc to give back to their community. A trip was organised to the health centre today for some of the students to go with their teachers to deliver the baby clothes and blankets. They also cut the grass round the buildings and swept debris from the outside areas.

It looks like everyone enjoyed the visit and the staff and mothers were delighted to receive some clothes for their babies. On the last visit there were some new born babies but today there were some older babies with their mums and also some women who were due to give birth. One person commented that these gifts had come from angels….so thank you so much to each and every person who has knitted blankets and baby clothes or donated baby clothes that their own children have grown out of. You can see where your gifts have gone and that they are very much appreciated. Enjoy the photos and thanks for supporting, Sarah x

The latest beautiful donations from Torrance Church that I received on Sunday. These will be going on the next container.

100 People x £1 per week

Sarah’s blog 19/2/23

It’s just a quick post today. I am concerned about the children we are helping to support in rural Northern Malawi. There are over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children who come to be fed once a week… that’s all we can afford.

There are no big charities feeding children in schools in that area. All children are hungry, malnourished and don’t eat properly every day…some don’t eat every day.

We need your help to continue feeding these children as food prices have gone up and so many young people need our help.

If you can spare £1 per week… please, please will you help us? 100 people, each giving just £1 per week will ensure that the feeding programme can run twice a week instead of just once. We can make a difference to these hungry children.

Please will you commit to helping us help these very vulnerable young people? If we all give just £1 per week it WILL make a difference. All the money goes to our projects – there are no salaries or admin costs with our charity… every penny will go to feeding these malnourished children.

Email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to change a life with just £1 per week. As a team, we can change lives in Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x

Agriculture Lessons at Bright Futures Secondary School

Sarah’s blog 14/2/23

What do you do when you’ve got an old trampoline you want rid of? Send it to Malawi! That’s what one of our trustees did when he had dismantled his daughters’ old trampoline. The metal circle structure from the trampoline was sent on the container, along with polythene sheeting. The students, during their agriculture lessons, which are part of the curriculum, made a polytunnel using the trampoline semi circles at each end.

Here is the post from a couple of months ago when they had just made the polytunnel and were preparing the ground. The Polytunnel – Changing Lives Malawi

As you can see, as well as being part of the curriculum, experiences like this are giving these young people important skills for their futures. They are also going to be able to contribute what they grow for school lunches. This might be on a very small scale at the moment, but they will, no doubt, be delighted at what they are achieving. The students have been growing mustard. This small success might spark their enthusiasm for growing more crops to help provide some more food to supplement lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School.

As well as supporting the students’ learning experiences, we are now trying to raise funds for the next two classrooms. If you can donate we will be very grateful. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

https://gofund.me/ece5753a

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