A few young people were at The Foundation yesterday. Levison took videos of Laston (yesterday’s post) and Juliet Ng’ambi appealing for a school in their village. Juliet is also in p8 and is worried that, even if she passes her exams, she won’t be picked for a place in secondary school in January as there aren’t enough places.
I’m confident that by growing our team of supporters we can make this a reality and help hundreds of vulnerable children out of poverty through education.
We need your help. I need your help please. Can you organise a coffee morning where you live? Or an event with your friends? Do your teenagers need volunteering opportunities and could help us with a sponsored event? Are you experienced at applying for grants? Can we come and speak at your club or church? I would love to hear your ideas of how you can help the children have a school in their village…so they can all go to school and be the best they can be.
contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to chat about how you can help or for bank details to make a donation. Or you can donate via this website or by texting SCHOOL to 70560 . I know we can do this together to continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
When the first few picture books arrived at The Foundation
Juliet Ng’ambi asks for a secondary school in her village so there are enough places for all children
Laston, when we first met him, was not attending school. He lives with his grandmother and was working for a farmer every day for approximately £1.50 per month. He was wearing rags which, he told Levison, were his only clothes. He was matched with a kind sponsor, given new clothes and a monthly food parcel and started attending school again.
Laston passed his primary school leavers exams. Laston has a sponsor to pay his secondary school fees. Laston DID NOT get picked for a place at secondary school as there are not enough places in schools for the number of children.
So, despite working hard and having passed his exams, Laston and another 10 sponsored young people have had to resit their last year at primary school. We’ve bought text books and Levison is tutoring them each week so they, hopefully, get higher grades next time and get picked for a place at secondary school.
Laston and his friends want a school in the village. Then all the children who pass their primary school exams can go to secondary school. Laston wouldn’t have to leave his elderly grandmother if there was a secondary school built in the village as she relies on him to help with chores.
Can you help us raise money for a school for the orphans and other vulnerable children? They know that education is the way out of poverty and they are determined to work hard. Let’s help them. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our bank details or with your ideas or you can text SCHOOL to 70560 to donate. Laston has benefitted so much from having a sponsor as you will see from his photos. There are more children waiting for this opportunity. Together we can continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Laston is saying that he’d like a new school as there are not enough places for children leaving primary and he’s had to repeat a year despite having passed his exams
If only it were that easy! It’s going to take a lot of fundraising and a lot of money and some very generous people to make this work. We can do this, together!
There are just not enough secondary school places. Even though children are passing primary leavers exams and have sponsors to pay their fees, if they don’t get picked then there’s nothing they can do! We have 11 such children who have sponsors kindly paying their fees but they have had to resit p8 as they didn’t get a place in secondary school. It’s heart-breaking for them when they are working hard and know that education is a way out of the dire poverty they are living in. We have bought text books and Levison is tutoring them each week to try to ensure they get better passes and are picked for a place at secondary school in January. Life is hard and not fair for these young people. We can help them if you join us.
As you will see from some of the young people’s writing, nearly all of them want to see a secondary school in their village. All the young people who had passed their primary school leavers exams would be given a place. As a lot of the young people are orphans, living with a single parent or grandparent, the fact that they could stay at home whilst attending secondary school would be a bonus as they would still be able to help with some chores at home. Let’s make their wishes come true.
This is us getting started but we need help. We need you. What are your skills? Are you good at applying for grants? Do you have the energy and enthusiasm for fundraising? Do you know anyone famous? Or do you have a large following on social media? Please get in touch and we can do this together. We can build a school. We can change lives. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x fundraisingschool.docx
I love the Starfish Story that I am going to share with you. Some of you will know it already.
Sometimes situations seem daunting and overwhelming. Sometimes I wonder how we can make a difference to the hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in Northern Malawi. But we are, bit by bit. Each of us helps, doing our little bit, as part of a team.
Five hundred malnourished children are receiving a nutritious, substantial meal once a week at the feeding programme. We wish we could afford to send more money to feed them more often or to set up a porridge programme at the schools. Unfortunately, at the moment, we can’t. We don’t yet have the finances for this. But the teachers have noticed that even this one meal is helping their concentrate and their grades.
Teenage girls are no longer missing school each month as they have been given reusable sanitary towels. This has given them dignity, inclusion and equality of education.
A nursery has been set up for 50 very vulnerable preschool children three times a week. They’ve been given clothes, blankets, flipflops and raincoats. They receive porridge at each session. This is making a big difference to these young children.
Ninety children have been matched with sponsors. They receive food, clothes, blankets, soap and education thanks to their generous sponsors.
These are only a few ways you have been helping us help the hundreds of very vulnerable children that The Foundation supports.
It’s teamwork as we couldn’t do it without you. If you haven’t yet taken on a sponsorship role or donated to the feeding programme… think about The Starfish Story I am sharing today. One person can make a difference. You can make a difference. If you sponsor one child, I sponsor another and so on, we CAN make a difference to ALL the vulnerable children. Please can you sponsor one of these vulnerable children today? It’s only £25 per month.
These children may not be starfish like in the story… but each one of them is a star. They are doing their best to survive. But they each need one of us to help them have more food and education. They each need one of us to help them be the best they can be. We need you to help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Each child deserves a chance. Let’s each of us support one child and Change their Life. We can do this if each of us makes up part of a big team around these children. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for reading and supporting. Please choose one of these stars to change their life today. Sarah x
These amazing children need a helping hand to reach their potential. To be the best they can be. Isn’t that what we all want for our children? Each of these children suffers from malnutrition. They need more food, clothes, education. Can you be a helping hand for one of these children? It’s only £25 p/m to sponsor a child. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com please look at each photo and help a child today. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
These are the most vulnerable children and most in need of a sponsor. Can you be a helping hand to one of these children?
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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
Here are the thoughts of Angela, Naomi, Chancy and Tamiwe. Education features in most of the young people’s answers to the questions they’ve been asked and it’s interesting that the majority want to be able to help others who are in similar situations to themselves. Hopefully, because of the generosity of their sponsors, they will then pay that forward as adults by providing a helping hand to the vulnerable in their community. Thank you to the sponsors for enabling these young people to have the gift of education. Unfortunately, Angela wasn’t there on the day photos were being taken but we will get another photo of her soon. If you can help us with fundraising, a financial donation or would like to sponsor a young person for £25 per month then email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading, Sarah x
Whilst the first year students were back from secondary school for the school holidays last week, they each had their photo taken and were asked to write their thoughts by answering a few questions. I hope you find their answers interesting. If you’d like to sponsor a young person to help them achieve their potential then please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com it’s only £25 per month to change a child’s life. Thanks, Sarah x
Here are couple of short videos of the children using the computers for the first time and also photos of them looking at the new text books that have been bought for The Library to help the children’s learning. New opportunities for these young people to be the best they can be. Thank you, Sarah x
Sometimes things happen that can’t be helped. People’s circumstances change and, much as they’d like to keep sponsoring a child through us, sadly they aren’t able to do so. That’s what has happened in this case. Tamara’s sponsor kindly stepped up to sponsor her and pay her fees for her first year at secondary school. Unfortunately, their circumstances have changed. We thank them for what they’ve done for Tamara this year as, without them, she wouldn’t have been able to take up her place at secondary school.
So we are looking for a new sponsor to help Tamara through secondary school please. It’s £25 per month and you can share that cost with a friend if that helps. It’s less than £1 a day to us but means the world to a sponsored young person. If you can help then please contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com and if you can’t help financially then please consider sharing posts in order to help find potential sponsors. Thank you for reading, Sarah x
Tamara is in 2nd year at Chisenga Secondary SchoolTamara, in her new uniform, about to start Chisenga Secondary School last year
It’s been another busy day at Changing Lives Malawi HQ (our house) and the Logistics Manager (my ever helpful husband, Stuart) has been kept extremely busy and I’ve been busy helping him.
At 8.30am this morning we had a delivery of 22 large boxes of school uniform. Most of it is new. Very sadly, a school closed and all of this is their excess uniform. I saw a post on a fb charity site so made contact. The lady that has collected and sent all this uniform was determined that it wasn’t all going to go to landfill.
We are only about a third of the way through repacking it in stronger boxes but here are some photos of the lovely clothes and bags that will be on their way to Malawi very soon. There will be lots of very smartly dressed children who will be delighted to have the gift of brand new clothes. We will, of course, post lots of photos when things eventually arrive at The Foundation. Many thanks for your generosity. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
approximately 20 new backpacks are on their way to the children at The Foundation, jumpers, cardigans, trousers, shorts, pinafores, skorts, polo shirts, shorts, trousers and waterproofs (and that’s only the boxes we’ve opened so far….all clothes age 4 – 10 years)
Yesterday, Levison visited the school to pay school fees for Angela and to pay exam fees for all those students taking exams this year. He was able to take some gifts of underwear, toiletries and calculators with him that arrived recently on the container.
The weather is causing such problems at the moment with the heavy rains causing flooding and making life very difficult for everyone. Levison managed to pay the fees and give out the gifts he brought for the sponsored young people. He also managed to take some individual photos before the rains came. He was absolutely soaked by the time he got home and had to shelter from the heaviest downpours. As he was on his motorbike, it was quite difficult for him on the roads home with all the flooding. Hopefully, the rains will only last another few weeks.
So if you don’t see a photo of your sponsored child in this batch of photos, they will be prioritised for a photo next time. Hope you enjoy the photos and if you would like to sponsor a young person please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x
