Tag: school

Fathers’ Day Appeals (15th June)

For Fathers’ Day… will you buy your Dad a sustainable gift which will make a big difference to the hundreds of children who are living in extreme poverty in rural northern Malawi?

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Sarah’s blog 7/6/25

It’s Fathers’ Day next Sunday the 15th June. Would your Dad like a sustainable gift? Does your Dad really need another pair of socks? What do you buy for the man who has everything? We have the perfect gifts that will be special and a bit different. We need your help. We need to help the young people help themselves to a better and brighter future.

We are appealing for funds to purchase more agricultural tools to help the students during their practical agricultural lessons. They already have a few hoes, spades, slashers, watering cans and a wheelbarrow. However, more are needed so that all the students can take part in the lessons which are a core part of the curriculum. We’d like them to be able to have another wheelbarrow, more watering cans, more spades and hoes. Will you help please?

This appeal for tools also covers carpentry tools so that students at Bright Futures Secondary School can learn basic woodwork. This will be another skill for life for those living in a rural community and a possible way to earn money for some. If you’d like to donate on behalf or your Dad, you can either email me a name or leave a message on the DonorSee appeal with the name you’d like written to appear as donors of the carpentry equipment. https://donorsee.com/project/27684?share=1

Our other appeal is for more fruit tree saplings. Approximately, 500 orphans and other children and young people living in extreme poverty receive a nutritious meal at the Feeding Programme once a week. There are no big charities feeding children in primary schools in the rural far north, meaning most children are suffering from malnutrition and all are hungry. Families cannot afford to feed their children and prices continue to rise. This is an amazing chance to support these children and their families. To help them become self-sufficient.

By planting more fruit tree saplings, the orchard will continue to grow. It will provide much needed food for years to come. Any surplus fruit will be able to be sold, providing a sustainable source of income. Will you help by purchasing some fruit tree saplings please? https://donorsee.com/project/27708?share=1

There is the opportunity to leave a message on the two DonorSee appeals with the name of your Dad or other important man in your life. Names will be written on a board for the new area of Orchard or, for the carpentry tools, on a wall at Bright Futures Campus. We rely on the generosity of our donors. Let’s do this together. Let’s make a real difference to hundreds of children and young people who do not have enough to eat.

Or would you like to make a donation in memory of a special person? Let me know and their name will be added. Donations can be made by clicking on either of the two DonorSee links or by emailing for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you so much, Sarah x

One of the first saplings planted..this guava tree is now bearing fruit
Planting bananas which are now growing well
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School have also planted pine tree saplings to help prevent soil erosion, replace trees used for firewood and to help protect the planet.

Allander Rotary & Rotary International

Thank you to Allander Rotary & Rotary International

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Sarah’s blog 4/6/25

This blog is a big THANK YOU for the support we have received from Allander Rotary Club over the past couple of years. They have helped raise awareness of our charity as well as raising money for us and sponsoring a young person’s education.

Using some of the Sustainable Development Goals that we are working towards, they also applied for a grant from Rotary International on our behalf for which we are very grateful. This helped buy tree saplings and tools and also a solar pump is about to be purchased which will be a big help with watering the crops.

Thank you Rotarians for all the work you do in the background. It’s quite apt that it is volunteers week this week as you all give so much of your time! There are some lovely photos with signs that some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School had made to say ‘thank you’. Enjoy the photos, Sarah x

Brighton in the brown shirt is one of our sponsored young people. Here he is with his friends eating some of the ripe guavas from trees that were part of the first lot of saplings.
A lovely big smile from Brighton (brown shirt). Life has improved for him since being matched with a sponsor. Please do get in touch if you would like to sponsor a young person living in extreme poverty. The boys will enjoy these guavas.
one of the guava trees that was in the first lot of saplings planted a few years ago
Look how the banana plants are growing!

BFSS – S2 JCE Exams

Good luck to the second year students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they start their national exams tomorrow!

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Sarah’s blog 2/6/25

We wish the very best of luck to the S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they start their national exams tomorrow. Secondary school is over four years in Malawi, with national exams being done at the end of year two and year four. The BSFF students’ exams are over the first 6 days of the timetable.

None of these young people would have had this opportunity if it wasn’t for the generosity of their sponsors. They are all living in extreme poverty and, despite having passed their primary school leavers exams, that would have been the end of their education as none of their families could have afforded the secondary school fees. Most of the students at BFSS are orphans, living with extended family. Most don’t eat at home, so their free school lunch is vital.

They have all been given new pens & pencils and school uniform so they look and feel smart and confident. The exam centre is at Chisenga School so they will be getting taxis there and back each day. Until recently, they had never been in a car before! Once there are more students at Bright Futures Secondary School, students will be able to take their exams at their own school. We need to match more sponsors with students so that they too have the opportunity for a secondary education and have choices and chances that they wouldn’t have had.

We are still asking only £25 per month per student – so if you would like to give a young person a brighter future then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to make a difference.

So, good luck to the S2 class – Leonard, Timothy, Maggie, Asante, Phaless, Wongani, Wongani, Mphatso, Martha, Brave and Aaron – we are very proud of how hard you have been working and everything you have overcome to get this far! Thanks so much to their sponsors and teachers, Sarahx

Here is the link to help raise money for Bee Keeping at BFSS as part of their agricultura lessons. https://donorsee.com/project/25476?share=1

Science at Bright Futures Secondary School

Great photos and videos of practical science classes last week at Bright Futures Secondary School

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Sarah’s blog 12/5/25

Science lessons at Bright Futures are a lot more interesting since more resources have been purchased. Students have said that they never realised science was so much fun!

Mr Kanyimbo, Deputy Head at BFSS, (white shirt) sent these great photos and videos of himself and Mr Kalambo (blue shirt) teaching last week. They are a great way to see what happens during classes at Bright Futures Secondary School. Thank you to Mr Kanyimbo for sending the photos and videos. Thanks also to everyone who contributed to our fundraiser to buy practical science equipment. There are more resources on the way on the container which will be there for the new term starting in September.

Also, thank you to everyone who is supporting the education of these students. They wouldn’t be having the opportunities for learning or having a free school lunch every day without your kindness. We are looking for more sponsors for the students who will be looking for places at BFSS in September. It’s still only £25 per month. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We are raising funds to buy soap for students to take home to their families to help protect everyone from the outbreak of MPox. If you can help us with buying soap the link is here https://donorsee.com/project/27307?share=1 or you can email me at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

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!

The New Staffroom – Planning for September

Lots happening in preparation for more teachers & students at Bright Futures Secondary School in September.

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Sarah’s blog 02/05/25

Now that the rainy season is over, it is far easier to get on with building work. As there will be four classes next year at Bright Futures Secondary School, and more teachers need to be employed, a staffroom is needed. As you will see from the photos, the builders are working really hard and it won’t be long until it’s finished.

All students at Bright Futures Secondary School have been matched with sponsors to support their education. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi and none of the young people we help to support would have the opportunity to progress past primary school, even though they passed their primary school leavers exams. Teachers salaries have to be paid, students receive a free school lunch every day (for most their only meal each day), school uniform and other clothes, stationery and exam fees are all free of charge to students.

As everything is free of charge for these vulnerable young people who are living in extreme poverty, we cannot unfortunately accept additional students who do not have a sponsor helping to support the costs of their time at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison told me this week that recently he has had over two hundred young people pleading for places at Bright Futures Secondary School. Their families have not been able to keep up payments for the secondary schools that these students are attending and they have been chased out of school due to non payment of fees. Unfortunately, all Levison can do is to take a note of their names. This is a really difficult situation. The more sponsors we have then the more students can attend Bright Futures Secondary School.

We are already thinking about September when there will be a new class of S1 students to find sponsors for. It is still only £25 per month to help support a student. If you would like to express an interest in supporting a young person in September then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . We also have younger children who are needing immediate support if you would like to be matched with one of them we would be very grateful.

Right now we are raising money to buy soap for all the children and young people who use the feeding programme each week, Bright Futures Nursery, Bright Futures Secondary School and Chambo Primary School. There is always soap for handwashing and showering at Bright Futures Campus but the vast majority of these children and young people do not even have one bar of soap at home. The Malawi Government have issued guidelines to help protect against outbreaks of the MPox virus. Thankfully, there are none in that immediate area but we must help with preventative measures. You can either email for bank details to donate or give via this link https://donorsee.com/project/27307?share=1 .

We are also still fundraising to buy notebooks and pencils for students at Chambo Primary who have none https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1

The students at Bright Futures Secondary School are also still fundraising to have their own beehives. This will give them more agricultural skills as well as providing honey and an income from selling surplus supplies. https://donorsee.com/project/25476?share=1

I’d like to thank everyone for the ongoing support we receive, both here and in Malawi. It’s always about teamwork and, playing our small part of a team, using our skills, we can do great things and help continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x

The new staffroom at Bright Futures Campus is taking shape

Solar Kit Installation

More progress behind the scenes with solar power kit being installed.

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Sarah’s blog 24/4/25

Just a quick blog today to show you some of the work going on behind the scenes.

We had been fortunate to receive a grant from The Souter Charitable Trust last year and bought solar kits with the money. Here are some photos from last week of the kit being installed on one of the teachers’ accommodation blocks. Each room has a plug socket where teachers will be able to charge their phones, plug in a kettle etc. The accommodation block already has solar lighting with each room having a set of three; one for the veranda, one in the sitting room and one in the bedroom.

Thank you to The Souter Charitable Trust for helping us provide solar power. As Bright Futures Secondary School is in such a rural location, accommodation is needed to attract teaching staff. The first accommodation block was built with a generous grant from The Clive Richards Foundation. We are very grateful for all the support we have received to make projects like this possible. Thanks, Sarah x

A child’s right to nutritious food

UN rights of the child states in article 24 that children have the right to nutritious food. Please read today’s blog and help us if you can.

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Sarah’s blog 15/4/25

The United Nations Rights of the Child states in article 24 that children have the right to the best health care possible, safe water to drink, nutritious food, a clean & safe environment and information to help them stay well.

The Sustainable Development Goals number 2 is working towards zero hunger.

As many of you know, we help to support a feeding programme that runs once a week. It’s nowhere near enough, but all we can afford as we help the community to set up sustainable projects.

500 orphans and other vulnerable children access this feeding programme. Some walk as far as 15km-20km to have this one proper meal each week. Some young people carry their younger siblings. There are NO children being fed in primary schools in rural northern Malawi. All are hungry and many are malnourished. Some girls, despite it being illegal, are married off at age 11 or 12 as their families cannot afford to feed them.

Thankfully, because they have sponsors to help support their secondary education, all students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious free school lunch each day. In the video below, Ethel explains how none of the students have any food at home.

One of the big challenges, apart from sourcing food for so many people, is that prices continue to rise and currently the price of maize, where they are, has doubled from last year, and last year’s price was double the previous year. How are people supposed to feed their families? Most are really struggling and the situation is getting worse.

There is a holiday study school running this week and next for all students at Bright Futures Secondary School and p8 at Chambo Primary School to prepare them all for upcoming exams. There are teachers to pay, notebooks & pens to buy for the students at Chambo who have none, and food for all of them each lunchtime. Please will you help us? https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1

Having a nutritious meal at lunchtime is a huge treat for the students in p8 at Chambo Primary School. They don’t eat during their school day normally and their biggest meal is usually at the weekly feeding programme. We could not expect these young people to do extra studying and not feed them. Will you help us please? https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1 or you can email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for other ways to donate or give through the link on our website. Donate money and gifts to Changing Lives Malawi We look forward to bringing you photos and videos from this week’s study school. Thank you for your continued help and support, Sarah x

The price of maize has quadrupled in the last two years. Families cannot afford to feed their children and we cannot afford to buy as much food with the same amount of money.
Some of the children lining up to receive food at the weekly feeding programme. They are all hungry. Many are malnourished.

Update on Teachers’ Accommodation

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Sarah’s post 11/4/25

This post comes with a big THANK YOU to Vets With Horsepower, The Clive Richards Foundation and The Inverclyde Trust who all generously donated towards new buildings on Bright Futures Campus. I have also attached some photos of the completed teachers’ accommodation block, wash block and sinks. The majority of the work was completed in time to be used by teachers but, due to circumstances out with our control, finishing touches have only recently been completed and photos sent.

I have split this post into two sections; the first being the difficulties that have been faced by the team in Malawi. But, despite all these challenges, they continue to achieve and we are delighted with how the new accommodation block looks and the difference it will make to being able to employ even more teachers next year. 

Firstly, the challenges;

  1. Prices have continued to rise regularly, their currency has been devalued several times. (bags of cement bought yesterday for the next building are now the equivalent of £20 each).
  2. The truck broke down and was out of action for several months. An expensive part was sourced and purchased in Tanzania. There was no way of knowing if this would fix the issue but, thankfully it did! While the team didn’t have use of the truck they had to pay a local farmer with two oxen and a cart to transport bricks and water to the building site. As you might imagine, this was not easy or quick.
  3. There has been no fuel in petrol stations (especially rural ones) on and off for months now. They have had to source fuel on the black market when they can, at very inflated prices, and other times just wait until tankers do refill supplies.
  4. The government has started some building work relatively locally, so hiring workers has also proved problematic.
  5. The weather. The aim was to complete building work before the rainy season but it wasn’t possible to do this.

Despite these issues, the following has been achieved: 

  1. There are now six lovely new sitting room/bedrooms for teachers which has been such a great addition to know that there is accommodation to offer staff. Because it is such a rural location and the community is living in extreme poverty, teachers must have somewhere to live on campus. So there are now 10 bedroom/sitting rooms thanks to a previous grant we received from The Clive Richards Foundation for the first block of four. 
  2. There has been a second latrine block built beside the staff accommodation too.
  3. Clean water has been piped from the local health centre to that area of Bright Futures Campus. The teachers now have a water tap outside their accommodation.
  4. There has been a wash block built with showers and sinks and a drying area for clothes. There will be an additional wash block built in the next few months so male staff/female staff have their own space.
  5. Solar panel kits have been sent and are about to be installed on the teachers’ accommodation blocks, giving them plug sockets. Each room already has it’s own solar power x 3 lights giving one outside light and one light each in the bedroom and sitting room.

So despite a challenging year, we have a lovely new accommodation block thanks to the financial help we received. We are very grateful for everyone’s support in helping us to continue to work with some of the most vulnerable children and young people in rural northern Malawi and grow Bright Futures Secondary School.

The young people are benefitting by having free secondary education, free school lunches, playing team sports and learning skills for life (practical agricultural lessons growing their own food and looking after chickens, pigs and goats) and by being in school, lots of teenage pregnancies have been prevented. Also, there are no girls that have been married off too young because families cannot feed them. Because of their free, nutritious school lunch, there is one less mouth to feed at home.

Primary School Leavers exam pass rates are increasing year on year because of our School Literacy Project, collecting preloved books to send to schools where there are little or no resources.

Thank you again for taking a chance on our small charity. With a great team of supporters we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi and give children & young people a brighter future. Thanks again, Sarah x

If you would like to help provide notebooks and pens for students from Chambo Primary School during the Easter holiday study school, please donate here https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1 This study school is to help them prepare for their school leavers exams. If they don’t have paper and pens then they can’t take notes. Please help?

‘Forgotten Voices’ – hungry children

Forgotten Voices – hungry children. We are making a few very short videos with some of the most vulnerable people talking about issues they face. These ‘Forgotten Voices’ are from the far north of Malawi where help is scarce.

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Sarah’s blog 24/3/25

We are making a few short videos under the heading ‘Forgotten Voices’. There are not many charities working in the very far north of Malawi and certainly no big charities feeding children in primary schools.

These videos are a way of hearing some of the issues that the most vulnerable face. Their stories, told in their own words, making an impact. This video is ‘Forgotten Voices’ – hungry children.

Ethel, a student at Bright Futures Secondary School, is living in extreme poverty with her aunt. She has a long walk to get to and from school. She says that she and her other fellow students do not have any food in their homes. At least these students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious free school lunch each day. The children and young people in primary schools have nothing.

We help support a feeding programme once a week that feeds approximately 500 children and young people. Some children walk for 15km/20km for that one decent meal of the week. We are trying to help set up sustainable projects but these children need feeding now. Please will you help us?

There will be an Easter holiday study school running again for the BFSS students as well as the p8 students from Chambo Primary. Feeding 60+ students from Chambo Primary every day during this study programme is a huge cost and one that we need help with. However, we will not support these holiday revision sessions without feeding these malnourished young people. How can we expect them to concentrate without having food in their tummies?

So we would love your help with feeding the students during the Easter holidays please. If you’d like to help then the link is here https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1

Also, the students in p8 at Chambo Primary still need new notepads and pencils (well the whole school does but we cannot afford to help them all unfortunately). If you’d like to support purchasing notepads and pencils/pens then please click here https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1

Or you can donate via our website or email for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

https://videopress.com/v/A7gAVMja?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
Thanks to Ethel for helping to make this video about hunger

Feeding the 500 – help required

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Sarah’s blog 5/3/25

Food prices have doubled and maize is scarce. Please help us continue to feed 500 children and young people at the weekly feeding programme. The situation is becoming more serious as families cannot feed their children. Please help us continue feeding the 500 orphans and other vulnerable children each week.

Please help us fund this project https://donorsee.com/project/26104?share=1 or can you make a £5 or £10 monthly donation to the feeding programme? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x

A video from the weekly feeding programme. Some children are walking 15-20miles to receive this one proper nutritious meal each week. It’s not enough and maize has doubled in price. Please will you help with a one off or monthly donation?
Ethel, a student at Bright Futures Secondary School is saying how thankful students are for having free school lunches at Bright Futures SS. She says that none of the students have food at home. Also none of the primary schools have porridge programmes and all children at local primary schools, including Chambo Primary, are really hungry.

Life is so hard

Levison and team had such a difficult and challenging journey to collect the boxes we sent. Thankfully they are back safely and you can read about their journey in today’s blog.

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Sarah’s blog 26/2/25

I wanted to write this blog as I don’t think any of us can imagine just how hard life is for the community we are supporting in rural northern Malawi.

Everything takes so much longer and costs more because of distances. When visiting people’s homes, much of it has to be done on foot as places are not suitable for vehicles or even the motorbike struggles sometimes. Rivers have to be crossed and, if it has been raining, this is too dangerous. And what if Levison is doing a welfare check and finds no one at home? The family won’t have a phone, a message will have to be left with someone and he will need to try again. Nothing is simple.

Also, what if there is no fuel available? Periodically, the fuel stations are empty and any fuel is rationed. Food and other items are going up in price all the time. So many are struggling, but for those in the far north it is exceptionally hard.

We heard that the Bananabox Trust container had arrived in Lilongwe last week and that it was travelling north to Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) on Friday ready to be unloaded on Saturday morning. There is always a last minute rush to get things organised and set off on the long journey to meet the container and collect all the boxes that we and a few others had sent. It’s also a time to have a quick catch up with friends who run other organisations.

We are very glad that the truck was successfully repaired last month and for the financial help we received from some supporters towards this. The journey is just short of 200 miles. Levison and two of his team set off on Friday morning. They stopped for a few hours rest at Karonga then carried on to Ekwendeni. Thankfully, the road is a bit better between Karonga and Ekwendeni as it is a main road.

Once they had loaded all the boxes, they started back on Saturday afternoon. In Karonga they had a puncture and had to get a replacement tyre. Between Karonga and Chitipa the mud was so bad due to the heavy rain that the truck was stuck, along with some other vehicles and couldn’t move for several hours.

Finally, on Monday afternoon they arrived back on campus before school finished and the students at Bright Futures Secondary School were able to help unload the truck. I don’t think many of us could imagine a journey like that. Also, there is a risk of people attacking a vehicle when stopped and stealing some of the boxes, so someone has to remain alert at all times.

None of the children will realise how difficult this journey was to bring them books, clothes and shoes as well as baby clothes, blankets and school resources. But we are very thankful for the dedication and hard work of Levison and his team. It is a real labour of love and of sacrifice for others.

Over the next few days they will begin to open the boxes and I am sure there will be some photos of happy children getting some of the things they need.

I only wish that there could be a truckload of food delivered too or that feeding programmes were set up in primary schools as everyone is so hungry and we can only help to feed 500 children once a week. One proper meal a week is just not enough to fight off malnutrition. It seems like sometimes we take three steps forward and then two back as prices rise and less is available for the funds we have. Hopefully, we keep moving forward with the help of our supporters. It’s always about teamwork and thankfully we have a great team! Hope you enjoy these photos and videos and that, together with my blog, they give a good insight into the challenges faced by supporting a community in the rural far north of Malawi.

https://donorsee.com/project/26104?share=1 this is the link if you’d like to donate to help feed the children.

And here is the link to help repair the big holes in the roof of a family who are in dire need https://donorsee.com/project/26482?share=1 or you could contact us for bank details at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks so much for reading and supporting us, Sarah x

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