Tag: school

Two little films

We are loving these two short films from the students at Bright Futures Secondary School…we hope you do too!

Sarah’s blog 10/2/25

We were asked by one of the charities who supports us to make a short video to go on their website. Two of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, Mphatso and Hilda, helped us out with this and Levison filmed them in the library.

They thanked everyone who has supported them and continues to support them and said how much they like their school which has four classrooms. They receive free stationery and free school lunches. Hilda also said they enjoy practical science classes, practical agricultural lessons and playing sports.

Students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School were shown the short film and their reaction to the first video was filmed. It should, hopefully, make you smile.

Putting together a short film and photos with a professional finish is beyond my skillset unfortunately but I was able to call on one of my Facebook friends, Emma of Pineapple Digital Designs who very kindly put everything together to make two great films which we are delighted with. https://www.facebook.com/share/1EQLKvRH7N/

So the two films were sent to www.vetswithhorsepower.com who loved them and have already shared them on their social media pages. Thank you so much for supporting us again this year!

Feel free to share these two videos. These are some of the most vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi. Before they started at BFSS most were suffering from malnutrition. They are all still hungry but at least they get one nutritious meal every school day. Most of them are orphans living with extended family and none of them would have had the opportunity of secondary education without support.

https://donorsee.com/project/25476?share=1 is the link if you’d like to help set up a beekeeping project at BFSS to help with skills for life, produce food and be an income generating project.

https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1 to help buy seeds for income generating projects, practical agriculture and producing own food. Or you can email us at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We hope you enjoy watching these videos, Sarah x

BFSS Students Photos

Thanks to teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School for these great photos of students.

Sarah’s blog 8/2/25

These photos that were taken yesterday at Bright Futures Secondary School are great. Thanks to the teachers who took the photos and sent them to me.

As you can see class sizes are small to give these most vulnerable teenagers the best chance of a good secondary education when everything else is stacked against them. The older the students, the harder their lives have been as they have missed big chunks of school to work for a pittance. All are living in extreme poverty and the free lunch they have at Bright Futures Secondary School is, for most, the only meal they have each day. In September we hope that we can start increasing class sizes a bit now that the school has been open for a little while. Class sizes at Bright Futures Secondary School will always remain lower than government run schools.

Because it’s the rainy season, there are often a few absences as the rivers are too swollen for children and young people to cross. So, unfortunately, if students live further away, and it has been raining for a few days, they cannot reach school. Although things are greatly improved thanks to the wonderful help we receive from our supporters, the community still faces many challenges like having no bridges.

These photos were taken in Emma’s Rainbow Library. There are shelves of books along one wall and there will soon be shelves along another wall for the additional books that have been sent for the library. There are books for all age groups and spending time in the library is a treat to read or look at the pictures in books, as well as being able to do some studying.

All of these students would not have been able to attend secondary school if it wasn’t for us being able to match them with sponsors who help pay for their education and school lunches. This is the difference that having a sponsor makes. These students now have opportunities, choices and chances that they didn’t have before.

I will be sending these photos to sponsors of these students next week. Thank you to everyone who supports them on their educational journey, Sarah x

International Day of Education

Sarah’s blog 1/2/25

January has been such a busy and quick month for us. We’ve had lots of birthday celebrations in our family, as well as having a huge storm last week which resulted in a power cut. I seem to have been busier than usual and now February is here!

So, I’m a bit late with this post but there are so many ways that our supporters are helping us, through educational projects, to make a brighter future for the hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children we help to support in rural northern Malawi.

We are still raising funds to provide notebooks and pencils for students at Chambo Primary School. The link is https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1

Also we are trying to raise funds to buy a stock of wellington boots to be kept at school so children taking part in practical agricultural lessons have protective footwear and will prevent their only pair of shoes being ruined by mud. To help with this click here https://donorsee.com/project/26186?share=1

We have an Amazon wish list and have added some science equipment to this and would love to be able to have additional supplies to box up to send to Malawi. If you’d like to have a look at our list (and purchases get delivered to us) the link is here Amazon.co.uk

Here are a few photos of just some of the ways we have been able to support the education of some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. None of this would have happened without our supporters and we are so grateful for your help. Thank you, Sarah x

Planting bananas at Chambo Primary School
Clean water for drinking and washing hands at Chambo Primary School
New desks and the gift of notebooks and pencils at Chambo Primary School
Building a girls’ latrine at Chambo Primary School. This enables the girls to have dignity and privacy as well as safety. Previously, they had to relieve themselves in the bushes putting themselves at risk of being attacked.
We have collected thousands of preloved books and sent them to Malawi to support Emma’s Rainbow library, Bright Futures nursery, two primary schools and Bright Futures Secondary School. Already, exam results are improving so this relatively low cost project (£17.50 per box on the container) is making a huge difference and being noticed by the Education Department in Malawi.
Bright Futures Secondary School has been built for vulnerable teenagers who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity of secondary education which needs to be paid for in Malawi. We match each student with a sponsor to help support their educational costs. There are four classrooms and students receive a cooked school lunch every day which, for most of them, is the only food they have to eat and saves their families feeding them.
Bright Futures Campus on a day that the feeding programme was on. It feeds 500+ orphans and other vulnerable children once a week. No children are fed in primary schools in that area. Most are malnourished, all are hungry. Some children walk up to 15km to get to this free food.
Each Easter holidays we facilitate a holiday study school for the students in p8 at Chambo Primary and the students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School. These revision days are proving popular, making a difference and all the children are fed each lunchtime (a huge treat for the students at Chambo Primary who never receive food at school).
Recently, Bright Futures Secondary School received some more basic science equipment thanks to one of our supporters. Students said that they didn’t realise science could be so much fun! We are raising funds for more equipment and also have some science equipment on our Amazon wishlist.
Team sports are very popular, especially football and netball. We have facilitated touch rugby being introduced in schools in northern Malawi and the students are loving it!
Children queuing for their meal at the feeding programme. Teachers have reported that even this one meal per week is making a difference to the concentration of the most vulnerable children. Most children are malnourished. All are hungry. We wish could feed them more than once per week but that is all we can afford whilst we try to set up sustainable projects like planting fruit tree saplings. Children should have access to food each day. Unfortunately, although things are better than they were, this is still not the case. Prices are rising all the time and girls as young as 10 are at risk of being married off by their family so that there is one less mouth to feed.
More great photos of team sports when children can forget about their problems and have fun with their friends. We are fortunate to have had lots of preloved sports kit donated to us that we have been able to share. Having matching kit makes a big difference as they feel like they are part of a real team and their confidence and self-esteem grow. Also, knowing people that they have never met actually care about them is a huge boost for these vulnerable children.
As the community lives in such extreme poverty, there was nowhere for teachers being employed at Bright Futures Secondary School. Thanks to a grant we received, this is the first of two teachers accommodation blocks. Each teacher has their own bedroom and sitting room.
Catherine, Emily and Naomi all passed their S4 school leavers exams which is a huge achievement and we are very proud of them. They had a lunch in their honour and the girls spoke to younger students to encourage them.
There are up to 70 pre school children (age 4-6) meeting 5 times a week at Bright Futures Nursery. They are fed at each session. We give these children a care pack when they start nursery; a bag with two red t-shirts, 3 pairs of pants, a blanket, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste, 2 books and a soft toy. Teachers at Chambo Primary have reported that children who have attended this nursery are further ahead than those who have not.
A trainset was sent for use in the nursery. Although the children had never seen anything like this, they soon worked together joining the pieces. The older children who attend at the weekend ask to play with the trainset which has become a favourite pass time.
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School grow some of their own food during practical agricultural lessons. Here they are planting sweet potatoes.
Thanks to our supporters Emma’s Rainbow Library was built and is extremely well used.

Chambo Primary School Orchard

We are delighted to have been able to help Chambo Primary School with this tree planting initiative thanks to receiving a grant we applied for.

Sarah’s blog 27/1/25

Today’s blog is about the students at Chambo Primary School. Most of the orphans and other vulnerable children who attend the weekly feeding programme, attend Chambo Primary School. There are no big charities feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. So, we are trying to support them with being able to grow their own food and also have a sustainable source of income.

I applied for a grant from The CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust and was delighted and very thankful that my application was successful. Children learn Agriculture as part of their core curriculum in Malawi so were keen to do practical lessons too. Gardening tools and watering cans were bought for use by the school. Children from different classes helped to clear the ground and dig holes.

In December lots of banana tubers were planted by the students. These grow quite quickly. A variety of fruit tree saplings and pine tree saplings were planted last week. The students are learning about the benefits of planting the pine tree saplings as well as the plants that are able to produce fruit. During the rainy season, pine trees will help to prevent soil erosion, will give shade, give shelter to wildlife and be good for the planet. Also, when the pine trees produce pine cones, the children will be able to collect those and plant them to produce more saplings.

Schools are being encouraged to support reforestation so everyone is very excited by this initial stage of the project. The teachers at Chambo Primary are very thankful for the practical support and, once they have supported the children with growing these plants, there will be opportunity to gift additional plants to them in future.

Many thanks to the trustees of The CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust for their support with this project. What we would also like to support students at Chambo Primary School and Bright Futures Secondary school with is to have a stock of wellington boots that they can use for their practical agricultural lessons. Their footwear is not really suitable for muddy conditions, nor is it sturdy for when they are working with gardening tools. Also children only have one pair of shoes (if they do own shoes) and we don’t want their shoes to be ruined by the mud.

We have set up this small fundraiser https://donorsee.com/project/26186?share=1 so if you are able to help to buy a pair of wellington boots we would be very grateful. Enjoy these photos and videos and thank you for your support, Sarah x

banana planting

pine tree planting

Bright Futures Secondary School in the news for tree planting initiative

Thank you so much to Malawi24 news for sharing the story of the important work being done at Bright Futures Secondary School during their agriculture classes.

Sarah’s blog 12/1/25

We area absolutely delighted that my post about tree planting by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School was seen by a news outlet in Malawi. They interviewed Levison yesterday and have published the story today. Levison says he’s had lots of phone calls about the article both from others who are also taking part in reforestation projects and people passing on their congratulations. I hope you are able to read the article below;

Malawi24 – NGO embarks on tree planting initiative A local… | Facebook

https://donorsee.com/project/25914?share=1 is the link to help us purchase more tree saplings to help with this reforestation project.

This is the link to yesterday’s article https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2025/01/10/agroforestry-at-bright-futures-secondary-school/

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project with financial donations. As you can see, it is a hugely important project and we are delighted that the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are having opportunities like this to make a difference in their community and that they are learning about reforestation, agroforestry, agriculture, climate crisis and being responsible citizens. The students are going to be shown the article tomorrow and I am sure they will be delighted that their hard work is being recognised. Thanks, Sarah x

Bright Futures Secondary School in the news for tree planting initiative

Thank you so much to Malawi24 news for sharing the story of the important work being done at Bright Futures Secondary School during their agriculture classes.

Sarah’s blog 12/1/25

We area absolutely delighted that my post about tree planting by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School was seen by a news outlet in Malawi. They interviewed Levison yesterday and have published the story today. Levison says he’s had lots of phone calls about the article both from others who are also taking part in reforestation projects and people passing on their congratulations. I hope you are able to read the article below;

Malawi24 – NGO embarks on tree planting initiative A local… | Facebook

https://donorsee.com/project/25914?share=1 is the link to help us purchase more tree saplings to help with this reforestation project.

This is the link to yesterday’s article https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2025/01/10/agroforestry-at-bright-futures-secondary-school/

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project with financial donations. As you can see, it is a hugely important project and we are delighted that the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are having opportunities like this to make a difference in their community and that they are learning about reforestation, agroforestry, agriculture, climate crisis and being responsible citizens. The students are going to be shown the article tomorrow and I am sure they will be delighted that their hard work is being recognised. Thanks, Sarah x

Agroforestry at Bright Futures Secondary School

Planting more trees at Bright Futures Secondary School. Students are setting a great example to their community and learning practical agricultural skills.

Sarah’s blog 10/1/25

More tree planting was done yesterday and today by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School and I think there are still more saplings to plant!

As you can see from the photos, the pine tree saplings are mostly being planted round the perimeter to act as a windbreak and prevent soil erosion. In the videos, the students are saying that they are helping the climate and planet too.

Teaching agroforestry in schools is hugely important as it is helping to inform the next generation about farming and the benefits of planting trees with agricultural crops too. The students at Bright Futures Secondary School are gaining practical skills as well as learning theoretical knowledge. They can feel proud watching the trees that they have planted grow bigger each year and know that they are making a positive difference. They are also showing the adults in their community how important it is to replace the trees that have been previously cut down for fire wood.

I hope you enjoy the photos and videos. You will see how hard the students have worked digging the holes prior to planting. The ground is damp because of rain the previous day so that will help the saplings to take root. Eventually, we would like the students to all have wellingtons or boots while they are working on agricultural projects. This will be safer for their feet and also the shoes they are wearing are, for most, the only shoes they have so we don’t want their footwear to get ruined by the mud.

Here is the link to make a small donation so that more pine trees can be planted round the village to help with reforestation https://donorsee.com/project/25914?share=1 and here is the link if you would like to help buy notebooks and pencils for the students at Chambo Primary School https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1 Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Christmas Tree Planting

The Feeding Programme Update

The Feeding Programme needs your help to ensure it has enough resources to feed 500 children.

Sarah’s blog 5/01/25

Firstly, I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Hoping 2025 is a good year for everyone. We hope that 2025 continues to bring more positive changes in Malawi, thanks to our supporters.

The Feeding Programme was on today and Levison kindly made a couple of videos for me. Whilst the end goal has always been self-sufficiency and sustainability, the children need feeding now. They are all hungry and most are suffering from malnutrition. The night after they have been fed is the only time of the week that these children do not go to sleep hungry. Most of the children are orphans, living with extended family. There is not enough food to go round and girls are at real risk of being married off at age 11 or 12 so that there is one less mouth to feed.

There are no big charities working in the rural far north feeding children in primary schools so children are walking for miles to get a proper meal at the weekly feeding programme. Once a week isn’t enough, but it is all we can afford whilst we set up sustainable and income generating projects.

Food prices continue to rise in Malawi and life is a huge struggle. Will you help us to ensure that there is enough food for all the children who come to the weekly feeding programme please? you can either donate here https://donorsee.com/project/26104?share=1 or contact me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you for your ongoing support and I hope you find these videos interesting. Thanks, Sarah x

Christmas Parties

Well over 500 hungry children turned up to be fed at the Christmas Party yesterday. http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 26/12/24

Wishing all our supporters a very Happy Christmas and Happy & Healthy New Year.

This week has been extremely busy for Levison and his team with organising two Christmas parties in addition to the usual daily chores.

Despite the rains having started, it has been dry for a few days so the tree planting has been delayed until the ground is wet and the saplings will have a better chance of survival. Hopefully, we can bring photos of this in the next couple of weeks. This was probably good that it will take place at a later date because of how busy it has been.

Firstly, there was a party for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School to celebrate their exams finishing and it being the end of term. After helping care for the animals, the students shared a meal and played some games. All the students at BFSS were given a sports top to wear at home. Then, yesterday, on Christmas Day, there was a party for all the children.

Because it had not been raining for a few days, the water levels in the rivers and streams were low so children came from miles around – even children who do not usually use the feeding programme. News had spread that there would be food and, because they are so hungry, children were prepared to walk a long way to take part – some walking from up to 20km away.

THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN FAR EXCEEDED 500. Food prices have almost doubled and most children are malnourished and families are really struggling to feed the children each day. We are going to have to try to do more to ensure children have more to eat as there are no porridge programmes in primary schools that far north. We need more help to make things better. So yesterday was a real treat for all the children who attended.

All children received a nourishing and filling meal. The youngest children are fed first and it takes several sittings to feed them all. After that, there were games to play. Many children, were very interested in looking at the pigs. Because of religious reasons, lots of the children hadn’t ever seen pigs before as they are scarce in that area. The pigs found themselves the centre of attention!

We want to take this opportunity of thanking the supporters who gave money to help provide food for the Christmas parties and also to thank Levison and his team for all their hard work and enthusiasm for making this happen. If it wasn’t for them giving up their free time, none of these children would have had a proper meal on Christmas Day.

We are trying to help this community towards self-sufficiency. So here are some ways that you could help us please if you are able to make a small donation;

This is the link to buy some more piglets https://donorsee.com/project/25707?share=1

If you’d like to help provide notebooks and pencils for the students at Chambo Primary then here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1

To help the students at Bright Futures Secondary School grow there own crops then please donate here https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1 or you could contact me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I think, next year, we need to have someone dedicated to taking photos as Levison was far too busy helping with feeding the children and organising everything to take lots of photos this time. We hope you enjoy these photos and videos of the children and thank you for helping to make a difference. Sarah x

Christmas Party Preparations

It’s going to be a busy week with two Christmas parties and lots of tree saplings to plant…please read today’s blog and have a look at the two short videos.

Sarah’s blog 22/12/24

There will be an additional feeding programme this week. The volunteers decided that they would have it actually on Christmas Day as, otherwise, children wouldn’t have any proper meal to have at home. We are so grateful to these volunteers for all their hard work and to those who have donated to ensure the orphans can have a Christmas party.

Levison has looked out all the Santa Hats again and I had sent some disco and Christmas lights as well as a small karaoke machine. I suggested to Levison that he’d better make sure it was working and try it out ahead of the Christmas Party. He sent me these videos which I think are brilliant. We take so many things for granted. Of course the majority of children wouldn’t have seen a microphone, let alone speak or sing with one. The videos of Blessings Nyondo, age 10, using a microphone for the first time are lovely.

There will be two parties this week; one at Bright Futures Secondary School and one for all the children who use the feeding programme. In addition, students at Bright Futures Secondary School, even though the school term has finished, will be planting fruit tree saplings too. So it will be a very busy week! I look forward to sharing more photos and videos with you as I get them.

This is the link if you’d like to contribute to the children’s Christmas party https://donorsee.com/project/25004?share=1 and this link is for notebooks and pencils for the students in the senior classes at Chambo primary school https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1 We would be so grateful if you could make a small donation. Thank you, Sarah x

Blessings, age 10, tests out the microphone for the first time
It will be interesting to see what the other children think of the microphone and speaker

Christmas Tree Planting

Planting Christmas trees at Bright Futures Secondary School today as part of their practical agriculture classes.

Sarah’s blog 19/12/24

The rains have started in Malawi. Thankfully, the only damage from the recent cyclone was that one of the solar power systems was hit by a lightening strike and will need to be repaired.

This week, the vice-president in Malawi has been encouraging tree planting and here is the link to a news article Usi Launches 2024/2025 National Forestry Season in Chitipa, Urging Action on Climate Change – Malawi Nyasa Times – News from Malawi about Malawi

The students at Bright Futures Secondary School finished their exams yesterday so were happy to be out of the classroom and starting on an environmental project. The pine tree sapling planting has been planned for a while and over 300 saplings were on order. Now the ground is softer and the saplings will be well watered, now is the right time to get busy planting!

There are several reasons for planting pine tree saplings; to provide a wind break, help prevent soil erosion and flooding, replace trees that have been cut down, and to provide shade. Planting trees is obviously helping combat climate change too.

Pine trees will be planted around the edges of fields to help prevent crops being washed away. There will be more tree planting on Monday and students at BFSS will each be given a Christmas tree to take home and plant on Monday afternoon. As well as the above reasons for planting trees, this will help spread the message through the community about how important tree planting and reforestation is.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to enable these pine tree saplings to be bought. We do hope that we can raise some more funds for reforestation during this rainy season. This is the link to our small fundraiser to buy more pine tree saplings https://donorsee.com/project/25914?share=1 or you can donate via the link on our website Donate money and gifts to the Changing Lives Malawi foundation . I hope you enjoy these photos and videos from earlier today. This work that the students are doing is very important and I am hoping that they are able to see that their efforts are appreciated by this project growing and getting the attention it deserves. Well done students and teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School! Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

What does Extreme Poverty mean?

Extreme Poverty…what does it actually mean? What does it look like for the children we are helping to support and how we are changing lives with the help of our supporters.

Sarah’s blog 13/12/24

I had been asked to talk to Eyemouth & District Rotary Club and Allander Rotary Club about our projects and about how Allander Rotary Club have been supporting us for the last 18 months. So last night, over Zoom, thankfully all the technical things worked and I shared about the difficulties and successes in helping to support the orphans and their families/care givers in rural northern Malawi.

I keep using the phrase ‘Extreme Poverty’ but what does this mean? And what does it look like? During my talk I explained some of the information below;

Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations as “a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.”

Extreme poverty – what does that look like for the children and young people we are helping to support?

Extreme poverty means children not eating every day.

Extreme poverty means children not having proper clothes or shoes to wear.

Extreme poverty means not having toilet facilities at their homes and having to relieve themselves in the bushes with no dignity, at risk of attack and no sanitation. No water and soap to wash their hands.

Extreme poverty means no clean drinking water at their homes.

It means that children are sleeping fully clothed, cuddled together on the floor of their hut trying to keep warm at night as the temperatures drop because they don’t have blankets or mattresses.

Extreme poverty means living in a small mud hut with a leaking roof, no windows and an ill-fitting door. There will be bugs living in the grass roof.

Extreme poverty means they can’t sleep properly because they are hungry and malnourished, and they wake up exhausted.

Extreme poverty means that some girls, as young as 10 or 11 are at risk of being married off as it is one less mouth for the family to try to feed.

Extreme poverty means missing big chunks of school to try to earn a pittance to help your family. This happens to a lot of older siblings who miss school to work so their younger siblings can attend school.

Extreme poverty means that girls, if they have no sanitary protection, miss one week of schooling each month.

Extreme poverty means that children and their families cannot afford to buy malaria tablets if they get ill.

Extreme poverty means that even though a child passes their primary school leavers exams. If they cannot afford to pay the fees for secondary school, that is their education finished.

Extreme poverty means that families cannot afford to buy notebooks, pencils and uniform for their children’s education.

The older students are, the poorer their families are as they’ve missed so much schooling. There are students at Bright Futures Secondary School who are age 20 now as they are desperate for education.

Extreme poverty means that children regularly walk, with a bag of maize on their head, to the nearest maize mill approximately 15km away. They walk in groups to help stay safe from being attacked. They walk all day with no food or drink then walk back again. The maize isn’t even their own…it belongs to someone else who is giving them a few coins for their effort.

These are just some of the examples of what life is like for the hundreds of children and young people whom we help to support. HOWEVER, they now have HOPE. Things are getting better and they do have a brighter future.

I’m sharing last year’s Advent Calendar again as it has some great examples of how, with the help of our supporters, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you so much for reading and for supporting the children we are helping. We couldn’t do what we do without your help. Teamwork always. Sarah x