The builders have been working hard while it’s been the school holidays, and the second teachers’ accommodation block is making great progress. Block One (funded by a grant from The Clive Richards Foundation) has four individual teachers’ bedrooms and sitting rooms.
This second accommodation block has six individual teachers’ bedrooms and sitting rooms and is almost finished. There will also be new latrines, an area for washing clothes, showers as water will be piped to that area of the campus. All of this possible thanks to Vets with Horsepower, The Clive Richards Foundation, The Inverclyde Trust and The Souter Charitable Trust. We are very grateful for their support.
I thought I’d show you a few photos of how the building is progressing. This morning there was no roof…then a few hours later…the roof was in place. As you can see there’s still a bit to do…but it won’t be too long before another building will be finished as Bright Futures Campus continues to grow.
School starts back in just over a week (Monday 16th Sept) and we are still looking to match 9 vulnerable students going into s1 at Bright Futures Secondary School with sponsors. Could you make a difference to a young person’s education? It’s only £25 per month. Or why not sponsor a student with four of your friends…for £5 each per month? It might be the most important thing anyone ever does for them… education is their way out of the extreme poverty that they are living in. Email me at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you want to join us by helping change a young person’s life today. You can read more about the students in my previous blog below.
We are also raising money for buying seeds and sweet potato vines so that the students at Bright Futures Secondary School can grow their own food https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1
Our School Literacy Project fundraiser is here https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1 None of the wonderful changes that are happening would be possible without the help of our generous supporters. Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x
On International Day of Charity will you join our supporters by donating to one of our projects. You will be helping some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi.
Sarah’s blog 5/9/24
“Show kindness and compassion to others” is the slogan of the International Day of Charity set up by The United Nations.
As you might know, because we are supporting a whole community living in extreme poverty. Support in the rural far north of Malawi is minimal so we are trying to work with the team there taking an holistic approach. Which is why you will see me doing so many appeals for different projects. However, they all lead to the end goal of self-sufficiency and sustainability.
Currently, there is new accommodation being built for teachers as there is nowhere locally for them to rent. It’s really difficult to get teachers to come to such a rural location and of course they need to be paid!
We still have nine young people who have passed their primary school leavers exams who are desperately looking for sponsors so they can attend Bright Futures Secondary School. Secondary Education needs to be paid for in Malawi. None of the young people we support can afford to pay. Being sponsored ensures the student gets free secondary education, free stationery and uniform and a free school lunch. This is, for most, their only meal of the day and means at home there is one less mouth to have to feed.
Ensuring young people get to secondary school also means that there are far less teenage pregnancies than there would normally be and also less risk of girls being married off far too young. Even if students do not pass their final exams (of course we hope that they do), being in school has avoided these risks and students will be far more literate and numerate and have more life skills than if they hadn’t attended secondary school.
So please would you sponsor one of these 9 young people to go to Bright Futures Secondary School? It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a student. You could sponsor as an individual, or split the cost with a friend…or even 5 friends each paying just £5 per month. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like to give a vulnerable young person a brighter future.
Or could you help with core costs of running the school each month? Or make a one off or monthly payment towards the expense of food for school lunches? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Here are some of our projects that we are hoping to get funded on DonorSee
With your help, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. But it’s always about teamwork and we need to on our team to support hundreds of the most vulnerable children in Malawi, many of whom are orphans. On International Day of Charity, will you help a child? Thank you for reading and supporting our work, Sarah x
Lots of the children arriving at Bright Futures Campus to be fed – it’s their one proper meal of the week. It’s not enough but all we can afford while we help set up sustainable projects.
Clothes and soft toys for the children at Bright Futures Nursery
Vulnerable students were delighted to receive new school uniform when Bright Futures Secondary School opened in Nov 22.
The Rotary Club of Allander, which is in Milngavie north of Glasgow, have been supporting us for over a year now in a variety of ways. They’ve introduced us to new people, supported us to raise awareness and some funds at Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games and they’ve had a variety of fundraisers during the year and Changing Lives Malawi is one of their chosen beneficiaries.
At the end of last week, we received a generous donation of £1,410 from them. This is from all the fundraising they have been doing. We are really grateful to the Rotarians and to everyone who contributed. The money will be put towards income generating projects…we will do a separate post when planning is well underway for these.
Also, we are delighted that the Allander Rotarians have decided to support a young person’s education at Bright Futures Secondary School. Sabina, has passed her primary school leavers exams but, without help, wouldn’t be able to attend secondary school. In Malawi, it is only primary school that is free.
As well as not having to pay anything for her education at Bright Futures Secondary School, Sabina will have school uniform, stationery and free, nutritious school lunches. This is one of the big expenses – feeding all the students each day – but it is vital as, for most, it is their only meal of the day and it saves their families having to feed them. It is £25 per month to sponsor a young person so please do get in touch if you would like to help. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks again to the Rotarians at The Rotary Club of Allander…we are very grateful to you and delighted to be working with you to make a difference, Sarah x
We need help to send over 60 boxes of preloved books to children living in extreme poverty in rural northern Malawi. Give the gift of education.
Sarah’s blog 1/9/24
Hi everyone. I thought I’d write a little bit of a personal post today. Many of you might know that Literacy in Early Years is one of my special interests, as well as communication and attachment in babies and young children. Some of the babies and children I have had in my care have had additional needs.
One baby, sitting in her highchair could communicate to me that she wanted a drink of milk as we had taught her sign language. It was thought her speech might be delayed so we wanted her to be able to express her needs. Another child who struggled to communicate, loved to laugh and laugh at the fun and rhymes in The Hairy Maclary stories by Lynley Dodd. Language and literacy can be such a wonderful shared experience and I treasure all those memories. I miss all that time spent with young children looking at wonderful story books together. Reading the same stories over and over again, anticipating the funny bits, the rhyming words, making up our own rhymes and loving the pictures whilst spending time forming positive attachments was a privilege.
As an Early Years Educator, I loved the children at nursery bringing a book to me and following the words with their fingers as we re-read a favourite story. Or a group of them shouting out the next line in the story when I paused while we all shared a book at the end of the session.
Can you imagine your child/ren starting school having never held a book. Or never looked at the pictures as they sat on an adult’s knee and pointed to their favourite characters. Can you imagine never having the opportunity to read books like The Hungry Caterpillar, Hairy Maclary, or any of the Julia Donaldson Books… hundreds of times over? All of this preliteracy matters.
This is why we are ensuring that all children at Bright Futures Nursery are read to. And we also gift them at least two books each to have at home. The headteacher at Chambo primary has already commented that children who have attended Bright Futures Nursery are ahead of the other children in their class at school.
We are gifting boxes of books to primary schools where resources are limited. This will help children become more confident readers, to open up a whole new world of stories and a love of books. Children leaving primary school have exams to sit. We are hoping that exam rates will show that these children, who live in extreme poverty, are achieving and that boxes of preloved books are making a difference. How can a child learn to read if they have no books to practice with?
We send baby clothes and baby blankets that people have kindly knitted. These are given to new mums who have just given birth. We are going to collect board books and gift a board book for mum and baby to look at to start their literacy journey together.
We have been very fortunate to have been given so many books to send which will make a huge difference. We have over 60 boxes of books for The School Literacy Project. This is amazing… we have had donations to send 10 boxes but we need your help to send the rest please.
We’ve had books from Balfron Primary, Strathblane Primary, Drymen Primary, local nurseries and Drymen library (which closed recently).
I’m asking for help from my friends and contacts and anyone reading this. As a parent, as a carer, as an educator, I’m asking you to help me please. If your children have attended any of these schools or you’ve enjoyed reading with your children or grandchildren… or if you can see the importance of this project….please help me to raise funds to give other children the same opportunities our children have enjoyed. Please make a small donation if you can. This is a relatively low cost project that will help change the lives of hundreds of children living in extreme poverty. Thank you, Sarah x
The boy holding the book is Timothy whom we sponsor. He lives with his grandmother and is now about to start s2 at Bright Futures Secondary School. Please let me know if you would like to sponsor a young person contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Today has been all about boxes. Thank you to Stuart for driving another carload of boxes to The Bananabox Trust warehouse in Dundee. Once their warehouse is full, they order the next container. We are always grateful to all their volunteers who process the boxes and pack the container. Once Stuart returned from Dundee, he and I spent time packing more boxes this afternoon. Jackie, our numbers guru, and I have just been discussing how much money we have available to send boxes on the next container. Unfortunately, there is never enough in the kitty, so we have to appeal for your help (bank details are at the end of my blog).
Some of our boxes at The Bananabox Trust Warehouse in Dundee
Sending boxes of aid to Malawi is always a bit challenging. Is it economical to send boxes via a container ship then truck to the orphans and other vulnerable children? Should they be buying goods in Malawi instead? There are lots of issues but I’ll try and explain our reasoning for doing what we do.
There are over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children who are living in extreme poverty. Lots of families have been affected by AIDS/HIV so many orphans are living with extended family and are trying to earn a pittance to feed themselves. Therefore, they do not have any spare money to buy clothes. Before we started sending clothes, children were wearing rags. Desperate mothers, who come with their children to ask for help, are able to receive clothes thanks to our supporters.
hundreds of vulnerable children receive preloved school uniform and their self confidence has improved now they have nice clothes to wear.
We appeal for preloved school uniform as it is hardwearing and is usually outgrown while it is still in good condition. It is a way for more people to learn about us and what we do. It is a way to recycle preloved clothes. We also send shoes, baby clothes and blankets which new mothers are so grateful for.
If we didn’t send clothes for the children but sent some money instead, Levison would not be able to buy enough suitable clothing at local markets for the children. Because of the very rural location, this makes accessing shops difficult too. Also purchasing clothes for all those children would cost far too much.
It can get cold at night and as children don’t have enough warm blankets, they need jumpers and hats to keep them warm as they sleep on the floor cuddled with their siblings.
Eventually, because we have sent sewing machines, there won’t be as much need to send as many clothes as they will have the skills to make clothes.
A large percentage of the boxes going on the next container are boxes of children’s books for the School Literacy Project. Primary Schools in rural northern Malawi have minimal resources. We are hoping to raise attainment levels and help children to become confident readers. The books are preloved, from individuals and from local schools and nurseries, so they haven’t cost us anything. We only have to buy the strong boxes to pack them in and pay for transportation. There would be no way of providing books for our project like this if we were to purchase them in Malawi. There aren’t second hand books readily available because owning a book is a precious thing and people, if they are lucky enough to have a book, keep their books. Education is the way out of poverty for thousands of children who will benefit from the School Literacy Project. For £17.50 per box of books – that is a low cost project with the potential to make huge changes.
The first 17 boxes of books gifted to Chambo Primary School. Preschool children in the library had trouble knowing how to turn the pages of these books as they hadn’t had the opportunity to read books before. Some resources I made from bottle tops to support literacy.
Once the community is more self-sufficient and more people have paid employment then they will be able to provide for their own children, both food and clothes. Even daily food is out of reach of some of the people we are helping to support. When the children have better exam results because they’ve had more opportunity to read many more books, they will be able to go on to secondary education (if we can match them with sponsors as secondary education is not free in Malawi).
We will not always send as many boxes as we do currently. The end goal is and has always been helping the community towards self-sufficiency. Hopefully, you will see from this explanation the thought process involved in sending boxes and the huge amount of children who benefit thanks to our supporters. However, we do need financial support to continue helping so many children through all the different projects. It costs £17.50 per box on the container then there are the transport costs in Malawi to collect the boxes from the container. This is such a long journey that it always involves an overnight trip.
So if you are able to help support the sending of preloved shoes and school uniform or to support our School Literacy project we would be very grateful. Financial donations can be made via the website or here are our bank details: Changing Lives Malawi, Bank of Scotland, Sort Code 80-22-60, Account Number 21081462. We always say it’s about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without your help and support. If you’d like to get in touch then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you, Sarah x
I always remember this photo of Lucia and Rodrick…him wth no top and just one shoe. Lucia with no shoes, their tummies distended due to malnutrition. There are six children in their family. Thankfully, they were given clothes and we were able to get sponsors for three of them, meaning more food goes into their home each month to supplement the food they already have. Please let me know if you would like to sponsor a young person.
Here is a short animation which explains nicely what Vets with Horsepower does. https://fb.watch/u6FarSjyvT . A group of motorbike enthusiasts, who also happen to be equine vets at the very top level, plan a journey each year and give lectures at various points on their tour. A huge amount of planning and organisation goes into these trips each year by the team at Vets with Horsepower and the people organising all the events en route.
As well as us being hugely grateful to Vets with Horsepower, we are very thankful for all of their sponsors too. So I would like to say a big THANK YOU to the following;
SKOPES Menswear ❤️
Boehringer Animal Health ❤️
IMV Imaging ❤️
Equine Medical Solutions ❤️
Nupsala ❤️
PODOBLOCK ❤️
Audevard ❤️
MedEquus ❤️
Coppax – EVC ❤️
ARIAT ❤️
Baker McVeigh ❤️
Rossdales Equine Hospital ❤️
and, of course, everyone else who made donations to this year’s event and to the vets for giving of their time and talents, thank you. We enjoyed following your journey on social media and looked forward to all the photo updates on the Facebook page.
£15,000 is the amazing donation that we received – we were blown away by how much we received and what that money will help us achieve. THANK YOU again. We will now be able to go ahead with the £33k expansion of Bright Futures Secondary School. I will tell you a bit of background to BFSS for those who aren’t familiar with our charity.
We support a community in the rural far north of Malawi. Everyone is living in extreme poverty and there are many orphans as some families have been affected by HIV and AIDS. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools that far north so most children are malnourished. We have been sending money to facilitate a feeding programme once a week. Over 500 children of all ages come to receive their one proper substantial meal of the week. Some children and young people walk up to 15km or 20km from their homes. It’s not good enough, but all we can do currently while we help set up sustainable projects for their future.
We match the most vulnerable children and young people with sponsors. Whilst they are at primary school, they receive a monthly food parcel to supplement the food that they have at home. Secondary Education has to be paid for in Malawi, so sponsored young people who had passed their primary school leavers exams, were attending nearby secondary schools. The system in Malawi is that the young people with the best grades are chosen to attend secondary school. If they are not offered a place (even if they have passed their exams and have a sponsor to pay their fees) then they cannot attend secondary school. That is the end of their education. We found ourselves in this position with 11 sponsored young people who had passed their primary school leavers exams with no places at secondary school. So Bright Futures Secondary School was born.
After lots of fundraising, Bright Futures Secondary School opened with two classrooms on 7th November 2022. Then the next two classrooms were built in time for the new school year in September 2023. By then there were three year groups. Next month, September 2024, there will be four year groups at Bright Futures Secondary School for the first time. More teachers need to be employed and, as it is in such a rural location, more accommodation built to ensure that teachers have somewhere to live.
This latest project, costing £33,000, will provide further staff accommodation complete with solar power and further latrines/washing facilities to allow the school to expand to have four years of students. Work is well underway on the motel style accommodation which will give six teachers their own private sitting room and bedroom. New textbooks have been ordered for the new s4 as well as other supplies being sourced ready for the start of term on 16th September.
I am still trying to find sponsors to enable some students to be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School. One of the big costs at school is school lunches. We insist that students have a substantial and nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day. It saves their family having to feed them. So we must ensure that they are fed. They also receive uniform, shoes and stationery so they are well equipped for school. If you would like to support a young person’s education it is less than £1 per day – only £25 per month. You could sponsor as an individual or split the cost with your friends. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I could continue writing as I am passionate about the young people that we help to support being able to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. To have the choices and chances that we take for granted for our children. Education is their way out of extreme poverty and they are desperate to learn. Each of them want a brighter future. I’ve probably said enough but, once again, a heartfelt thank you to Vets with Horsepower and all their supporters and sponsors for helping us continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. I hope you enjoy these photos and having read a bit about Vets with Horsepower and also Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x
With many thanks to The Clive Richards Foundation for their grant of £9,000 towards the expansion project of Bright Futures Secondary School.
Sarah’s blog 16/08/24
Today we are absolutely delighted that £9,000 has been transferred to the charity bank account by The Clive Richards Foundation. This is the second grant we have received from them, having had a successful grant application last year for £11,000 which paid for the teachers’ accommodation block for four teachers. Each teacher has their own sitting room and bedroom. Thank you so much for your support again this year.
We are so grateful to The Clive Richards Foundation for this second grant. They understood the issues we have of being able to attract teachers to Bright Futures Secondary School because of the very rural location. The extreme poverty means that there is nowhere suitable for teachers to rent nearby.
A brief recap for those who may not know. Bright Futures Secondary School was built because none of the orphans and other young people could afford school fees. Secondary school in Malawi is not free so all of the young people were having to leave school at the end of primary school whether they had passed their primary school leavers exams or not. Some young people whom we matched with sponsors were able to attend the nearest government school if they were chosen to have a place…but there were not enough places for everyone.
Thanks to lots of support, the first two classrooms at Bright Futures Secondary School were built and the school opened on 7th November 2022. Classrooms 3 and 4 where built and ready for term starting in September 2023. As there were only 3 year groups last year, classroom 4 was able to be used as a staffroom and for some other non academic skills classes.
Next month (Sept 24) will see 4 year groups at Bright Futures Secondary School. This obviously means all classrooms will be in use and more teachers will be employed…hence the need for the expansion. So, after having lots of quotes and writing lots of grant applications and fundraising…we have embarked on a £33,000 expansion for Bright Futures Secondary School.
Work has started on another motel style accommodation block – this time for 6 teachers. There will also be further latrines/washing facilities and solar power for the accommodation block and the school. Obviously this is a huge amount of money and we are so grateful for everyone’s support. It means so much that people believe us and the community we are helping to support.
The students know that education is the way out of the extreme poverty they are living in and this is an investment in their future. They will have a brighter future with choices and chances that they would not previously have had. A huge part of the school day for these young people is a free school lunch. Their families cannot afford to feed them properly. The substantial, nutritious lunch they have at school each day means at least they have eaten. They are able to concentrate because of the food they receive at school. Their families can concentrate on trying to feed the other members of the family and have one less mouth to feed.
Did you also know that, by keeping these young people in education, we are helping to prevent child marriages? When families cannot afford to feed their children, often they will agree to the eldest daughter being married far too young. Levison and team have supported lots of girls by matching them with a sponsor and easing the financial burden on the family slightly. Some of these girls have been as young as 11. Many children and young people regard Bright Futures Campus as their safe space and girls have run there in tears to tell Levison about proposed child marriages. Another benefit is preventing teen pregnancies as young people are focused and working hard to better themselves.
National exams are at the end of S2 and S4. Even if students do not manage to pass their s4 exams, they are far more literate and numerate than they were before attending secondary school…which will benefit them in whatever job they get after leaving school. They also learn practical skills like agriculture so will know how to grow their own food.
These young people need to be nurtured because of the trauma they have faced in their young lives. They are all living in extreme poverty, most have suffered from malnutrition, all are hungry. Most have lost family members and are living with extended family. Some families have been affected by HIV and Aids. So an holistic approach is taken at Bright Futures Secondary School. These young people need adults to believe in them. To help their confidence and self-esteem. To be positive role models. To know that they are as important as other young people. This is why Bright Futures Secondary School has been built and is now expanding…to give current students, and the hundreds that will benefit in future, a brighter future.
If you’d like to help by holding a fundraiser or would like us to attend an event or you’d like to make a financial donation please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you again, Sarah x
The ground has been cleared of rocks, boulders and vegetationThousands of bricks are being made by handBricks are covered to stop them drying out too quickly in the sun and cracking. Then they are stacked to make a kiln and covered in mud. Fires are lit in the gaps underneath.The difficult work of digging the foundationsSome bricks were bought to use for the foundations, then the others will be used when they have cooled down enough next weekThe men are working hard to get the accommodation block built during the school holidaysThe builders are hard at workProgress every day
The truck has been invaluable to fetch supplies although there is a fuel shortage and they had to wait in a long queue for fuel to arrive and to get a tank of fuel (no extra cans were allowed which is a real nuisance as they are in such a rural location)
such hard work
water is needed to be brought from the river as the borehole only has enough water for domestic use during the dry season
Levison and his team have been busy opening the boxes that arrived recently. As Sunday is the day to run the feeding programme, word had got round that there might be some gifts given out yesterday. However, far more children turned up than was expected… there were well over 500…many arrived early…so it was just going to be too much to give clothes out in a sensible way, ensuring everyone got something that fitted them. Everyone will get something, but it will have to be done over different days.
These children are all living in extreme poverty. Many are orphans who live with extended family. Families struggle to feed children every day… so the feeding programme is vital. Once a week isn’t nearly enough but it’s all we can afford at the moment. As families struggle to eat, they certainly don’t have money to buy clothes.
We didn’t send as many boxes as usual on that container as we had sent lots of tables and chairs for the classrooms. On the next container there will be more boxes and, as well as preloved clothes for the children, there will be lots of boxes of books for the school literacy project.
There were over 70 nursery age children today (most of whom go to Bright Futures Nursery). It was decided that they would be the easiest age group to give gifts to first. They all received new clothes and a soft toy each and Levison took these lovely photos of some of the children who are aged between 4 and 6.
After the youngest children had their gifts, then the next age group received clothes too. If you’d like to make a donation to help the feeding programme or help with the cost of sending boxes then please do email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
We hope you enjoy these photos and videos and do let me know if you recognise any of the soft toys as having being donated by you! Thanks to everyone who supports us to help hundreds of children and young people, Sarah x
Bright Futures Campus – hundreds of children turned up early this morning hoping for gifts as well as being fed.Over 70 children age 4-6 received clothes and soft toys
You can hear the excitement and chatter as the children come together to be with their friends and know that they will have a good meal today. We wish we could feed them more often than once a week but we need more financial support for the feeding programme
The children and young people are thanking everyone for the donations and support
These young people need a sponsor to help them access secondary education which isn’t free in Malawi. Will you help please?
Sarah’s blog 10/8/24
Thank you so much to the generous people who have come forward and offered to sponsor a young person to go to Bright Futures Secondary School. We are so grateful for everyone who sponsors one of the young people we help to support.
Secondary school is not free in Malawi. So, unless these young people receive help, their education stops at the end of primary school whether they pass their primary school leavers exams or not. This doesn’t seem fair. They are all living in extreme poverty. Many are orphans living with extended family. None can pay school fees. All of them know that education is their way out of poverty and to a brighter future with choices and chances.
The new school term in Malawi starts on 16th September. Will you help us please? We need to find sponsors for all of these young people. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends can share the cost. It’s only £25 per month to change a young person’s life. Or if 5 friends shared sponsorship of a young person then that’s only £5 each per month. Please could you ask your friends?
Apart from paying the teachers’ salaries, the biggest cost is food. At Bright Futures Secondary School each student gets a substantial, nutritious meal each lunchtime. For most this is their only meal of the day, so it is vital. Families, knowing that the students are fed at school, don’t have to worry about feeding them at home. This is how poor families are. They just do not have enough to go round.
I’ve enclosed the link to my original blog about looking for sponsors but the photos in this blog are the young people who still need your help. Please contact me to ensure we can help. It takes teamwork. Thank you so much, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I have been asked to find sponsors for these vulnerable students so they can attend secondary school. I cannot do this without your help. Please read today’s blog and help if you can.
Sarah’s blog 14/06/24
It’s bad enough for our children waiting for exam results but, in Malawi, did you know that only primary education is free? So depending on their national primary school exam results their education might stop at the end of primary school. Also, if their families cannot pay, their education stops at the end of primary school. Imagine if our children only had primary school education? Think of everything they would miss out on.
There are 8 years of primary school and children start school at age 6. Class sizes are 50+ children. For example, Chambo Primary School, in the rural far north of Malawi has 500+ students over 8 classrooms. Only one classroom had desks and benches, until we successfully applied for a grant to install clean drinking water and desks and benches for two further classrooms. This grant was thanks to the Kitchen Table Charities Trust. Another grant from the Eleanor Rathbone Trust, meant that a girls toilet block was built. Meaning that girls no longer had to squat in the bushes which left them at risk of attack and with no dignity or privacy.
Five classrooms are remaining with children sitting on the concrete floor. There were hardly any resources until we started our School Literacy Project, gifting boxes of preloved books to help students become more confident readers. We gave students at Chambo Primary school notebooks and pencils in January…nowhere near enough for what they need…but better than nothing. Thanks to our fundraising on the site DonorSee these vulnerable children are about to receive more notebooks and pencils (one now and one in September).
Imagine not being able to afford a notebook and pencil. Imagine not being able to afford soap. Imagine not eating properly each day. No big charities are working in the far north yet. We can only afford to feed 500 children once a week whilst we try to set up sustainable projects to help them be self-sufficient.
Many of these students in primary school are older than they would normally be. If they are one of the eldest children in a family, they might have dropped out of school for a while to work for a pittance to help bring money into their family to provide food whilst the younger children in the family attended school. Or maybe all the children in the family had to work. Or they might have had to look after an elderly relative. So there can be many different ages in one class of students.
I need your help. I have been asked to find sponsors for 18 students who have just done their primary school leavers exams. They are bright students and are all expected to pass. None can go to secondary school without financial support. I have managed to find sponsors for 4 of them – many thanks to those sponsors for coming forward. However, I still need to match 14 students with sponsors and I’ve only got 12 weeks to do it before the new term starts in mid September. THESE STUDENTS ARE HOPING THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GO TO BRIGHT FUTURES SECONDARY SCHOOL BUT THEY NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE. They wait in hope of a brighter future. They know that education is their way out of poverty. This will be the most important gift these young people have – the gift of education. Will you reach out and help one of them? Please?
Being a sponsor is less than £1 per day. How many people buy a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps that we don’t really need? Could you spare less than £1 per day? It’s only £25 per month to make a difference to one of these young people. You can sponsor as an individual, two friends could share the cost (making it less than 50p per day) or your club, school or church could sponsor a young person’s education. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com When you meet a friend for a coffee or have a few glasses of wine with your friends, would you ask them please if they can join you in sponsoring a young person’s education? If we have lots of little groups of friends or colleagues sponsoring one young person, just think what a difference we could make. It’s always about teamwork. You have the ability to change a life.
Being sponsored means these students will receive free education at Bright Futures Secondary School where class sizes are kept smaller than average. They will receive school uniform and stationery and other gifts. Each student will receive a free nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day so it is vital for their health and concentration.
Will you help one of these vulnerable young people please? Many are orphans, living with extended family or some are from single parent families. All are living in dire poverty. Your help and support to gift these young people a secondary education and a brighter future will be so welcome. Will you help us help them today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can keep Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
Yesterday we were contacted by Arnold Clark to ask if we would like to help with a promotion they would be doing today. They are the new sponsors for the front of the Scotland Rugby Team shirts. Today, they announced that 500 people could swap their last season’s shirt for a brand new shirt at one of the two Macron shops. We were asked if we would like all the preloved shirts to send to the young people we help to support in Malawi.
As well as gifting 500 shirts for us to reuse, Arnold Clark have agreed to pay for the container costs for these shirts which is a huge help. And, what we are really excited about, is that they have promised to donate £500 to ensure we can run another rugby tournament for the orphans and other vulnerable children.
We are absolutely delighted that these shirts will be going to young people in need and that we will have money to ensure that Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby’s Development Officer can come and visit for a third time. Thanks to our supporters, we were able to pay Jack’s expenses for his previous trips to introduce touch rugby to those in the far north of Malawi.
When the young people meet for training and the tournament, we will have money to be able to feed them all and provide drinks. No big charities are working that far north to feed children in primary schools, so all of these children are hungry (most are malnourished) and need to eat so they will have enough energy to enjoy their games of rugby.
Until recently, these orphans were not used to people visiting and wanting to spend time with them. It really helps their confidence and self-esteem. They learn new skills and have fun with their friends and are able to forget about the dire poverty they live in and the trauma they have been through.
Thank you Arnold Clark for partnering with us to ensure the continuation of grass roots rugby in northern Malawi. Thank you everyone who donates their tops that will ensure the young people have matching tops instead of their old and ripped ones. They will all be delighted. Thank you to the rugby development officer, Jack Mphande, for agreeing to visit again. There will be so much excitement when the young people know you are coming!
There will be lots of photos and videos so please do follow us on social media if you haven’t already done so. Here is the link to the new rugby shirts that came out today https://www.facebook.com/share/v/vm3miom5zWkb5oZh/
We always say it takes teamwork and we are very grateful to be given this opportunity to reach more people through partnership working. To the team at Arnold Clark – thank you. To Scottish Rugby – thank you. To everyone else who supports us – thank you also. We couldn’t do what we do without you all, Sarah. (Below is a photo of the new Scotland Rugby shirt and there are a few photos from Jack’s previous visits to teach touch rugby to the orphans)
All the children are hungry. It’s now school holidays. Please help us continue to feed them and plan for future sustainable feeding projects
Sarah’s blog 1/8/24
The schools in Malawi are now on summer holidays and won’t return until mid September. The sponsored students at Bright Futures Secondary School will receive a monthly food parcel, like the other sponsored children, as they won’t have their usual school lunches.
The Feeding Programme will be needed more than ever as Bright Futures Nursery is closed for the school holidays. These preschool children usually receive porridge at each session so, unfortunately, they won’t have that. https://donorsee.com/project/23502?share=1 to donate to feeding the nursery kids.
The feeding programme runs once a week and up to 500 children and young people are fed a substantial and nutritious meal. Children walk up to 20km for this one proper meal of the week. They are so hungry. Please donate here https://donorsee.com/project/23035?share=1
Fruit tree saplings have been planted. These will be a sustainable future source of food and income as excess fruit can be sold at the local markets. We are fundraising to buy more fruit tree saplings to add to the orchard. Here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/23627?share=1
Chickens have been bought to lay eggs and more fertilised eggs will be bought soon to put in the solar powered incubator. This will be another food source and sustainable income source. Thanks to the donors who funded this project.
We are raising money to buy piglets and make a pig pen. Future piglets that will be born will be sold at local markets and will provide a sustainable income. Here is the link to donate to this project https://donorsee.com/project/23894?share=1
These, and other projects, are all plans to help the community be self-sufficient and sustainable and also be good for the environment. However, the malnourished children need food now. Will you help us please to ensure that we can continue to feed them? https://donorsee.com/project/23502?share=1 to donate to feeding the nursery kids.
Thank you in advance for supporting and helping the orphans, Sarah x
