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.
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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
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)
Sustainability and Self-sufficiency are the end goals. Please read today’s blog about how we are trying to help achieve this.
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Sarah’s blog 3/7/24
Every day I want to wave a magic wand to do progress all our projects asap. Clearly that doesn’t work and my magic wand has been sent for repair!
One big issue that we have is that no big charities are feeding malnourished children in primary schools that far north. We cannot ignore this issue. We are feeding 500 of the most vulnerable children once a week. They have a substantial, nutritious meal. Some of them are walking 15km-20km for this food. It’s not good enough but all we can afford. We need your help and support with this please as costs keep rising.
We are trying to help set up sustainable projects for a better future for all of them. By planting fruit tree saplings, they will have future food and a sustainable income – being able to sell surplus fruit at the local markets. The same is happening with a chicken project and a pig project – providing future food and income. There are other small projects that will be set up providing jobs, income and food for families. The community needs and wants a hand up not a handout.
We have started using a fundraising site called DonorSee. We have a page on there with several projects posted. The idea is that the more people who donate to your projects, the more visible the projects are to other potential donors. We are conscious that we are asking a lot of our supporters, so this is one way of trying to find new supporters. The majority of the people on DonorSee are in USA.
What I would be really grateful if you could do please… is I need 15 people to each donate £5 (or $5) just a small amount. Login or make an account on DonorSee and just give a small amount and we will move further up the page that others will see our projects….we’ve already received over £1,000 and fully funded 4 projects. Please? It’s always about teamwork and we need you on our team.
Thank you Balfron Primary School!! We need some families to help with this project too…so will you read today’s blog and make a difference please?
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Sarah’s blog 12/6/24
We are delighted as we have had a brilliant donation from Balfron Primary School of all their books from their reading programme that they are updating. Headteacher, Angus Black, brought five big boxes of books to us which are going to benefit hundreds of very vulnerable children in primary schools in rural northern Malawi through our School Literacy Project. This project is working towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education.
This is an amazing donation of books which will help so many vulnerable children to learn to read.
Most of the primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi have large class sizes and minimal resources. How can we expect children to read well if they don’t have books to practice? These books will make a huge difference to the children’s knowledge as well as helping them to be more confident readers.
So a big THANK YOU again to Balfron Primary School for supporting School Literacy amongst some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. We will have photos to show when the books finally arrive in a few months time. We sort and repack all the books into age groups and into strong boxes and label them up to go to Dundee where they await the next container.
Although our School Literacy Project is relatively cheap as the books are all donated, it still costs us £17.50 to send every box on the container. If you can please help pay towards the transportation costs of these books then here is the link to donate on our DonorSee site https://donorsee.com/project/23626?share=1
When students leave primary school at the end of p8 they have to sit national primary school leavers exams. They cannot go to secondary school if they don’t pass these exams. We expect, through our School Literacy Project, to start to see improved exam results within the next few years as literacy levels improve.
None of the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support can afford to go to secondary school, which has to be paid for in Malawi. So, even if they pass their primary school leavers exams, if they cannot pay for secondary school then that is their education finished.
That’s why we match students with sponsors to support their secondary education. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a student and you can share the cost between friends and family….it’s less than £1 per day to give the gift of education. Sponsored students are given a place at Bright Futures Secondary School where they receive free education, uniform, stationery and everything else they need for school. They get a free nutritious school lunch each day. For most students, this is the only food they get every day so it is really important to enable them to study and concentrate.
Here is the link to my blog about the students who are looking for sponsors so they will be able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School in September. If you could help support the education of one of these very vulnerable young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks again, Balfron Primary School for supporting our charity which is just round the corner from the school. It’s always about team work and together, with your help, we can make a difference, Sarah x
Students at Chambo Primary School where three out of eight classrooms now have desks and benches. These children were delighted when we paid for them to have new notepads and pencils in January. They are about to receive another gift of notepads and pencils thanks to our fundraising on DonorSee site.We applied for a grant on behalf of Chambo Primary School to enable them to have a toilet block and a clean water supply.The first 17 boxes of books gifted to Chambo Primary. After this shipment of books, we will start collecting books for another primary school in that cluster.Children looking at the first boxes of books that were sent on the container
On 11th February, it is a day to celebrate the contribution women have made to science and also to celebrate the fact that girls have far more opportunities now to study and have science related careers than previously. I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about girls’ education in Malawi and what we are trying to do to support them to succeed. Education is the way out of poverty and brings choices and chances that they wouldn’t otherwise have had. So before we even address what they are learning in school, here are some of the challenges they face;
Reusable Sanitary Towels – did you know that girls weren’t welcome at school whilst they were menstruating? They used to have to stay at home for one week every month. How is that fair? Just because they are female they miss out on a quarter of their education. We sent hand turn sewing machines and a group of girls have been learning how to use these. They have been making reusable sanitary towels for all who need them. No longer do teenage girls have to miss school because of their periods.
Extreme Poverty – there is so much food insecurity in the rural far north, most children and young people are suffering from malnutrition. Many do not eat a proper meal every day. There are no big charities feeding children in schools that far north. We can only afford to feed 500 a proper meal once a week and some are walking 15km – 20km each day to receive this. It’s not enough but all we can do whilst we try to work with the community towards self-sufficiency and sustainability. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like to help.
Child Marriage – did you know that many families think they have no choice but to give away their daughter/niece/grandaughter to be married at a young age if it will be one less mouth to feed? Many of the young people we help to support are orphans living with extended family or they are in an extremely poor one parent family. By sponsoring a girl, you will have ensured that this does not happen to her. She will be safe from being married as a teenager or even younger. Many of these child brides die in childbirth. Could you sponsor a girl please? It might be the most important thing anyone ever does for her. It’s less than £1 per day.
Risk of Attack – Girls try to stay in groups when they are walking long distances to and from school for their safety. It is a real risk that they might be attacked and raped. Many of the students are older than they should be as they have missed a great deal of school to be working for a pittance. Groups of girls can be seen walking to the maize mill a few kilometres away – not with their own maize, but they are earning a few coins by carrying someone else’s maize to be milled. It’s a long, hard journey with hazards, which is why they walk in groups for protection. No water to drink and no food to eat and missing education.
No Money for School Fees – secondary education must be paid for in Malawi. None of the young people we support could afford to attend secondary school. Our supporters helped fund the building of Bright Futures Secondary School which is for these vulnerable teenagers who wouldn’t otherwise have had a secondary education. However, Bright Futures Secondary School is only half full at the moment…we need more sponsors to match with more teenagers to give them the chance of a brighter future. Could you sponsor a teenager today please? It’s only £25 per month and you could always split that cost with a friend! Sponsor money covers the young people having a nutritious cooked lunch each day….their only proper meal each day.
Long Walk to School – Whilst we have built Bright Futures Secondary School, there is no funding yet for dormitories. Girls (and boys) are having to walk a long way to school and home again. Some are walking for a couple of hours each way. As mentioned, safety is always a worry but also the four hours spent walking to and from school could be spent studying and either doing chores or relaxing. These young people are exhausted. Life is not easy. In the rainy season, the shallow rivers flood and it isn’t safe for some of the students to cross the rivers. Bridges are another thing on our list of jobs needing to be done when the money is available.
Education – so once all these challenges have been faced, education at Bright Futures Secondary School provides equal opportunities for girls as well as boys. They all do all subjects including sport, agriculture and, of course, science. There are only three years of students currently as Bright Futures Secondary School was only built recently. In September 2024, there will be four years of students and more teachers will need to be employed. The school is now a registered exam centre. Students take national exams in p8, S2 and S4. Last year, the school made national news in Malawi as there was 100% pass rate in these national exams! A great achievement for these young people who have had every challenge and obstacle thrown at them.
Photos – I hope you enjoy the photos of girls (and boys) enjoying science at Bright Futures Secondary School and also the other photos showing just how challenging life is for these young people. If you have it in your heart to help a young person, please do get in touch and you will be making a huge difference in their life. Together we can lift these children and young people out of extreme poverty and give them opportunities for a brighter future. Thank you, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
We were really worried about Maria but thankfully we managed to find a sponsor for her and life is much better for her now. A lovely smile from Maria when she collected her monthly food parcel. All sponsored students who are still at primary school get a food parcel, clothes, stationery, welfare checks etc. Young people at Bright Futures Secondary get a cooked school lunch every day, uniform, stationery and of course their education for free. Can you make a difference to a vulnerable young person please?Granda is happy and healthier and enjoying opportunities she wouldn’t previously have had.Monica is one of the lucky ones as we were able to match her with a sponsor to support her education.Monica is working hard and enjoying her first year at Bright Futures Secondary School thanks to her sponsor. There are many other girls in their last year of primary school who will need a sponsor in order to continue their education to secondary school. Can you help?Maria (right) in a science lesson at Bright Futures Secondary SchoolGirls (nearest) have the same opportunities as boys at Bright Futures Secondary School
Now is the time to plant trees. Communities all over Malawi are doing this in January. There are numerous reasons for planting trees and obviously for future food, self-sufficiency and because it’s good for the planet all rate highly along with other benefits like helping to prevent soil erosion. Thank you to everyone who contributed to help us send money to purchase these fruit tree saplings.
However, I want to share with you a piece of work that two of the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School have facilitated. We are delighted to have enthusiastic teachers who understand the need for sustainable food sources and that children and young people will learn more by taking part in practical learning. We are hoping that the saplings grow well and will provide much needed food and also a sustainable income for years to come.
More fruit tree saplings are needed still and also hundreds of pine tree saplings are needing to be planted to replace trees that the community have used for fuel and building. Are you able to help provide some money to buy more saplings? Would your business like to have a sign in the orchard if you sponsor planting some saplings? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I hope you enjoy reading part of the report from the agriculture teachers and looking at the photos of young people busy planting the fruit tree saplings. Thanks, Sarah x
I’m thankful that I had help from someone far more skilled than me to put the advent calendar pictures together and with background music. I hope you enjoy looking at some of the many projects that are happening within the community we are supporting. Please share this video with your friends and family so more people can find out about our work.
20th December – today we are highlighting Life on Land – Global Sustainable Development Goal 15. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School plant crops and the younger children who come to the Foundation learn life skills like planting fruit tree saplings, weeding crops and harvesting. Agricultural classes are a core part of the curriculum in Malawi.
Despite best efforts, crops do not last long when feeding 500 vulnerable children and orphans each week. More fruit tree saplings are being planted soon for future food and a sustainable income. However, your help is needed to ensure we can keep feeding the children. With food becoming scarce and prices continuing to rise as the rainy season begins if our supporters were able to commit to £5 per month it would be a big help. No big charities are feeding children in schools in this area and we need your help. https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3acontact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I have had some technical help to put together all the advent calendar pictures into a little video. I was going to leave it until 24th December to post it but, as we will have other photos from Malawi later in the week, I’m sharing it now. Hope you enjoy it. Thank you all for your continued support, Sarah x
19th December and today we are again highlighting Quality Education. It’s the key to a better future for the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support who are living in extreme poverty.
The photo at the bottom right hand side shows a group of children with looking at a book from the first box of books we sent to them. They had never seen a ‘story book’ with pictures before. Even in their school there were hardly any text books, so these books have opened up a whole new world for them.
Seventeen boxes of books were donated to Chambo Primary School as part of the School Literacy Project and more will be donated later this week. Other primary schools have been receiving boxes of books too. We are hoping children become more confident readers and that literacy levels will rise.
As you can see, money was raised for a library – Emma’s Rainbow Library, in memory of Emma Buchanan – a lovely girl from my village who had cystic fibrosis. Her family helped raise money towards the library. When Emma was poorly, she loved her dad reading to her. Emma had wanted to go to Malawi with a trip from Balfron High School. Her memory lives on and is making a big difference. We have sent lots of books for the library, as well as them buying some locally. It costs £17.50 to send a box of books on the container, so if you would like to support literacy in rural northern Malawi, or any of our other projects, then please do get in touch. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
As well as a well stocked library that the children have access to, they are learning about computers. These are opportunities that would never have happened for these children without the help of our supporters. The children in the photo are wearing preloved uniform from Strathblane Primary School and Riverside Primary School. We sent these preloved tables and chairs too.
Quality Education will change these children’s lives for the better giving them choices and chances that they previously would not have had. Thank you for caring and helping us to support them, Sarah x
It’s 18th December today and we are highlighting our work towards zero poverty. In the first photograph, Naomi and her baby sister, Modester, had just been orphaned and living with a grandparent. Naomi was delighted to be able to feed her baby sister at the feeding programme, despite being so young herself. They have continued to have support, receiving clothes and attending the Feeding Programme each week.
The second photo was taken just over a year ago. Modester has been attending the nursery and having food five days a week. The two sisters are growing up and doing well. This year, Naomi started at Bright Futures Secondary School and has a sponsor to support her high school education. Without help, her education would have already finished at the end of primary school. Now Naomi has a brighter future. Education is the way out of extreme poverty and young people are desperate to learn.
Can you sponsor a student like Naomi to ensure they have choices and chances for a brighter future? It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can share that cost with a friend or a school, club or business could sponsor a young person’s education. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Or could you make a one off donation towards our feeding programme or school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School? Or could you commit £5 or £10 per month towards school lunches? Food prices are rising all the time and food is scarce now the rainy season has started https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children need our help. Will you help us help them? Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
