Thank you for the donations from the Balfron 10k last year. Some great photos from Malawi. We will be collecting preloved shoes at this year’s event too.
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Sarah’s blog 3/3/26
We were at the popular Balfron 10k race last year collecting preloved training shoes to send to the vulnerable people we support in rural northern Malawi. We were given almost 100 pairs of training shoes (children’s and adults) to send. Over the last few days, Levison and team have been giving out gifts from the Balfron 10k event.
There were t-shirts left over from previous races and the organisers kindly gave these to us. As you know, it takes a long time for things to arrive at their destination. However, last week, trainers and other shoes were given out to students at Bright Futures Secondary School and also to staff and volunteers. Everyone was very thankful for these gifts.
Yesterday, staff and volunteers were gifted the Balfron 10k t-shirts. On behalf of everyone who received these gifts, thank you so much. They are delighted to have been thought about. A small gift like a t-shirt means a great deal to the people who are living in extreme poverty.
We are going to be at this year’s Balfron 10K race again on Sunday 3rd May…exactly two months from now. Changing Lives Malawi will again be collecting trainers and other shoes of all sizes (no heels please). We must ask that all footwear is in good CLEAN condition. Would you be still happy to wear them? Do they have holes in the soles? The people receiving your preloved shoes and trainers walk miles every day, so the footwear needs to be functional and clean.
Can you tell your friends and spread the word so that we collect more than 100 pairs this year? There are hundreds of children and adults that we help to support and they would all love a new (to them) pair of shoes. Also, we would be grateful for a donation of £1 per pair of shoes to help towards transport costs. We are based in Balfron so this is our ‘home event’. Lets make it another successful one this year. Thanks also to Shoe Share Malawi who also donated training shoes to us and put us in touch with the organisers of the Balfron 10k event. Thanks so much, Sarah x
Also, some other news to share, myself and another trustee, Liz, are visiting the projects we support in Malawi for the first time in May. We are very excited and you can read about our plans here https://gofund.me/866bf18f0 and if you’d like to get in touch, our email is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy the photos. Thanks again, Sarah x
It’s been a really difficult few days for Levison and his colleagues. This blog tells the story…..
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Sarah’s blog 2/2/26
I want to use today’s blog to explain how hard and exhausting things can be for Levison and his team in Malawi. I don’t think any of us can begin to understand quite how challenging life can be for Levison and his colleagues. Yet they continue to work hard to support their community. Despite the difficulties, they continue to be committed to making a difference. We are so thankful that we have such caring partners in Malawi. Thank you Levison and team. This is the story of a difficult journey.
As the village they live in is at the foot of the Mafinga Hills (near the borders with Zambia and Tanzania) they have to travel a long way to collect the boxes we send. It is approximately 300km each way but, as you will read, it is far from straightforward and is a difficult journey.
The truck set off from Ibuluma, between Chisenga and Chitipa, on Thursday early afternoon and travelled to Karonga. The three colleagues slept at Karonga and set off very early on Friday morning to reach Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) by 10am when the container was due to be unloaded.
On the way they had a scheduled stop to get two new batteries for the truck. Once the batteries had been fitted, Levison then needed a welder to replace the bars covering the batteries which help prevent them from being stolen.
It is currently the rainy season. When it rains, it really rains. Recently, some bridges and roads have been damaged, houses and schools have been destroyed and crops washed away. Driving on country roads is always a difficult journey, but more so during the rains.
Thankfully, the lorry carrying the container arrived from Lilongwe after having to have a crack in its water tank repaired. Levison and his two colleagues collected all their boxes and loaded them onto the back of the truck. Everything was tied down and covered with tarpaulins to protect the boxes from the weather.
Levison had suggested to others travelling in the same direction that they go in convoy so that it would be safer in case of breakdowns, accidents or robberies. It gets dark in Malawi at 6pm all year round so much of their journey was undertaken in darkness, making it more dangerous.
Unfortunately, the people who had agreed to travel north with Levison changed their minds and drove off. Levison phoned them and they said they’d wait but again drove off. It’s disappointing when not everyone looks out of each other despite having had help and support from Levison previously.
As Levison’s truck was travelling slowly, in the dark, avoiding potholes at Jalawe, they were suddenly aware of people on the truck. They think there were a lot of people hiding in the bushes. They managed to chase two people off the truck once they stopped and got out of the cab. Unfortunately, the people had ripped the tarpaulin covering the boxes and made off with at least three boxes.
The thieves have had training shoes, school uniform for Bright Futures Secondary School and other clothes and shoes. A skirt was found at the side of the road that had been dropped as the robbers ran off. I am so thankful that Levison noticed quickly and they managed to scare the people away and that more things weren’t stolen or anyone hurt.
This incident has been reported to the police.
Once they arrived at Karonga, a new tarpaulin had to be bought to keep the worst of the rain from ruining the boxes and their contents. They rested at Karonga before continuing their journey. Something also broke on the truck due to the roads being so bumpy. Levison messaged to say that they were going to get the truck fixed once the torrential rain stopped.
Finally, exhausted, Levison and his two colleagues have arrived back safely at 4am on Sunday morning, the fourth day. As you can see, it’s a difficult journey. Nothing is straightforward. Could we do this for those in need? Would we go to all this effort?
All the boxes have had to be crosschecked to check what has been stolen. Many of the boxes are wet due to the tarpaulin being ripped open. Hours of extra work is now taking place trying to dry everything out before it all gets ruined. As we carefully label each box to say which project/who it is for and what it contains, all the wet things need to be kept together to ensure that they go to the correct place. It will take a lot of organisation and disruption to ensure everything is ok. This has taken all of today, both here and in Malawi, helping Levison with identifying boxes, what they contain and which project it is for. Tomorrow, all the wet items will need to be sorted and hung up to dry.
Despite all the challenges they carry on supporting the most vulnerable in their community. This is the story of a difficult journey. There are challenges every day; sourcing enough maize for the weekly feeding programme, finding fuel for the truck or having to wait days until the petrol stations have had a delivery. Daily, people are turning up asking for help. People cannot feed their families because of the food crisis in Malawi.
Hopefully, this gives blog more of an insight into just how challenging life can be for Levison and his team. This is one difficult journey. Every day there are difficult decisions. Things are getting better but there is still so much to do. We need your help and support to ensure that life continues to improve for the hundreds of vulnerable young people and their families. All are living in extreme poverty and need a helping hand through education, feeding and sustainable projects.
I apologise if I sound upset and frustrated. I am, on behalf of Levison and his team. So much extra work has been caused by these thieves ripping the tarpaulins. Many of the boxes have been soaked by heavy rain. Hopefully, most things can be dried and saved and that we will be able to share photos of items being given to those most in need over the next few weeks.
Thanks everyone for your continued support. To Levison and team, thank you for all your hard work and commitment. Also, thank you to all the volunteers at Bananabox Trust who organise the container. Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi, Sarah x If you’d like to get in touch our email is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Everything needs covering with tarpaulins and tied down. As it is the rainy season, it was raining whilst they were loading the truck. The tarpaulins are vital to keep the worst of the weather from the boxes of aid that have been sent.This is the tarpaulins after they have been ripped open by people climbing on the truck to steal what they could.
Thanks so much to All Saints CofE School, Maidenhead and to the charity Sal’s Shoes for making a difference to these vulnerable teenagers.
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Sarah’s blog 8/10/25
When I was a teenager, I always loved going to choose new stationery ready for returning to school after the summer holidays and, most years, I’d get a new school bag and unform and shoes too…although I really disliked our brown school uniform! There was no question that, although there wasn’t lots of spare money, there was always enough to buy the things that my siblings and I needed.
The students that have just started in S1 at Bright Futures Secondary School are living in extreme poverty. Their families cannot afford enough food, let alone any money to buy school uniform, shoes and stationery. So, last week, they were overwhelmed when gifts were handed out to each of them. They’ve never had presents like this, that we and our children all take for granted.
Thanks to individual supporters, we were able to send new and preloved school uniform; shirts and blouses and skirts and trousers. I got in touch with a wonderful charity called Sal’s Shoes who have helped us out once before. They kindly agreed to give us shoes for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. We (and the students) are so grateful for this support. Thank you for the wonderful work you do at Sal’s Shoes, collecting and sorting preloved outgrown shoes and sending them on to protect vulnerable children’s feet.
Also, All Saints C of E School, Maidenhead, had contacted us to see if we could use some uniform that they no longer needed as they had changed their school badge. Of course we said yes and were delighted with everything that they sent. The S1 students were delighted to receive their new back packs which they had no idea they would be getting. Thanks so much for these! The clothes from All Saints C of E School, Maidenhead, will be distributed over the next few weeks amongst other vulnerable children.
I had bought water bottles for the new students which I filled with; toothbrush & toothpaste, small bars of soap, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers and sharpeners. Each student was also given some exercise books. They were amazed as they’ve never had a day of receiving this many gifts all at once and certainly not lovely new presents like this. These donations will really help to motivate them to work hard. You can see in one of the photos, one of the girls is overcome with tears of happiness because she didn’t expect to receive all these lovely gifts.
There are two videos in which the S1 students are thanking Sal’s Shoes for their new shoes and also thanking All Saints School for their school bags. If you have donated school uniform, shoes, pencils etc…you can see where your donations are going and how much it means to the recipients. Thank you everyone.
We try to match each of these vulnerable students with a sponsor to help support financially with their education. As well as paying the teachers, part of the sponsorship money goes towards providing a substantial free school lunch each day. For most of these students, it is their only meal of the day and their families can share the small amount of food they have with the remaining family members. Many of these students are orphans, living with extended family. Many in the community have been affected by AIDS and HIV.
We still need to match the following students with sponsors; Veronica, Susan, Nellie, John, Wakisa, Lindwell, Schollastica, Robert, Brian, Lumbiro, Esther, Tusalifye and Ethel. That’s 13 vulnerable young people who need your help. There is an old saying ‘It takes a village to raise a child’…..can we be part of the ‘village’ for these teenagers who really need our support? It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can sponsor as an individual, share the cost with a friend or sponsor a young person through your club or business. Get in touch to make a difference and give a student a brighter future contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy the photos and videos and I look forward to receiving your email if you’d like to give the gift of education to one of these students. Thank you, Sarah x
Students thanking the charity Sal’s Shoes for their new shoes
The S1 students are thanking All Saints School, Maidenhead, for their new school bags
What an amazing morning we had yesterday at Balfron 10K (sponsored by The Mulberry Bush Nursery). The sun was shining and spectators and runners were out in force…what a great community atmosphere!
Many of the hundreds of children and young people we help to support do not own a pair of shoes. They walk long distances to get to school and nursery and their feet need protecting. Also they need trainers for playing their favourite team sports; football, netball and rugby.
So many people where we live have several pairs of shoes and children are growing quickly so their shoes still have lots of life in them. We were delighted when the race organisers agreed that we could come along and collect preloved shoes that we had asked for via social media. We also asked for £1 donations to cover the cost of sending each pair of shoes. We pay £17.50 per box on the container that goes to Malawi and there are associated costs in Malawi to collect the boxes.
We were absolutely delighted with the response and the 85 pairs of shoes/trainers that were donated. Thank you so much everyone! This is life changing for young people who do not have shoes or their shoes are far too small. I have also had two bags of shoes handed to me today so that takes us over 100 pairs now! This is an ongoing project so we are happy to accept preloved trainers, shoes, crocs or sliders at any time. Could we please respectfully ask that shoes are clean and in good condition.
I have included in the photos below our QR code if you didn’t manage to make a donation to cover sending your shoes yesterday or if anyone would like to make a donation in general via the QR code or website or you can email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details.
The 10k organisers kindly donated some surplus t-shirts from one of the previous races. These will help young people feel part of a team when playing football etc so will be shared between local primary schools. Thank you.
We had a great time chatting to people yesterday and made some good connections. I want to say thank you to my hubby Stuart who, as he calls himself, is the lifter and shifter… couldn’t do this without you. Also to Jackie who provides so much support in the background and willingly helps at events like this. We really do need more volunteers though just to make things a little bit easier and share the load. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you’d like to get involved. Many thanks everyone and hope you enjoy the photos and video, Sarah x
ps we are also raising money to buy soap for each of the children and young people to take home to their families to help protect against the Mpox outbreak. If you can help then here is the link, thank you. https://donorsee.com/project/27307?share=1
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.
School holidays always mean that I don’t have as much time to devote to Changing Lives Malawi but that doesn’t mean nothing happens. I’ve applied for two grants this week. There are so many people chasing the same money that it’s not often that we get lucky…but fingers crossed!
At the end of last week, I received a cheque for £4,500 from The Inverclyde Trust, for which we are very grateful. This is the third time they have supported our work and this donation will go towards the next phase of teachers’ accommodation and latrines as more teachers will be needed at Bright Futures Secondary School in September. Thank you so much for making a difference again.
I’ve received two parcels of preloved shoes in the post and also two bags of shoes have been dropped off at our house. These will be great for the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. Thank you again!
All Saints Junior School in Maidenhead emailed me to ask if we are still collecting preloved school uniform. They are changing their uniform and have some new and preloved clothes to send us as well as some new backpacks. This is a great donation and so many of the orphans we support will benefit from some lovely new clothes. All Saints are about to break up for their summer holidays but, once they are back, we look forward to bringing updates of the donations and also some fundraising that the children will be helping with. We are so glad that you got in touch and look forward to partnering with you after the school holidays.
Hopefully, later in the week, there will be photos of the next lot of boxes arriving at their destination. We have heard that the container has reached the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, and is waiting to be released by customs. Once that happens, the container will reach its final destination at Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. It’s always very exciting waiting for boxes and other supplies to arrive. Sometimes boxes were packed so long ago that we’ve forgotten what was in some of them – although I do keep an overall note of what is in the boxes and who things are for. I’m looking forward to seeing the preschool children with some new resources and also students at Bright Futures Secondary School with some topic books they requested.
We are still trying to raise funds for lots of small projects so any donations will be very much appreciated. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x https://donorsee.com/project/23995?share=1
As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, we are launching an appeal for preloved books, school uniform and footwear and also asking people to sponsor the cost of sending a box on the container.
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Sarah’s blog 01/05/24
At the end of this month our charity, Changing Lives Malawi, will be 5 years old! To mark this amazing milestone, we will be sharing stories throughout the month, looking back at how things were and what has been achieved. To start the month I’m sharing our birthday appeals.
We have been fortunate that so many people have donated their preloved books to our School Literacy Appeal; individuals, adults, children, local nurseries, schools, church congregations and you all have been making a big difference to literacy levels in the far north of Malawi.
We have been able to stock the shelves in Emma’s Rainbow Library, as well as donating boxes of books to local primary schools. These schools have hardly any resources and our aim is to support children and young people to become more confident readers. How can they practice reading without any books?
The pre-school children in the nursery have missed out on years of pre-reading skills; they haven’t had the picture books to turn pages, to sit on an adult’s knee as a baby and have a favourite story read to them. This was evident when the pre-school children first encountered books that we had sent. They had no idea how to turn pages or what to do with the books. Now, thanks to the support we receive, we are ensuring each child at Bright Futures Nursery has at least two books to take home with them to keep. We want every home to have some books and families to start looking at these books together.
We are appealing for people to get involved and donate preloved books as part of our 5th birthday celebration. We are also appealing for preloved school uniform, shoes, crocs, sliders, trainers (all sizes) but they must be in very good, clean condition. If you can make a small financial donation with your books, clothes or shoes then please do as that will really help us with the costs of transportation.
We are also appealing for people to sponsor a box of books, clothes or shoes. It costs us £17.50 per box on the Bananabox Trust container plus there are additional costs of collecting the boxes in Malawi. We will write your name, name of a loved one, your business or even a funny message on a big label on your box. It would make such a difference if there were enough people covering the cost of boxes and would, therefore, make it such a team effort!
For more information, or to get involved you can email me on contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together, we CAN continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you to everyone who supports us, Sarah x
Lots of photos of hundreds of vulnerable children receiving clothes & food this Christmas.
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Sarah’s blog 26/12/23
On Christmas Eve, 500 orphans and other vulnerable children of all ages came to the Foundation as they knew that they would be receiving gifts of new clothes. Many thanks to the team of volunteers for ensuring that this was able to happen. Such a lot of work, sorting clothes in advance and trying to secure enough food. Then on the days; distributing clothing, cooking ensuring that everyone was fed.
We were delighted to be able to send some great donations for these children, however it does cost £17.50 per box on the container so we really do need help with covering these costs please. When looking at the photos, have a look at some of the children’s feet. Many have broken shoes or their shoes are far too small for them. We would love donations of trainers, school shoes, flipflops and sliders please – sizes for young children to adults. Again, we need to ask for £1 per pair of shoes to cover the cost of sending them on the container. Can you help?
On Christmas Day, all the children returned to receive food for Christmas Lunch. This had been paid for by a very kind couple who are supporters of our charity. As you can see the children were very happy to receive food and enjoyed wearing the Christmas hats. It was decided that the children would actually have their party on Christmas Day as Levison has said that more and more families are struggling with food insecurity and are unable to feed their children properly. They wanted it to be a happy Christmas Day for the children. After everyone was fed, they were able to play a few games but on both days the children had to be sent home early because of heavy rain.
There are several shallow rivers that many of the children cross to reach the Foundation. There are no bridges. Every time it looks like rain is starting children have to leave either school or activities as the rivers will swell with the amount of rain and no one wants to risk children being swept away with the force of the water. Building bridges is something else on our list of things that will help this community.
We are getting more and more concerned about how food prices continuing to rise and the currency being devalued are affecting people living in extreme poverty. As well as food being scarce, people just don’t have any means to feed their families and it is only going to get worse. If you can spare £5 or £10 per month to help us continue to feed 500 children once a week then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com, or could you make a one off donation? It’s got to be a team effort, and we cannot do everything on our own. Or you could donate via our fundraiser https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Thank you for reading and continuing to support us and believe in us. Merry Christmas from here and Malawi, Sarah x
It’s a bit of a photo dump today! There is so much going on that it’s not easy to get photos of everything that is happening. Yesterday, S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School were able to choose new shoes from the boxes of preloved shoes that www.salsshoes.com kindly donated to us to send to the teenage students. So there were lots of happy young people yesterday receiving new shoes to protect their feet whilst walking to and from school. Thanks to Sal’s Shoes and to all the people who donated preloved shoes to them.
We’d had a donation of money to be used to make desks for classroom 3. The donor wishes to remain anonymous but we are very grateful and thankful for this donation and the difference it is making. Levison was able to take some photos yesterday and you can see that the young people have a great learning environment. Thank you. We have preloved chairs and tables that we had kindly been offered going on the next container for classroom 4. If anyone would like to help towards the cost of transporting these then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
When Levison was at Bright Futures Secondary School yesterday, the S1 class were having a science lesson. He managed to get some photos of them using the new microscope that we sent. It’s so good to see these vulnerable teenagers having the opportunities they deserve and a good quality education. We do need sponsors to support more students to have a place at Bright Futures Secondary School so if you are able to commit to changing the life of a young person through education then please do contact us. It only costs £25 per month and you could share that cost with a friend. Or could you commit £5/£10 per month to ensure students have a nutritious, cooked school lunch each day. For many this is their only meal of the day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thank you for your continued support. We are still collecting school uniform and shoes and also thin rain jackets if anyone would like to help. Also, any scientific calculators, maths sets or kindles that are still in good working order. If anyone has another microscope or STEM resources (science, technology, engineering, maths) that their children have grown out of eg snap circuits, meccano, magnets, etc please do get in touch to see if we are able to make use of them. Thanks and enjoy the photos, Sarah x
This year’s S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They have received gifts of uniform, shoes and school bags.
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Sarah’s blog 20/09/23
Firstly, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated school uniform and school bags for the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison said that one of them had said ‘we never expected to have such good quality clothes as this’. So thank you for making a big difference to them and helping them feel important and valued for a change.
Secondly, another huge THANK YOU to the charity Sal’s Shoes Our Story – Sal’s Shoes (salsshoes.com). We were gifted three big boxes of shoes for the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. We are very grateful for this support and we know the young people are delighted to have proper shoes to wear. It has such an impact on their confidence and self-esteem that people who don’t even know them have shown they care about the students by donating uniform and shoes. Now they all look smart and are able to have a sense of pride in their appearance. Proper shoes are also very important when the young people are walking the long distances to and from school across rough ground. Thank you again Sal’s Shoes for all that you do, all the hard work of your volunteers and for everyone who donates shoes to you to pass on to those who need them.
Here are photos of the new S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. All of them are vulnerable. All have been given shoes, uniform and school bags. The Only a few of them have sponsors to support their education through secondary school. If you are able to support one of these young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s £25 per month to sponsor a young person. Or you could commit to £5 or £10 per month to help pay for school lunches. Each student gets a nutritious cooked lunch each day at Bright Futures Secondary School….for many it is their only proper meal of the day. These young people cannot be expected to concentrate and learn if they have no food in their tummies. Your help would be very much appreciated. The more people who help us support these young people, the more young people we can help and then we can offer places at Bright Futures Secondary School to additional young people. Thank you, Sarah x
Martha, Mphatso and Aaron are choosing shoes from one of the boxes that Sal’s shoes donated New shoes for Aaron, Martha and Mphatso – thank youlooking very smart in their new uniforms and shoesJohn and Asante pose in their new uniform and shoesThanks to Sal’s shoes for these very smart shoes that John and Asante are delighted with
At the weekend, some of the donated clothes were gifted to the children. There is always great excitement on these days and lots of children turn up to receive some new clothes.
Two elderly ladies, Gogo Nandege and Namasachi, regularly come to The Foundation to tell the children traditional stories. Gogo is a respectful term for Grandparent and a married woman can add ‘Na’ as a prefix to her name. They are both very poor but very generous with their time. They were delighted to receive coats, shoes and walking sticks which will help them as they walk to spend time with the children.
All of the children who I have named are very vulnerable and looking for a sponsor. So, if you are able to help one of them, please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s £25 per month to sponsor a child. They receive a monthly food parcel at home to supplement what their family has. They also are gifted clothes, a blanket, soap and school supplies. They get regular welfare checks and are given medicine if they need it. You can sponsor a child as an individual, a family, a business or two friends can share the cost. It might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these children. Please help if you can.
We’ve always said that girls and women don’t wear trousers for cultural reasons. They do in the cities and towns but in the rural areas it is more traditional. However, some of the teenage girls asked if they could try on trousers. Some of them were far too big for the girls but it’s an indication that some of the girls would like to start wearing trousers. From now on we will gratefully accept women’s trousers too.
I hope you enjoy the photos and please do get in touch if you can help by sponsoring a child, supporting the feeding programme with a monthly donation, or paying for a box to go on the container. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or to donate to our school fundraiser the link is https://gofund.me/44a92444 Thank for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Lots of vulnerable children waiting patiently to receive some new clothessome of the nursery children receive new clothesDo you recognise any of these clothes? Thank you again to those who have donated preloved clothes, shoes and money to pay for transport.nursery children receiving new clothesA group of children receiving new clothes. All are very vulnerable.More needy children having received some new clothes.Teenage girls asking to try on trousers…we will include trousers for them next time as some of these are far too big!Times are changing as culturally girls and women in rural locations have always been more traditional only wearing skirts or dresses. However, these teenage girls were keen to try on trousers!These two elderly ladies are very poor but very generous with their time. They come to tell the children traditional stories. Levison with the two elderly story tellers after they have been gifted coats, walking sticks and shoes. The walking sticks and shoes will make their journey to The Foundation to spend time with the children far easier.Two little girls from the nursery who will benefit from having a sponsorCould you sponsor one of these nursery children please?Shalom would love to have a sponsor. Could you help her?Fred is needing a helping hand. Please could you sponsor him?Could you sponsor Rashid? He has missed a lot of school to try to earn some money.
I sometimes think I don’t get across the sheer scale of the difficulties faced by the people that Levison and his team are trying to help in the rural far north of Malawi. When he first wanted to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, he was just thinking about those in his village. However, from reading what he has written below, you can see that people are coming every day begging for help, and walking huge distances to get to The Foundation because they have heard that they won’t be turned away. People do not have food to feed themselves or their families.
In addition to the 500+ children who are fed once a week at The Feeding Programme, the 75 preschool children who are fed three times a week in The Nursery, as well as all the other projects and wonderful things that are happening, there are so many others needing our help. These people are feeling forgotten. There are no other charities or big agencies feeding children in that area. It is a huge responsibility for The Foundation and a huge responsibility for us. That is why we rely on your help. That is why we need you as part of our team.
When you give us preloved clothes and shoes, blankets and soap…you will understand the importance of these when you read Levison’s words. It’s also important that we continue to have the funds to send this aid to the most vulnerable people in rural Northern Malawi. So, if you can, please when you donate clothes, shoes, or anything else to us, could you include some money to cover the cost of sending boxes to The Foundation. Or raise some funds for us to continue this important work. It’s £15 per box on the container. People need our help. We need you to be part of our team. Great things are happening but there is more to do. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading, Sarah x
“Today when I was resting under a small tree to the south of the resource centre, I shed tears when I was looking at the library/shed, the shower block and other structures around. I thought much of where I am coming from in as far my charity work involvement is concerned.
Almost each and every hour we receive people from far places (some even 40km away) coming to the resource centre to ask for help. Men, women, boys and girls come to beg for food, money and clothes. These are people who really seem to be in dire poverty. We usually make sure they get relaxed, we give them food to eat. For those who may be come with some health issues like headache etc we give them painkillers like panado.
We have reserved, food, clothes, soap etc for such emergencies. When we give them the little we have, they shed tears, roll on the ground etc. These tears are tears of joy. These are the blessings we are receiving from these people. Many ask who is behind this initiative. I myself also shed tears when I hear their stories and see how thankful they are.
As a charity organisation we have contributed a lot to the community and are making a difference to the community. We have electricity, people being fed and clothed. Think of the children and women who are HIV positive, we have improved their nutrition status. On behalf of our children I would like to thank you all for your amazing love and support you are giving to us”
Levison Mlambya, 17/08/22
Some of the younger children at The Feeding ProgrammeJust one of the families who have been helped by The Foundation. This family’s home had been destroyed in the heavy rains. They were given this home to live in by another villager and The Foundation was able to provide food, blankets, new clothes and match two of the children with sponsors so they have two food parcels going into their home each month.Here they are in their new, clean clothes with a big bag of maize too.The family with some more gifts of clothes and shoes
