We are very excited that the first three piglets have arrived as part of an income generating project. Another step towards sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Sarah’s blog 7/10/24
It’s very exciting! The first three little pigs have arrived (on a motorbike) as part of an income generating project. I do have a cartoon picture in my head of these piglets riding in on the motorbike…although what actually happened is that two people joined them. The pillion passenger – one of the teachers – was holding the piglets and it took two precarious journeys.
As well as future sustainability, this project will enable students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School to gain practical skills for their agricultural lessons. There is a module on keeping pigs, so all students will learn from this project.
The kraal for the piglets has been made of wood but the permanent pig pens will be made from bricks and concrete. Again, this will be more learning experiences for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School.
Hope you enjoy the photos and the video. Thank you so much to everyone who helped fund this project. We are very grateful and look forward to seeing more updates as this project grows.
If you’d like to help fund another income generating project then here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/24574?share=1 Thanks for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
The cooking club learning to cook sweet potatoes on an eco stove
Sarah’s blog 04/07/23
Levison sent these photos of The Cooking Club. They are all age 8-10 learning how to cook sweet potatoes. These sweet potatoes are the first of the crop that was planted by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School a few months ago. These children are being supported by Jean and Loveness and look so pleased with what they have achieved.
Growing their own food, learning skills for life and having choices and chances will surely lead to a brighter future for each of these vulnerable children? They are using an eco stove to cook on….it is far safer than an open fire for cooking on, it uses less wood and retains heat for longer. Welding Engineers had kindly supplied funds for several of these to be made. Thank you for reading, Sarah x
What do you do when you’ve got an old trampoline you want rid of? Send it to Malawi! That’s what one of our trustees did when he had dismantled his daughters’ old trampoline. The metal circle structure from the trampoline was sent on the container, along with polythene sheeting. The students, during their agriculture lessons, which are part of the curriculum, made a polytunnel using the trampoline semi circles at each end.
Here is the post from a couple of months ago when they had just made the polytunnel and were preparing the ground. The Polytunnel – Changing Lives Malawi
As you can see, as well as being part of the curriculum, experiences like this are giving these young people important skills for their futures. They are also going to be able to contribute what they grow for school lunches. This might be on a very small scale at the moment, but they will, no doubt, be delighted at what they are achieving. The students have been growing mustard. This small success might spark their enthusiasm for growing more crops to help provide some more food to supplement lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School.
As well as supporting the students’ learning experiences, we are now trying to raise funds for the next two classrooms. If you can donate we will be very grateful. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Levison sent these photos yesterday of some of the young people in one of their sewing classes. We had sent Singer hand turn sewing machines and they are being put to good use.
The Period Poverty Project has been running for a while now, helping give teenage girls dignity, confidence and equality. No longer do they have to miss a week of school each month to hide at home in shame. Drawstring bags have been made by a few girls. Each girl who needs one is gifted a bag with 5 reusable sanitary towels (also made by the girls), 3 pairs of pants, soap and a health information leaflet.
A fairly cheap to run project that makes a big difference to girls. If we had more money to send to this project then they could gift these bags in local schools to all girls who need them. Also local women would benefit from the gift of reusable sanitary towels and soap. I wondered if anyone would like to sponsor this project to gift £10 a month to keep this project running and extend it into the community? If we had a few people willing to gift £10 a month then this will make a big difference to hundreds of girls and women living in poverty. Why should they have to miss one week of education each month? Why should they have to stay at home and feel shame because of a normal bodily function?
There are various life skills classes being run at The Foundation. These young people are learning to sew and hopefully to make clothes. One of the older girls has managed to make a couple of school dresses for the younger children. Again, if we had more money to send, this would be amazing if school uniforms could be made for the children whom The Foundation supports but also then as a source of income for other families to buy school uniforms from The Foundation Sewing Shop. So if anyone feels they would like to support this project with a monthly donation, please get in touch, or maybe you’d like to donate some money to buy material? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .
We want this community to be self-sufficient. We want them to have jobs to provide for themselves and their families. This is their wish too. They are a proud, hard-working community. They just need a helping hand out of the dire situation they have found themselves in through no fault of their own. Let’s help them get back on their feet and provide a sustainable future for them and their families. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Melise is wearing a school dress that has been made for her by some of the older girls at The Foundation. They’ve done a great job. Melise has been allowed to start school a bit earlier as she is learing quickly. I wonder whether the books that have been given to her brother (Mwiza), who is disabled and doesn’t attend school, have helped with her learning.
