Tag: skills for life

Agribusiness Groups 2 & 3

Sarah’s blog 23/6/25

Here is the proof that your help makes a difference! Thank you to the people who helped fund these two groups of ladies from our DonorSee appeals. There had been a slight delay in them getting started. The land that they are going to be farming had crops growing which had to be harvested. This has now happened so the ladies are ready to start work.

These women are some of the poorest in their community and most in need. As they are living in extreme poverty, they have been unable to provide for themselves and their families. Some of the women have been affected by HIV and are bringing up their families alone.

Maria, in group 2, had been a student at Bright Futures Secondary School. She became pregnant and had her little boy. Maria’s aunt looked after the baby whilst Maria returned to school. She has tried so hard to continue her education but, they live a long walk from school and her little boy was failing to thrive. Maria was sitting in class worrying about him. She was exhausted. Maria decided to drop out of school. She has been working for farmers doing piecework to earn a pittance. Maria is a very hard worker and is delighted to have the opportunity to be part of agribusiness group 2 (she holding the watering can in the photo). Her little boy, Wakisa, now has a sponsor to ensure that he has a food parcel each month.

Agribusiness Group 2

Mrs Ng’ambi, whose house was repaired through another DonorSee project, struggled to feed herself and her four children. She is delighted with the new roof on her house. She has been offered a place in agribusiness group 3. Her future is looking much happier. She is on the left of the photo. Both groups have been given seeds, fertiliser, spades and watering cans. Thank you everyone who helped to give these ladies this opportunity and hope for a brighter future.

Agribusiness Group 3

We have a few projects on our DonorSee site to try to give some of the poorest people a helping hand so that they can help themselves. Everyone wants to work hard and be self-sufficient but things are so difficult for them that they need our support. Will you help please? If lots of us give a little then change will happen.

We know that our supporters care about our projects. We are asking for your help to buy more fruit tree saplings and banana tubers to help feed all the hundreds of orphans that rely on the weekly feeding programme. There are no porridge programmes in primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Most children are suffering from malnutrition. All are hungry. How can they concentrate at school when their bodies don’t have the nutrients they need? How can they get to sleep at night when their tummies are empty and sore? Do you want to support children to have enough to eat?

Students are learning skills for life through planting and caring for the saplings that have already been planted. We want them to be self-sufficient in years to come and have fruit to eat and surplus fruit to sell. However, when there are 500+ children who do not have food at home to eat and rely on the weekly feeding programme, that is a huge amount of fruit tree saplings and banana tubers that will be needed. Will you help them have a brighter future? Will you help us try to ensure that less children are suffering with malnutrition? Here is the link to donate https://donorsee.com/project/27708?share=1 or you can contact me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We are also appealing for more tools to help students with their practical agricultural classes and also start doing some basic carpentry classes. These are all skills for life for students living in such a rural location and will help them earn a living in the future. https://donorsee.com/project/27684?share=1 or send me an email for bank details.

Many thanks for your continuing support of our charity, where you know that all money goes to the projects we support, as we are all volunteers, passionate about making a difference to the community we are helping in rural northern Malawi. However, it is always about teamwork and our donors are a valuable part of our team. We couldn’t do what we do without you. Thanks again, Sarah x

Agribusiness Update

Lots of chickens!

The chickens are growing and students from Bright Futures Secondary School are learning skills by helping to care for them.

Sarah’s blog 1/11/24

How is it the 1st of November already? So much happening, so much to do, but some great results are starting to show.

Levison sent this video yesterday of Martha and Asante helping to care for the chickens (chooks). This is the great thing about having projects like the chickens, pigs, goats and all the crops. They can be used for education as well as becoming income generating projects.

Agriculture is a core subject in the Malawian curriculum and students are very much hands on with projects during their practical lessons. They are learning skills for life. Many people in Malawi, grow crops or keep a few animals (if they can afford to) to supplement whatever other income they have. So students at Bright Futures Secondary School will have the skills they need to be able to be growing their own crops and keeping chickens, pigs or goats and they and their families will hopefully have a brighter future!

The incubator is working well now that it has it’s own solar power supply. However, the hen house needs an extension. If eggs were put in the incubator every day each small batch of chicks, hatching after 21 days, will need a separate area from the other chicks. This will enable them to grow safely and allow their progress to be monitored closely, including knowing which chicks have been vaccinated and when. So it is proposed that an additional room, like the one seen in the video, is built to accommodate more chicks and allow the incubator to have regular batches of eggs.

Here is the link to our project on DonorSee https://donorsee.com/project/25321?share=1 or you could email for bank details if you’d like to make a donation contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Enjoy the video and thanks to everyone who has supported this project already. Together, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x

Three Little Pigs

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

Cooking Club

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

Agriculture Lessons at Bright Futures Secondary School

Sarah’s blog 14/2/23

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

https://gofund.me/ece5753a

Sewing Classes – Skills for Life

Sarah’s blog 2/5/22

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.