It’s less than 6 weeks until Liz and Sarah head to Malawi…. still lots of planning to do and vaccinations to get.
Sarah’s blog 9/4/26
Liz and Sarah’s trip to Malawi isn’t far away! Liz, who is another trustee of Changing Lives Malawi, and myself are counting down now to our two week trip to Malawi. It’s just over 5 weeks time until we set off and it’s all starting to feel very real.
I’ve had my second lot of injections today, Liz has had her first today. We are both going for yellow fever injections on Saturday…not really a fun day out in Stirling…but you have to have a vaccination certificate to show to enter Malawi.
I have been collecting supplies for the new nursery classroom and Liz has been on a camera course and we have our train tickets and flights all booked.
We will hopefully be able to blog from Malawi and take lots of photos and videos at Bright Futures Nursery and Secondary School to share with you. Meeting the people we have been helping to support is what I am most looking forward to.
We have paid for our own train tickets, flights, vaccines, travel insurance, visas etc… but we would like to be able gift a bar of soap to each young person at the nursery, secondary school and feeding programme. Also, we would like to be able to provide bars of soap for each new mother at Chambo Health Centre.
This will be approx 1,000 bars of soap at approx 30p-40p per bar. So that is at least £300. Costs have risen hugely in Malawi and none of the families we help to support can afford to buy soap…they are living in extreme poverty and struggling to buy food every day.
You can click on the link to our fundraiser https://gofund.me/e2cc483aa to find out what other projects we are trying to raise funds for….any small donations will be very gratefully received. Or you can donate via our website or email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .
DonorSee is sadly closing for small projects but THANK YOU for supporting us. Here are some geat photos & ways you can continue to support us.
Sarah’s blog 21/1/26
DonorSee is sadly closing for small projects but Thank you for supporting us. We have received amazing generosity from all the donors who have supported our projects via that platform. We are very grateful for the opportunity we have received to be a partner charity. However, your help is very much still needed. Will you help us to continue to help the most vulnerable in northern Malawi?
In total, over $9,000 USD was raised for projects including; four agribusiness groups for vulnerable people to have a sustainable business. Notebooks and pens were bought for primary school students. One appeal helped support with sending boxes of books to Malawi for our School Literacy Project. Soap was gifted to vulnerable children and elderly people. We also received help with feeding children and elderly people living in extreme poverty. Also, for Bright Futures Secondary School, money was raised to provide tools for agriculture and carpentry, fruit tree and pine tree saplings, wood for building beehives, science equipment, and pigs and goats.
A mother was helped when DonorSee donors paid for a new roof for her single room house. This enabled the family to be dry during the rainy season. They were given some food and this lady was given a place on one of the Agribusiness Groups. We managed to get sponsorship for the four children via an appeal in one of my blogs. They all have food coming into their home each month to supplement their small amount of income.
We always say it is about teamwork. You are all an important part of our team. Whether you have donated money once, or are a regular supporter, or sponsor a young person, or even share our posts on social media. THANK YOU. You are important to us and we appreciate you. DonorSee is sadly closing for small projects but THANK YOU for supporting us.
DonorSee has been a very useful way of raising money for ‘extra’ small projects that have made a big difference to the people who benefitted. For example, students at Chambo Primary School cannot afford to buy themselves notebooks. If they don’t have notebooks to write in, they have to just sit and listen to the teacher. They have to hope that they can remember what they are being taught.
The elderly people wouldn’t have had a Christmas lunch and bars of soap if it wasn’t for the generosity of supporters on DonorSee. We have also been able to provide the funding for various sporting events. Children together from local schools take part in training and tournaments for rugby, football, netball and cricket. At any event like this, we want children to have food and drink so that they have enough energy to take part. Also, to make the day extra special for them. Because of the food crisis in Malawi getting worse, most of these children do not eat every day. They need our continued support. Will you help us please? Together we can ensure they have a brighter future through education and sustainable project.
We will be looking at ways that we can try to raise funds for small stand alone projects like the appeals that have been successful on DonorSee. But, in the meantime, if you would like to make a donation for feeding children, or any other project, you can email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate through our website Donate money to Changing Lives Malawi .
We hope you enjoy these photos from some of the small projects. Many thanks again and please continue supporting us. You can sign up to receive my blogs and follow us on social media (facebook & instagram). Thanks, Sarah x
Children at Chambo Primary were delighted to receive notebooks and pensOne of the agribusiness groups working in their maize field. The lady on the right is a young mother and her little boy is playing in the background.One of the goats that has been bought to add to the breeding stock and will help bring in an income as well as teaching students at Bright Futures Secondary School how to care for goats in their agriculture lessons.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School making a beehive with tools and wood bought from donations via DonorSeePractical science classes at Bright Futures Secondary School are far more interesting now that they have more science equipment for experimentsSome of the young people who took part in the rugby training & tournament we helped to facilitate. These are some of the first youngsters in the north of Malawi to learn to play rugby.Everyone loves a football tournament, especially when you receive a nice lunch and a smart football strip! This preloved strip was donated by Riverside Football Club in Stirling, Central Scotland. Four students from Bright Futures Secondary School with some of the tools that were bought thanks to the appeal on DonorSee. We do need to try to raise funds for suitable footwear for the students to use to protect their feet from mud and the sharp tools they are using. Could you help please?One of the agribusiness groups were delighted with the tools, seeds and fertiliser they received.Mrs Ng’ambi and her four children were delighted to have a new roof on their home thanks to the donors who supported this project.Some of the students at Kalanga Primary School with preloved books that were gifted to the school as part of our School Literacy Project. Thank you to those donors who have donated funds to pay for a box of books on the container which is currently £17.50 per box.Vulnerable children enjoying a substantial and nutritious lunchWe need ongoing support to keep running the weekly feeding programme for 500 vulnerable children and young people.Some of the elderly people from the village enjoying their pre-Christmas lunch. We would love to have more funding to run a lunch club for them once a month to help prevent isolation.One of the girls enjoying learning to play rugbyYoung people caring for bananas that they planted as tubers
Having a sponsor is making a huge difference to some of the most vulnerable children and young people we help to support. All of them are living in extreme poverty. All are hungry. Many are malnourished. Many are orphans living with extended family.
Sarah’s blog 11/9/25
Having a sponsor is making a huge difference to some of the most vulnerable children and young people we help to support. All of them are living in extreme poverty. All are hungry. Many are malnourished. Many are orphans living with extended family.
One way that sponsors are changing the lives of children is that the younger ones (those not at secondary school) receive a monthly food parcel/care package. As you can see in these photos, as well as maize, they have each received a bottle of cooking oil and two bars of soap.
Usually, students at Bright Futures Secondary School don’t receive this monthly parcel, as they receive a free school lunch each day instead. This, for most, is their only meal each day so it is vitally important that free lunch is supplied as well as free education. The small amount of food that the family has at home can be shared amongst other family members as they know the student has had a nutritious lunch. As it is school holidays, the sponsored students at Bright Futures Secondary School have received a food parcel instead of school lunches.
There were some children and young people who didn’t attend to receive their parcel but it has been kept for them and, hopefully, we will have photos of the remaining sponsored children and young people within the next couple of weeks. As it is school holidays, some have gone to stay with relatives slightly further away, others are working in the fields to try to bring in a tiny income for their families to use to buy food.
Life is really hard for them all as there are no big charities feeding children in primary schools in the far north of Malawi. We can only afford to support a feeding programme once a week whilst sustainable projects are being set up to help the community be self-sufficient. However, everyone can see that life is much better than it was. Having a sponsor for the most vulnerable is giving them hope of a brighter future.
Secondary School needs to be paid for in Malawi and none of the young people we help to support could afford to pay school fees. They can attend Bright Futures Secondary School free of charge if we can match them with a sponsor to help us with the cost of their secondary education and school lunches.
Will you please sponsor a vulnerable young person who is waiting for a place at Bright Futures Secondary School? It’s only £25 per month and you can sponsor as an individual, friends or family or your business can sponsor a young person. Email if you’d like to help contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .
I’d just like to take a moment to apologise that there haven’t been more updates on sponsored children & young people recently. The last 18 months had been really difficult for me with caring responsibilities and therefore I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time as I would have liked. However, I am now catching up with everything and aim to get more information and updates to sponsors more often.
Our sponsored children section on our website also needs updating and is on the list of jobs to do. Every child or young person who is matched with a sponsor will have their own page on our website that I will update with information and photos regularly and sponsors will be able to click on the link for their child or young person.
So here are the first photos of children & young people looking so much healthier and happier thanks to support of their sponsors. Many thanks as we couldn’t do what we do without your help. Together we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks for being so supportive, Sarah x
Thanks to generous donors that’s another project fully funded on DonorSee. These children are delighted with their bar of soap.
Sarah’s blog 25/06/24
Another one of our small projects that is on our DonorSee page has been fully funded by generous donors….thank you so much. We appealed for money to buy bars of soap for Bright Futures Nursery, Chambo Primary School and Bright Futures Secondary School. All of these now have clean water to drink and wash hands but soap is also necessary for keeping infection and germs from spreading.
Soap is also provided in the shower block. This is such a useful facility for so many children so that they are able to get clean and get rid of the dust and dirt. By taking a bar of soap home, their caregivers will be able to wash their clothes. They probably don’t have soap very often. Something we take for granted. So enjoy these photos and video of the nursery children who are delighted that they have been given a bar of soap. If you contributed – thank you for making their lives just a little bit better.
As you can see from the building behind – it needs repainting. All the sun and then heavy rain have faded the paint and it’s looking a little bit worn. The writing says ‘Emma’s Rainbow Library’ named for Emma Buchanan who was taken too soon. She loved reading and would have loved to go to Malawi on a school trip but her health prevented that. After Emma passed, a beautiful rainbow appeared. Her family helped fundraise for the library building. So painting is on the list of jobs that needs doing!
Here is the link to our DonorSee page… perhaps you’d like to make a small donation to one of our other projects? DonorSee Thanks, Sarah x
Happy nursery children with their bars of soap – thank you!Two very happy smiley boysThese children are aged between 4 and 6 years old. They start school at age 6.Holding their precious gifts up high
Thank you for the soap
58 happy children having each received a bar of soap this morning
Could you sleep at night without a blanket or food in your tummy? Please read today’s blog to see how we are helping vulnerable preschool children.
Sarah’s blog 22/6/24
Bright Futures Nursery is more than just a place for preschool children to meet. The nursery was first started because these young children were hanging about with nowhere to go whilst their older siblings were at school.
Of course, there are no adults at home during the day as they are either doing chores or out trying to earn some money for their family. Many of these children are orphans living with extended family and living in extreme poverty.
As well as being a place to meet with their friends and spend time, these children are fed each morning. This is making a big difference to their health and wellbeing. There aren’t so many children with stunted growth as there were and overall health has improved, although there is still a long way to go.
We give care bags to children who start nursery; that way we know everyone has received one. The bag has, a fleece blanket, two red tshirts (nursery uniform), three pairs of underwear, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and now we are adding a soft toy/knitted teddy and two picture books. These children don’t have a soft toy of their own to cuddle so they will have either a soft toy that has been donated to us or a teddy knitted by one of several talented people who knit for us.
We added the books because when the first boxes of books were sent, the pre-school children didn’t even know how to turn the pages properly. They had never had access to books before. Imagine all the years of bedtime stories and sitting on an adults knee listening to stories they have missed out on. So we want every home to have at least two books so that children of all ages can read together with their families.
At Chambo Primary School, where most of the orphans go to school, the headteacher has already reported that they are seeing that children in primary 1 are ahead of those in previous years because they have had access to books before starting school. We are delighted to hear this and look forward to having more feedback from the school.
I am in contact with Levison Mlambya, the director and co founder, almost every day and we had a catch up phone conversation this morning. I was asking him about if he still had any supplies there to give out to the children at nursery. He has a few t-shirts but nothing else. So I will need to start trying to gather what is needed to put in the nursery bags. I mentioned the small fleece blankets we send. Levison said something that really made me very sad. He asked if, as well as sending blankets for the nursery children, could we send more for their siblings. He said children are sleeping on the floor in their huts but most don’t have blankets. He said that three children might try to share this one little blanket that we give out.
I knew children slept on mats on the floor and that they just had a sheet or blanket to cover themselves with but I did hope we were making more progress with making these children’s lives easier. In many ways we are, but if children don’t even have a blanket to cover themselves at night – and it does get cold as it’s in the hills – then this is one of their very basic needs that isn’t being met. Children are going to bed (well their space on the floor) cold and hungry. How can we expect them to get a good sleep? The fact that there are over 500 children all living in extreme poverty and needing support makes it all the more challenging and food costs are huge.
So if you can spare any money to help us continue providing food for the pre-school children and gifting each one of them a care bag full of gifts when they start nursery, that would be very much appreciated. Even if we cannot give all children a blanket, knowing that each of the preschool children have a blanket is helping them. Here are the links to our two nursery projects on DonorSee. As they say ‘Every little helps’ so please do give if you can and share news of our projects with your friends. Thanks so much, Sarah x
Care bags given to the preschool children last year; blankets, tshirts, underwear, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste, soft toys and books. Being fed every morning at nursery and these care bags are making a difference to these very vulnerable children living in extreme poverty.
Some of the sponsored children and young people receiving this month’s food parcels. Thank you so much to their sponsors for supporting them.
Sarah’s blog 21/06/24
It can be difficult to source enough maize for so many children so it can be time consuming getting everything together for the sponsored children. Plus, they have to receive their parcels at a time when there aren’t other children around.
So here are photos of 20 of the sponsored children. These children and young people are still at primary school. Once a sponsored young person goes to Bright Futures Secondary School, they stop receiving their monthly food parcel because they have a nutritious cooked school lunch each day instead.
This month the sponsored children & young people have been given maize, cooking oil and two bars of soap. Thank you so much to their sponsors for really making a difference to their lives and giving them hope of a better and brighter future.
There is no free secondary education in Malawi. None of the children we support can afford to pay. At BFSS the biggest cost is feeding the students each day which is why they need sponsors. They must receive a good school lunch every day as that is the only food most of the students will eat. It is vital for their wellbeing and education as there is no point trying to educate students who are too weak to study and cannot concentrate.
Thank you again to everyone who cares about these children and young people. Each sponsored child/young person has their own page on our website which we update with their photos and any writing they do. It only costs £25 per month to be a sponsor. Having a sponsor is probably the best gift anyone can give them, Sarah x
There are 75 vulnerable pre-school children, ages 4-6, in the nursery at The Foundation. All are malnourished, some have stunted growth. We are doing what we can in order to help them have a better start in life.
Today, because of the rains, only about half of them were there to receive the gifts we had sent. The others will get their gifts another day. Proper records are kept to ensure none of them miss out.
Today is an exciting day for them…it’s the first time they have received a book of their own to keep and take home. This is part of The Literacy Project. I am an Early Years Educator and so am passionate about these children having the opportunities that our children have. When we have access to books pre-reading starts when babies are on an adult’s knee, having a story read to them. They look at the pictures and can anticipate certain points in the story because of the way the adult reads and shares this special time with them. Toddlers will bring their favourite storybook to an adult in order that they can share the story together. They can point to things in the pictures, they know that you turn the pages and they ‘pretend’ to read by tracing the words with their fingers. They know that these letter shapes are where the story comes from.
The children at The Foundation nursery have missed out on all of these experiences. We want story books to become an every day part of their lives. We want every home to have at least two books to support literacy. I had a video call with the headteacher of Bright Futures Secondary School yesterday and she was delighted that books were being given to the children in the nursery. She said they are trying to ‘play catchup’ with the students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they have missed out on having access to reading materials from a young age. Many of the students missed a lot of school to work for a pittance to buy food….it’s been so hard for them. We look forward to seeing how having books at home makes a difference to these children and their families.
Today, each child received a drawstring bag containing, a blanket, 2 red t-shirts, pants, toothbrush & toothpaste, soap and a picture book. As I said in a recent post, in future, we want to be able to include a knitted teddy in each bag for children starting nursery. If you are able to help support this nursery project in any way then please email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
There is so much going on both in Malawi and here, so I thought I would do a quick update.
Our charity accounts and trustees’ report have been completed and filed with OSCR. We now have three years of completed accounts and our charity is progressing well, thanks to all the support we have received. More grants can be applied for as many organisations require three years accounts from applicants.
I am continuing to try to raise funds to support the projects; education and feeding the orphans continue to be our priorities; and we must reach more people to try to get more awareness and more support to ensure that children are fed and that phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School can be built next year. If you would like to contribute to the school project the link is here https://gofund.me/44a92444 or you can email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Why not make a monthly donation to support the feeding of 500+ orphans? Or if you are in a position to gift £500 or more then you can have your name, a name or your choice or your business name above a classroom door or one of the other new buildings.
Fundraising calendars – I still have some available. These make great Christmas gifts. These are only £10 plus £2 p&p. As one of our trustees paid for these to be printed, all of the £10 will go towards Bright Futures Secondary School. We have alternative gift cards available, paintings and packs of cards by Christine Cresswell one of our trustees who has donated her time and talents to raise funds for our charity. Have a look and see what you can buy for Christmas without leaving the house! The link to all the fundraising items is in a previous blog post here Christmas Cards & Gifts – Changing Lives Malawi
The container is due in Ekwendeni any day now. Levison is just waiting for confirmation then he will be travelling south to collect the boxes and chairs that we sent. Thank you to everyone who donated items to be sent. There will be great excitement when the chairs and the boxes arrive.
Government schools will close for the Christmas holidays on 16th December. Because Bright Futures Secondary School was a bit late opening, due to having to raise funds as we go, the teachers have kindly suggested that the school remains open for an extra few days. So, the last day of term at Bright Futures Secondary School will be 21st December and a Christmas party, for all the 500+ orphans and other vulnerable children, will be held on 22nd December which they are all very much looking forward to. We thank the generous donors who gifted money to feed the children an extra time to enable there to be a party.
Desks for the classrooms are being made thanks to donations we have received. If you would like to purchase a desk for use by a student, they are £20 each.
As it has been so busy, unfortunately, we have not had as many updates about sponsored children as we would have liked. I have now linked with one of the teachers who will work with me to remedy this and sponsors will be able to hear from their sponsored children a lot more regularly.
If you would like me to come and talk at your club, church or school (or for any event) I’d love to hear from you. I have a laptop, projector and screen and lots of photos to show!
Thank you for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
Our fundraising calendar will make a great Christmas gift – £10 each (all of the £10 goes towards the school project) plus £2 p&pSome of the school desks – £20 eachThe front of the alternative gift cardInside the alternative gift card – just circle or tick the gift you are wishing to purchase. A football is £10, 4 fruit tree saplings £10, soap for 100 children £40 and transportation of a box of books is £20 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Last year we had a very generous donation of preloved bibles from St Michael’s Parish Church, Slateford Road, Edinburgh. The congregation kindly also donated some clothes and lots of other useful items.
The bibles and other donations recently arrived on the container. Many of the bibles have been kept for the young people supported by The Foundation to help with their studies. One box was sent to a different organisation. Whilst we are not in a position to support other organisations financially, occasionally we are able to pass on donations.
Last November, I was honoured to be invited to an afternoon tea with The First Lady of Malawi at the City Chambers in Edinburgh. I was invited by Joyce Juma-Phiri who is CEO of Fair Trade Scotland and also Head of The Associations of Malawians in Scotland. It was a lovely afternoon, and I met some wonderful people. One lady, a Malawian living in Scotland, is Gertrude Kadzuwa who runs this organisation for widows in Mzuzu. As well as bibles, we put lots of bars of soap in the box. The widows have had a meeting today and Gertrude sent me this photo and a great video. I hope you enjoy the video. Thank you again to the congregation of St Michael’s Parish Church for your donations, Sarah x
Happy New Year!! I hope this year brings you all health & happiness.
Levison is busy getting young people ready for going to school this next week and I hope to bring some photos soon of them in their uniform before they set off on their big adventure, thanks to their generous sponsors who have paid for them to continue secondary education.
We still have a few young people waiting to be matched with sponsors so if you can help then please get in touch.
It’s my birthday on 4th January… when you have a birthday straight after Christmas you don’t really need any presents. I was very lucky with all the gifts I received for Christmas. So I wouldn’t usually tell people it’s my birthday but, i thought it might be a nice idea to buy something for the orphans in Malawi if you’d like to. There is an Amazon link at the top of the page or if you are at the supermarket and want to put some bars of soap or toothbrushes, toothpaste or pencils in your trolley, they would be very much appreciated. When there are approximately 800 vulnerable children and young people being supported there are never enough pencils or bars of soap!!
Many thanks and best wishes for 2022, thanks for reading, Sarah x
