Tag: sponsor

A recap of 2023 in pictures

Please read about our successes and challenges and look at all the great photos of the children we help to support.

Sarah’s blog 31/12/23

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in 2023. As I always say, it’s teamwork. We couldn’t do what we do without our generous supporters. Much has happened in 2023 and we need you even more in 2024 and need to reach more supporters to ensure that the hundreds of vulnerable children we support continue to have brighter and better futures.

Here are just some of the success stories of 2023, thanks to teamwork;

  1. 75 preschool children continue to meet five times a week at nursery and are fed at each session. They each receive a bag containing; a blanket, two red t-shirts, three pairs of pants, toothbrush & toothpaste and soap. They are now also receiving two picture books as part of our School Literacy Programme. This will ensure that all homes have at least two books and that children have daily opportunities for reading and becoming confident readers.
  2. Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November 2022 with two classrooms. Classrooms 3 and 4 were constructed and ready for term starting in September 2023 thanks to fundraising and donations. Education is free to students and they receive a free school meal each day, the only meal for many of these teenagers as they don’t have food at home.
  3. A grant was received for a teachers’ accommodation block for four teachers has been built. Once plastering and painting have been done, will be ready in mid January.
  4. Two plots of land, adjacent to the current land, have been purchased. One for the teachers’ accommodation and one for future building.
  5. Over 100 more fruit tree saplings have been purchased are will be planted by young people during the next couple of weeks. Other projects promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability are being put in place too.
  6. Solar panels were bought with grant to provide electricity to the library and the classrooms and teachers’ accommodation.
  7. Clothes, shoes and books continue to be sent to provide for the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support. This helps to reuse preloved items to gift to those who cannot afford clothes because of the dire poverty they live in.
  8. Thanks to our supporters, we sent lots of sports kit, paid for and facilitated a two week rugby festival for the local schools led by the Malawi Rugby Union sports development coach, Jack Mphande.
  9. Chambo Primary School had no clean water for drinking or washing hands. They had no toilets. Only one of their eight classrooms had desks and chairs. Thanks to two grants we applied for, they now have a girls’ latrine block, clean water for drinking and washing hands and desks and chairs for another two classrooms. We also donated exercise books and pencils and stationery for the teachers. To date, we have donated twenty boxes of books as part of our School Literacy Project. Bit by bit, life is improving for the most vulnerable children.
  10. We continue to send money for The Feeding Programme. No charities are feeding children in schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Children are being taught to grow crops which are then used to feed them at the feeding programme.

As you can see, there has been a great deal happening and much success. We are so grateful that we have been supported to achieve the above for the children and their community. 

However, the Feeding Programme has got to be our biggest ongoing challenge as, despite having asked for help from several big charities with feeding, none are helping us. Most children are suffering from malnutrition as they do not have enough to eat, the situation is getting worse. We can only afford to send money to feed 500 children once a week. Even this is getting harder as food prices continue to rise and food is scarcer. Children are walking up to 20km for this one nutritious meal of the week which includes vegetables grown by the children. We need your help to feed these children as families are really struggling. If you could commit £5 or £10 per month, it would make a huge difference to us and to them contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – 23 & 24

Our last two advent photos; 23 – clean water, 24 – decent work & economic growth. http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – days 21 & 22

Clean water & quality education are being highlighted today. Please read today’s blog about some of our important projects that are having an impact.

Sarah’s blog 22/12/23

Clean water and quality education are the highlights on 21st & 22nd of December. Thankfully, all the children using the Foundation have access to clean drinking water, handwashing facilities, proper showers and latrines. We have just facilitated girls’ latrines and clean drinking water at Chambo Primary School. Much still needs to be done in the community though as, when all the hundreds of vulnerable children return to their homes, they are drinking river water and have no toileting facilities and no soap.

The School Literacy Project is making a big difference to the education of hundreds, if not thousands, of vulnerable children. Primary schools in rural northern Malawi have hardly any resources. Thanks to our supporters, we have been sending boxes of preloved books (and many new books too) and gifted them to primary schools local to the foundation that we support. Initially, 17 boxes of books were donated to Chambo Primary School and other primary schools have benefitted to. It costs £17.50 to send a box of books on the container and we would love it if you would help by paying for a box of books to be transported. It is a fairly low cost project having a big impact on literacy, ensuring children become more confident readers.

We have included the 75 nursery children too. We want all pre-school children to have at least two books of their own to keep in their homes. All of these children have missed out on the stages of pre-literacy, sitting on an adult’s knee as a baby looking at the pictures in a book and hearing a story. Then as a toddler, knowing that the story would continue if you turned the page and being able to point to things in the pictures. One of the next stages of pre-literacy is pretending to read the story whilst moving a finger along the words.

The orphans and other vulnerable children have missed out on all of these stages. We are excited to see if the exam results will rise over the next few years in primary schools that have received gifts of boxes of books. Will you please make a donate this Christmas to ensure we can reach more children with the gift of books and quality education? https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Hope you enjoy the photos and the advent calendar video that I’ve attached. Thanks everyone, Sarah x

https://videopress.com/v/vluwUEPG?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Advent Calendar 2023 – video – highlighting projects & children

Sarah’s blog 20/12/23

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.

Thank you to everyone who helps and supports us and if you can donate a few £££ to support our projects we would be very grateful. Thanks, Sarah x https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com 

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 20

Sarah’s blog 20/12/23

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/d3cf8c3a  contact_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

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Advent Calendar – Highlighting Projects & Children – Day 18

Sarah’s blog 18/12/23

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

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 16

Sarah’s blog 16/12/23

Every day people like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children come to the foundation asking for help. They have no money, no food and, much of the time, are dressed in rags. It is heart breaking to see the amount of poverty that many in the community are living in. Children with their extended tummies are showing visible signs of malnutrition and are so hungry. Unfortunately, there is not enough money to help all of these vulnerable people.

Sometimes they can be given some new clothes or a small amount of food. They are able to have a shower. Sometimes they are given a small amount of money for doing some piece work like helping to weed a field. Life is so difficult, beyond what we can imagine.

Eventually, the aim is that the Foundation is self-sufficient and has enough food to feed the children. There will be more people employed meaning that more money is going back into the community. Until then, they need our help. Can you make a one off donation to support feeding malnourished children please? Or could you commit £5 or £10 per month to ensure the most vulnerable are fed despite food scarcity and prices continuing to rise?

People like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children deserve some happiness and to be healthy and to know that people care about them. If you can help please donate to https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can make a difference and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 15

Sarah’s blog 15/12/23

On day 15 we are again highlighting the need for quality education. The children and young people we are helping to support have all had extremely difficult lives and are living in extreme poverty. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi and none of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School would be able to afford to pay these fees.

We are extremely proud of Chancy Chisale who is the first sponsored young person to have passed their s4 national exams and is going on to further education. Chancy’s family had paid for some of his education but then ran out of money. Chancy was a very hard worker and a promising student so we managed to match him with a sponsor and we are glad to say that he was successful. We wish him every success for the future.

Bright Futures Secondary School has only been open for just over a year. We were absolutely delighted that the whole S2 class passed their national exams in the summer. This was an amazing achievement for them and we are very proud of them.

Class sizes will always be smaller than government run schools. However, currently, Bright Futures Secondary School is running at approximately 50% capacity. We cannot afford to support more students without sponsors to help support their education costs. The decision was made that all students at Bright Futures Secondary School will get a free school lunch each day. This, for many, is their only proper meal. For some, it is their only food each day. They cannot study and concentrate without being fed at school. But this costs money.

Can you sponsor a vulnerable young person to study at Bright Futures Secondary School please? It’s only £25 per month. You can be a sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends or even a business or a school. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Or can you make a one off donation towards school lunches? or commit to paying £5 or £10 per month to ensure the young people get the nutrition they need through a free school lunch each day? https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Together we can keep Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks so much, Sarah x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 14

Sarah’s blog 14/12/23

14th December – reducing inequalities in so many ways. How often do we say or think ‘Life isn’t fair.’ I’m sure we’ve all done that at some point. Compared to Maria’s life, we are so very fortunate.

When Maria was age 11, we were asked to try to find her a sponsor. Her parents had died, so she was an orphan living with her grandparents. They are so poor that they couldn’t afford to feed Maria and they were contemplating marrying her off as a child bride at age 11. Despite this being against the law in Malawi, unfortunately it still happens. Child brides suffer from horrendous injuries by their husbands and then whilst giving birth, even resulting in death.

Thankfully, Maria and girls like her are supported by the foundation and are free from the worry that they will be married off too soon. Maria was matched with a sponsor and has a monthly food parcel at home to supplement her grandparents’ income. She is able to attend the weekly feeding programme where 500 children are fed a substantial and nutritious meal once a week.

Unfortunately, no big charities are feeding children in the rural far north so all children that we help to support are suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition. We only have enough money to feed these children once a week. Please can you help us to continue feeding these children? Food prices are rising and food is becoming more scarce. As a small charity run by volunteers, 100% of the donations we receive go to our projects. Please can you help us continue to feed 500 children?

Maria had missed lots of school to work and earn a pittance to help her grandparents and buy some food. Thanks to the help she is now receiving, she is back in school and doing well. Maria knows that people care about her and that she has a brighter future thanks to her sponsor.

If you would like to sponsor a young person like Maria, it’s only £25 per month. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends sharing the cost. It’s less than £1 per day… it might be the most important thing you do for one of these young people. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Or can you donate to the feeding programme or one of our other projects please? the link is here https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Thank you so much to everyone who supports us. It’s always about teamwork. We have achieved so much together but there is still so much to do. Thanks, Sarah x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 13

Sarah’s blog 13/12/23

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 8

Sarah’s blog 08/12/23

For 8th December we are highlighting agriculture and skills for life.

The orphans and other vulnerable children whom we help to support learn life skills at the Foundation. They learn to grow their own food and these vegetables are used at the feeding programme in addition to maize and beans. However, with 500 children to feed, the harvest doesn’t last long.

Fruit tree saplings have been planted to ensure future food security and an income through selling surplus fruit. Many more fruit trees are needed so we would be grateful if you would purchase some fruit tree saplings. It only costs £10 for 4 saplings. Please help.

Levison, who is the director of the Foundation, is a trained teacher. In addition to that he also has a degree in Agriculture so he is able to pass on his knowledge to the young people.

Pictured here is Timothy who really enjoys helping with the crops. Timothy even appointed himself as an unofficial supervisor to some of the younger children showing them how to do the weeding and digging. Timothy is an orphan and lives with his grandmother. He is now in first year at Bright Futures Secondary School. I sponsor Timothy and without support he would not have been able to afford to pay the fees required for secondary school in Malawi. Timothy’s grandmother is a caring lady and they have a girl living with them who was orphaned and had no extended family to care for her. If you would like to sponsor a young person so they have the opportunity of education and a brighter future please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com If you’d like to buy some fruit tree saplings then please donate at https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Thank you for helping to support Timothy and other vulnerable children like him. Thanks, Sarah x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 6

Sarah’s blog 6/12/23

For day 6 of the advent calendar we are highlighting good health and wellbeing. This is my favourite photo from a few years ago. An holistic approach is taken to supporting the children. There will be photos similar to this from all over the world. Children are relaxing, chatting, playing and having fun with their friends. You can see the enjoyment the girls are having from skipping with a piece of rope. This is what childhood should be like all the time. Things are improving for these vulnerable children but there is still so much that we need your support with. Together, as a team we can continue making a difference.

Hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children know that the Foundation is a safe place for them. They have all experienced trauma and very difficult childhoods. Until recently, they felt like they had been forgotten. All are malnourished. All do not have enough to eat. All are living in extreme poverty. Very basic mud or brick one room housing which let in water during the rainy season. All sleeping on the bare floor. If they are lucky they have a sheet or a reed mat to sleep on. None of the families have spare money for clothes or blankets so the children sleep in their clothes which are rags. Many are orphans, living with a grandparent or extended family if parents have died. Most have missed periods of school whilst they try to earn a pittance to buy some food for themselves and their families.

The Foundation is a place where they can just be children for a little while. Where their worries go away whilst they play with their friends. The Foundation is a place where adults will listen if they need to talk. It’s a place where they can have a shower to get clean. They receive new clothes from time to time. We send small blankets to be given to as many as possible. Some of our supporters have knitted hats for the children which helps to keep them warm at night.

They learn skills for life like planting & looking after vegetables, making mats, knitting & sewing and looking after the chickens and goats. The library is open to the children and young people and quite often teenagers will be seen reading fairy stories and other books for younger children….they have missed out on all of that. Team sports are an important part of life at the Foundation and most enjoy playing football, rugby and netball.

And of course, 500 children are fed a nutritious meal once a week. That number is expected to rise to 700 as food is scarce and costs keep rising. This is why we need your help please to keep this vital feeding programme going. We need your help to plant more fruit tree saplings to give future food security and an income when selling surplus fruit. This project will, of course, help the planet too. We need your help to get the pig project up and running so that piglets can be sold to bring in an income. And we need your help to feed the orphans. Please, if you can, will you help us? https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com