We have some sad news and are hoping that some of our lovely supporters might help us.
The team of builders who have been working hard on Bright Futures Secondary School had the weekend off and went home. Levison heard late yesterday that one of the builders had died suddenly which, of course, has been a big shock. This man had a wife and children, although I don’t have details of the children yet. They are poor people and live in a village on the way to Chitipa town.
The funeral is tomorrow and Levison and a few others will attend. Levison will take some maize for the widow and her children. Although he wasn’t an employee of The Foundation, this family have lost their husband and dad. They no longer have his financial support. We would like to be able to help them like we try to help other families who are in need.
Would anyone be willing to help this family either by sponsoring one of the children when I have more information or by committing to a monthly amount towards a food parcel? You can email me if you can help and, hopefully, we can get a little support team around this family. Thank you, Sarah x
Great news! Two little girls have a sponsor. This is a single parent family with three children. Mum is really struggling to feed them. We were introduced to these children last month when Levison saw them walking the huge distance to the maize mill with someone else’s maize. They would walk all day with no food or clean water to drink. It’s a long, hard journey carrying their burdens. It’s also a dangerous journey so children stay together to reduce the chance of being attacked along the way.
You’ll see from their ages and the classes that they are in at school that they have missed some education, especially the oldest, as they will have had to work for a pittance to help bring food into the family home. Thanks to the new sponsor, there will be food going into this home each month, the children will be given blankets and soap and they will have new clothes. Thank you for making a difference.
You can imagine, when there are over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children to support, there can be many challenges along the way. One of these is that some children are called by different names by school, at home and by their friends. The children had told Levison their names were Martha, Hope and Joseph. However, Levison has asked that we use their proper names that are registered at school to avoid confusion when checking records and speaking to the teachers.
So here is a family whose lives have been changed for the better through a kind sponsor having read my previous post. Their mother was crying with happiness when she heard that her daughters would now be supported. It’s less than £1 per day to sponsor a child and there are many, many children who would benefit from having a sponsor. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or share the cost with a friend. Or a club or business can sponsor a child and we will, of course, give your business some publicity. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to change a life today. It might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these very vulnerable young people. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
NB I will be doing an appeal over the next couple of days on behalf of another family who desperately need a helping hand. Sarah x
Life has been very hard. Mum cried when she heard that her family now have some support.Mphatso has missed a lot of school. As the eldest child, she has had to be working to earn some money to help feed her siblings. Roda will benefit from having a sponsor as there will be two food parcels going into the home each month and the children will receive new clothes and blankets. Hopefully, they won’t be going to the maize mill with other people’s maize.Chikumbusko will receive new clothes and a blanket and benefit from having more food at their home via two food parcels each month. If anyone would like to sponsor him then please get in touch.
Things are progressing well with both the staff accommodation and the first phase of Bright Futures Secondary School.
The staff accommodation has been having windows put in during yesterday and today and will need painting and doors fixing. Apart from a bit of tidying up outside, that will be it ready!
The builders have finished their work on phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School and the carpenters are working on the roof. There are still some jobs to do after that but it’s exciting to see it taking shape! It won’t be long until the first students arrive.
A teachers latrine block is also being constructed and, when finances allow, we will be building another girls and another boys latrine blocks.
The children still need your support. As yet we still need to find money for windows in the school block, doors, chalkboards, desks, more textbooks and notebooks.
Can you help us help the children please? We are nearly there but need your support to give the gift of education to some of the most vulnerable teenagers in rural Northern Malawi. They wouldn’t normally be able to afford secondary school without help. At Bright Futures Secondary School, none of these vulnerable children will have to pay anything.
Here is the link to our fundraiser and we would be so grateful if you could spare a few £££ for the children. Https://GoFund.me/44a92444 Let’s give the gift of education! Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
At sunset – the wooden roof supports on the first phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. Please help us complete this phase https://GoFund.me/44a92444 Let’s build a school!
The roof is going on the first phase of the school… two classrooms are being built in this phaseThe carpenters have been working hard today please help to get it finished https://gofund.me/44a92444The staff accommodation is almost complete. Female teachers will be offered accommodation due to the remote location. Eventually there will be male staff accommodation too.Bright Futures Secondary School is taking shape… thank you to all who have donated so farPutting the windows into the staff accommodation blockFemale teachers will be offered accommodation The staff accommodation is almost ready
Everything takes so long to get to Malawi that we sometimes forget about the lovely things that have been sent until they get there!
Mwiza has additional needs. He has low muscle tone and we thought it would be a good idea for him to have a chair to support him some of the time rather than him lying down when his muscles were tired.
We didn’t want to get a normal height folding chair as it would be difficult for him to get in and out of without him falling and hurting himself. Mwiza’s sponsor bought this chair and I think they’ve made a great choice. Levison went to the Mtambo house this morning and said Mwiza was delighted with his new seat.
Sometimes it’s the little things that we take for granted that can make all the difference. Thanks to Mwiza’s sponsor, for his trainset and toys sent previously and his new chair, his life is just that little bit better.
“How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.’
Morgan Freeman
Mwiza relaxing in his new chair, thanks to his sponsor
When The Foundation was still quite new, Naomi brought her baby sister to the Foundation to ask for food. Naomi was delighted to be able to feed her hungry baby sister, Modester. They had been very recently orphaned and it was a huge responsibility for Naomi to look after and feed her baby sister.
I thought it was such a powerful photo that Levison took that day. Naomi was happy that she could feed Modester, having gone through the grief and trauma of being orphaned. They have both been living with their grandmother since then. I have used that photo lots of times since then as it tells the story of what these orphans and vulnerable children go through and the difference The Feeding Programme makes to hundreds of children, even though it is only once a week.
The Foundation is a refuge for children in need. They know they will have someone to talk to, someone to listen to them. Someone to play with. Somewhere to forget their problems for a little while. A safe place to just be children.
I was delighted when Levison sent me a photo of Naomi and Modester the other day. Naomi is now 14 and in p8 and Modester is 5 and attending the nursery. They are both doing well but it would really help them if they could have a sponsor. We’d love to see them continue to thrive and have an additional food parcel going into their home. If you could sponsor one of these sisters, then please do let me know. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It is £25 per month to sponsor a child which you can share with a friend to half the cost. It might be the most important gift you give to one of these girls. Please help?
Thanks for reading and please do let me know if you can help. Sarah x
Naomi and Modester when Modester was a baby and they’d both just been orphaned. And now age 14 and 5 looking well.
Time goes by so quickly and I can’t believe this post was from 1/1/2019. So much has happened since. Thankfully, Levison now has a motorbike (bought with money generously donated by Strathblane Kirk ) and also a truck. Levison sees this little boy, Happy, from time to time, but I hadn’t seen a photo of him and am delighted to see him looking well. Happy is 9 years old now. The family was gifted a wheelchair for him from a charity in another district. Lovely to have an update thank you Levison.
It would really help Happy and his family if someone could sponsor Happy so that he has a food parcel each month, regular welfare visits, books, blanket, soap etc. If you could sponsor him it’s only £25 per month or two friends could share the cost. Email me at
(the wall of the skills shed is now looking a bit scruffy as so many children lean on it so some paint has been bought and some older children will be helping with painting that wall)
Original Facebook Post from 1/1/2019 LEVISON’S SPECIAL NEW YEAR OUTREACH
We said earlier that Levison was on a special outreach today. He went to see Happy, the little boy who is paralysed, whom we met some months ago in the video, and his family, to give them gifts.
Sarah and Stuart bought a chair for Happy and other kind people donated gifts just for him – Terry nappies, waterproof pants, sudocream, soap, solar light, blankets, clothes, and a selection of toys to help engage him as he is unable to get to school.
His mother was overjoyed, and she cried with tears of happiness.
Poor Levison, though. His bike has done so much hard work and the trail was hard to Happy’s house. On the way back his bike broke, and he had to walk home, but hardy as ever he has made it home.
Happy and his mum when Levison went to visit them with gifts we and other supporters sent 1/1/2019every journey was long and difficult with only a bicycleHappy, age 9, is needing a sponsor to help make things a bit easier for him and his family. Can you help please?Happy was gifted a wheelchair from a charity in another district. It’s great to see him.
These young people have been really busy and have recently taken their primary school leavers exams. We have our fingers and toes crossed for them that they all pass and have good enough grades to continue onto secondary school.
They have all written letters to their sponsors. They aren’t confident at writing letters as they don’t have many opportunities so this is good practice for them.
Hope you enjoy the photos and reading what they have written. Thank you to all their sponsors for changing their lives and giving them new opportunities. Sarah x
It’s been a little while since I posted any photos of vulnerable children who are still waiting to be matched with a sponsor. £25 is all it costs per month…less than £1 per day. Two friends or a group can share the sponsorship costs too. A business or a group could sponsor a child and change their life today.
Sponsored children get a monthly food parcel at their home to top up their food supplies, not to replace them. This is a hand up not a hand out. These people are proud and want to be self-sufficient which is the end goal. Sponsorship also pays for secondary education, an opportunity the children wouldn’t normal get. They also get regular welfare checks and medicine if they are ill.
If you can help one of these children then please do email me. You’ll also find more information in the child sponsorship section of the website. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you soon, Sarah x
As you know, we are trying our best to raise money to build the first block of a secondary school. Bright Futures Secondary School will be a community school for the orphans and other vulnerable young people to attend.
Education should be available for everyone. There are currently not enough places at local secondary schools. If you don’t get picked for a place, even if you have passed your primary leavers exams and can afford the school fees.
This is what happened to eleven of our sponsored young people this year. They are resitting their last year of primary school, hoping for better grades, hoping to be picked for a place.
As the local secondary school is a distance away the young people, who are sponsored and do get a place at school, have to board at school. This adds to costs and also means they aren’t available to help their families with chores.
A secondary school in the village would make such a difference to so many people. Education is their way out of dire poverty – their way to a better future for themselves and their families.
Bricks are being made…about 40,000 so far, and kilns are going to be built soon to fire the bricks.
There are people working hard in Malawi and here to try our best to help these vulnerable children. As well as education, a school will help prevent teenage pregnancies and girls being married off too soon. Already, The Foundation has proved that if the young people are kept busy and given opportunities then there will be far less teenage pregnancies. The young people’s self-esteem has increased as they learn new skills, play team sports with their peers and read in the library. They know people care about them. They have hope for a better future. We need to continue supporting the projects that support them. This is absolutely vital to protect these vulnerable young people.
Here, we are trying to raise funds and awareness. It’s really hard as we know that some people have less available cash. We need to reach a wider group of people and if we all give a little, that will add up to a lot!
Also, we are trying to source supplies to provide for the young people when the school is built. We need to plan ahead as the container takes approximately 3 months for its journey.
There are over 100 chairs at The Bananabox Trust warehouse that we are sending for the first phase of the school. Someone donated boxes of new laptop bags. We are sending 80 of these for the young people to use as school bags. Pencil cases and pens are in boxes too as well as some secondary school uniform.
Stuart, my husband, delivered some boxes and 72 rugby balls to Dundee today and took a photo of all the chairs to show Levison.
I also received a photo from one of our supporters today who put a shout out on her village Facebook page asking for preloved secondary school uniform. People have been very generous as she’s collected a great amount which will kit out some of the pupils who will attend Bright Futures Secondary School.
There’s still so much to do and so much money to raise but we WILL do this. The children are relying on us. So if you can spare a few £££ we would be so grateful. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
The donations that Stuart took to Dundee today including 72 rugby balls from Annan rugby club and Merchiston Castle School. You can see that the warehouse is getting full.The chairs that we are sending for Bright Futures Secondary SchoolWe are grateful for this huge pile of secondary school uniform donations that we will send for the pupils when they start school
Running a Foundation is a huge responsibility and the rural location of The Foundation adds to the pressure that Levison is under.
There are no big agencies feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. The responsibility has fallen to The Foundation to feed 500+ children once a week. Children are walking from up to 20km away to have that one substantial meal each week.
This is all we can afford at the moment. There are so many calls on finances as we try our best to support a community back to self-sufficiency.
The Foundation teaches life skills to the children and young people. Growing crops is part of the skills the children learn. Unfortunately the crop of maize was affected by the flooding earlier this year and part of the crop was washed away. This year’s crop will only feed the children for two months.
The price of buying maize fluctuates throughout the year depending on availability and time of year.
The Malawian Kwacha was devalued a few months ago and all prices have gone up. However, maize is more than double the price it was this time last year.
Thank you to the few people who have given £5 per month towards the feeding programme as we have been grateful for this to top up the money we send each month to feed the children.
We know that we are asking for a lot of help but the more people who know about our charity and The Foundation, the more we can spread the help we need across more supporters. So I urge you to please share our posts and also tell your friends about us and the help we need.
All of us in the U.K. are volunteers and no money is spent on admin costs as we donate our time, petrol for transporting boxes to Dundee etc. So you can be sure if you donate money for feeding children, that’s where it will go.
Please, please can you donate £5 per month towards our feeding programme? I need 20 people to commit to £5 per month to enable the children to still be fed a substantial meal each week at The Foundation.
Please, if you can, donate £5 p/m by emailing contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details. The children have come to rely on that one substantial meal each week…we can’t let them down.
Please help us continue helping the children by donating £5 per month for food. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to help feed the 500+ vulnerable children today. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Some of the children having their one nutritious meal of the week.
As the school we are fundraising for is a community school, some of the children who are supported by The Foundation will also be walking or running a kilometre to add to our total. I’m hoping to bring you photos and videos tomorrow or Sunday of the children taking part in our challenge. Hopefully, a few people might sponsor them? It would be really good if they knew they were helping to make the school a reality by getting involved in the fundraising.
I’m going on my exercise bike soon and will log my kilometres….I’m just aiming for 5km today but will do more next time. Have you decided to join us on our virtual journey…what are you going to do? Or are you going to sponsor someone instead? Thanks for reading, Sarah x
I’m not very technically minded but, thankfully, I know a few people who are. Very soon, we will be launching a fundraiser where anyone who wants to be involved; wherever you are in the world, whatever your ability or age….you CAN make a difference.
We are going on a very long journey, and you can join us, by whatever means you want. The more people who join in then the more sponsor money there will be and the quicker we can complete this challenge. We need to build a secondary school as there aren’t enough places currently. We need to raise more money in order to do this. We need your help and they children are relying on your help and our help. So will you join us?
You can walk, run, cycle, hop, skip or jump or use your visit to the gym to log miles on the running machine, exercise bike or rowing machine. Kids can join in, families, individuals, friends. There can be a competitive element between friends or a whole club could see how far they got in a night by adding their miles together. Please, please join us. We can’t do it without your help.
ALL CHILDREN DESERVE AN EDUCATION WHEREVER THEY ARE IN THE WORLD. Can you help us by raising a few £££ sponsorship money or sponsoring us? Let’s do this. As a team we can build a school and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Get in touch to register your interest and watch this space for more information. Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
we need you to join our teamplease help us raise funds for a school and have fun and set yourself a challenge!
