Thank you to everyone who donated to help provide stationery for approximately 150 vulnerable students at Chambo Primary School
Sarah’s blog 24/6/24
We are trying out a fundraising site called DonorSee where we are putting small projects that we wouldn’t usually be able to fund without support. Today’s blog is about one of those projects.
Levison had done a video appeal for notebooks and pencils for the students at Chambo Primary School. These are some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi, many are orphans, and their families struggle to feed them. There are no feeding programmes in primary schools in the far north….we can only afford to feed 500 of them once a week. Some children walk 15km or 20km for that one proper meal of the week. So there is certainly no spare money for families to buy notebooks. Children just go without.
So we put Levison’s appeal on DonorSee and there were some lovely people who saw the video and donated money. We are very grateful. Once the money was sent, Levison organised notebooks and pencils to be bought. There are three classrooms out of eight which have desks. These students were each given a notebook and pencil. They still have another month before school stops for summer holidays. There are enough notebooks and pencils left for them to have the same again in September. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed.
The three classes were brought outside when Levison visited Chambo Primary this morning. I’m sure they wondered what was going on. You can see how happy they were to get these gifts. One student told Levison ‘I don’t know how life would have been without the support we are being given.’ Levison said, apart from the obvious benefits to their education with being given stationery, it is showing these orphans and other vulnerable children that people care about them.
Here is the link to our DonorSee page DonorSee – if you can give a little donation it would be very much appreciated – there are a few different projects for you to see. Many thanks again. With help, good things are happening, Sarah x
Happy students at Chambo Primary School with their gifts
The students are thanking the donors of their exercise books and pencilsApproximately 150 students from 3 classes received stationery todayLots of happy studentsMost of these children are suffering from malnutrition and are some of the most vulnerable in Malawi. No big charities feed children in primary schools this far north so all are hungry.
Some of the S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School have had their first attempt at writing a book review. This wasn’t a compulsory exercise as some of them weren’t sure about this type of essay. It’s all good practice for them and we think there are some good results! Well done everyone! Hopefully, you are able to read most of them. Thanks to their sponsors for giving them opportunities they wouldn’t have had, Sarah x
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
BFSS S2 essays & photos June 24 – could you sponsor a student to have the opportunity of a secondary education please?
Sarah’s blog 19/6/24
Here are essays and photos from the S2 class at Bright Futures Secondary School. They are feeling very relieved to have just finished their national exams. The students will, hopefully, gain their Junior Certificate of Education, and then proceed to S3 in September. As you will see, many of them are older than usual…the older they are the more poverty they live in. They have missed years of school to work for a pittance and are now valuing being given the opportunity to catch up on their education.
Class sizes at Bright Futures Secondary School will always be smaller than average class sizes in Malawi but, as you can see, there is plenty of space at Bright Futures Secondary School for more students. The biggest cost we face is feeding the students a nutritious, substantial school lunch every day. For most students, this is their only meal each day….so free school lunches are vital for their health & wellbeing, concentration and motivation.
If you’d like to help us get more vulnerable students into secondary education next year at Bright Futures Secondary School, then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Secondary education is not free in Malawi and none of these students would be at school without support.
I have been asked to find sponsors for these vulnerable students so they can attend secondary school. I cannot do this without your help. Please read today’s blog and help if you can.
Sarah’s blog 14/06/24
It’s bad enough for our children waiting for exam results but, in Malawi, did you know that only primary education is free? So depending on their national primary school exam results their education might stop at the end of primary school. Also, if their families cannot pay, their education stops at the end of primary school. Imagine if our children only had primary school education? Think of everything they would miss out on.
There are 8 years of primary school and children start school at age 6. Class sizes are 50+ children. For example, Chambo Primary School, in the rural far north of Malawi has 500+ students over 8 classrooms. Only one classroom had desks and benches, until we successfully applied for a grant to install clean drinking water and desks and benches for two further classrooms. This grant was thanks to the Kitchen Table Charities Trust. Another grant from the Eleanor Rathbone Trust, meant that a girls toilet block was built. Meaning that girls no longer had to squat in the bushes which left them at risk of attack and with no dignity or privacy.
Five classrooms are remaining with children sitting on the concrete floor. There were hardly any resources until we started our School Literacy Project, gifting boxes of preloved books to help students become more confident readers. We gave students at Chambo Primary school notebooks and pencils in January…nowhere near enough for what they need…but better than nothing. Thanks to our fundraising on the site DonorSee these vulnerable children are about to receive more notebooks and pencils (one now and one in September).
Imagine not being able to afford a notebook and pencil. Imagine not being able to afford soap. Imagine not eating properly each day. No big charities are working in the far north yet. We can only afford to feed 500 children once a week whilst we try to set up sustainable projects to help them be self-sufficient.
Many of these students in primary school are older than they would normally be. If they are one of the eldest children in a family, they might have dropped out of school for a while to work for a pittance to help bring money into their family to provide food whilst the younger children in the family attended school. Or maybe all the children in the family had to work. Or they might have had to look after an elderly relative. So there can be many different ages in one class of students.
I need your help. I have been asked to find sponsors for 18 students who have just done their primary school leavers exams. They are bright students and are all expected to pass. None can go to secondary school without financial support. I have managed to find sponsors for 4 of them – many thanks to those sponsors for coming forward. However, I still need to match 14 students with sponsors and I’ve only got 12 weeks to do it before the new term starts in mid September. THESE STUDENTS ARE HOPING THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GO TO BRIGHT FUTURES SECONDARY SCHOOL BUT THEY NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE. They wait in hope of a brighter future. They know that education is their way out of poverty. This will be the most important gift these young people have – the gift of education. Will you reach out and help one of them? Please?
Being a sponsor is less than £1 per day. How many people buy a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps that we don’t really need? Could you spare less than £1 per day? It’s only £25 per month to make a difference to one of these young people. You can sponsor as an individual, two friends could share the cost (making it less than 50p per day) or your club, school or church could sponsor a young person’s education. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com When you meet a friend for a coffee or have a few glasses of wine with your friends, would you ask them please if they can join you in sponsoring a young person’s education? If we have lots of little groups of friends or colleagues sponsoring one young person, just think what a difference we could make. It’s always about teamwork. You have the ability to change a life.
Being sponsored means these students will receive free education at Bright Futures Secondary School where class sizes are kept smaller than average. They will receive school uniform and stationery and other gifts. Each student will receive a free nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day so it is vital for their health and concentration.
Will you help one of these vulnerable young people please? Many are orphans, living with extended family or some are from single parent families. All are living in dire poverty. Your help and support to gift these young people a secondary education and a brighter future will be so welcome. Will you help us help them today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can keep Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
Essays from students in S1 at Bright Futures Secondary School about what they like about their school.
Sarah’s blog 13/6/24
One of the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School supported the S1 students to write their first essays for us. As these young people aren’t used to writing essays like this, the teacher has helped them with the structure.
I think that, for the first time they have written essays, they’ve done a really good job. They give good insights into what sports are played, what subjects are enjoyed and how important it is for them to have free education and free school lunches.
Thank you Balfron Primary School!! We need some families to help with this project too…so will you read today’s blog and make a difference please?
Sarah’s blog 12/6/24
We are delighted as we have had a brilliant donation from Balfron Primary School of all their books from their reading programme that they are updating. Headteacher, Angus Black, brought five big boxes of books to us which are going to benefit hundreds of very vulnerable children in primary schools in rural northern Malawi through our School Literacy Project. This project is working towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education.
This is an amazing donation of books which will help so many vulnerable children to learn to read.
Most of the primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi have large class sizes and minimal resources. How can we expect children to read well if they don’t have books to practice? These books will make a huge difference to the children’s knowledge as well as helping them to be more confident readers.
So a big THANK YOU again to Balfron Primary School for supporting School Literacy amongst some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. We will have photos to show when the books finally arrive in a few months time. We sort and repack all the books into age groups and into strong boxes and label them up to go to Dundee where they await the next container.
Although our School Literacy Project is relatively cheap as the books are all donated, it still costs us £17.50 to send every box on the container. If you can please help pay towards the transportation costs of these books then here is the link to donate on our DonorSee site https://donorsee.com/project/23626?share=1
When students leave primary school at the end of p8 they have to sit national primary school leavers exams. They cannot go to secondary school if they don’t pass these exams. We expect, through our School Literacy Project, to start to see improved exam results within the next few years as literacy levels improve.
None of the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support can afford to go to secondary school, which has to be paid for in Malawi. So, even if they pass their primary school leavers exams, if they cannot pay for secondary school then that is their education finished.
That’s why we match students with sponsors to support their secondary education. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a student and you can share the cost between friends and family….it’s less than £1 per day to give the gift of education. Sponsored students are given a place at Bright Futures Secondary School where they receive free education, uniform, stationery and everything else they need for school. They get a free nutritious school lunch each day. For most students, this is the only food they get every day so it is really important to enable them to study and concentrate.
Here is the link to my blog about the students who are looking for sponsors so they will be able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School in September. If you could help support the education of one of these very vulnerable young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thanks again, Balfron Primary School for supporting our charity which is just round the corner from the school. It’s always about team work and together, with your help, we can make a difference, Sarah x
Students at Chambo Primary School where three out of eight classrooms now have desks and benches. These children were delighted when we paid for them to have new notepads and pencils in January. They are about to receive another gift of notepads and pencils thanks to our fundraising on DonorSee site.We applied for a grant on behalf of Chambo Primary School to enable them to have a toilet block and a clean water supply.The first 17 boxes of books gifted to Chambo Primary. After this shipment of books, we will start collecting books for another primary school in that cluster.Children looking at the first boxes of books that were sent on the container
Great donations from Jordanhill Out of School Service, Balfron Primary School and Kelvinside Academy. Thank you for all the support!
Sarah’s blog 10/06/24
Just a short blog today…Stuart and I were packing boxes this morning ready for them to go to Dundee to await the next container. It won’t go for another few months but the previous container that is on its way will arrive in Malawi very soon.
This morning we were packing up boxes of books for the School Literacy Project. The primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi have hardly any resources. Starting with Chambo Primary school, which has over 500 students in 8 classrooms (only 3 have desks and benches) we are donating boxes of preloved books to help students become confident readers and raise literacy levels.
This evening, we received more books, delivered by Angus Black, Balfron Primary School’s head teacher – I will take photos of these tomorrow – thank you so much.
Also this evening, we had some lovely books donated by Jordanhill Out of School Service. It was very kind of them to come all the way to bring them to my house and great to meet them. Thank you very much for this generous donation! They took away leaflets for the families that use their service and stickers for the children. We are very grateful when people go out of their way to support us and our projects.
Also in this morning’s boxes we packed some great donations of sports kit from Kelvinside Academy. These will be donated to one of the primary schools we support and they will be delighted to receive proper sports kits. Until recently, none of the primary schools had a matching kit. There were holes in all the sports kits too, so when we helped support the rugby tournament last year, the teams from the primary schools were so pleased to receive lovely new matching kits. We are grateful for all donations of sports kit and now this donation from Kelvinside Academy will be on its way to new students. Thank you.
Each box costs £17.50 to send on the container, so if anyone can help us pay for boxes we would be very grateful contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Many thanks to all our donors and supporters, Sarah x
Josie from Jordanhill Out of School Service delivering a great donation of books to SarahThank you to Kelvinside Academy for this generous donation of preloved clothes
There are so many people to thank during volunteers week – we are grateful to you all.
Sarah’s blog 7/6/24
I wanted to use this opportunity to thank everyone who helps us. Changing Lives Malawi has no employees, we are all volunteers so you can be sure all money we receive goes to the projects we support in rural northern Malawi.
We have a team of trustees who, as well as making decisions together, collect donated items, pack boxes, drive boxes to Dundee to await the next container, raise funds, etc etc and are generally a great support network. Oh and one helps me with IT issues as my forte is certainly not technology! however I am learning! One of our trustees, Christine Cresswell (my mum), is a talented artist and sells her paintings with all proceeds for our charity. We have had some of her paintings made into cards and selling paintings and packs of cards has raised a great amount of money. christine cresswell artist
A special mention goes to our accountant who volunteers a huge amount of time to keep everything shipshape and makes sure every single penny we receive counts towards the projects we are supporting and keeps us right with budgeting and planning.
We’ve got people who have raised funds for us in various ways – including sponsored walks, fire walks, band & quiz nights – we value every single one of you. Of course, fundraising is ongoing so we are always looking for volunteers to help us raise vital funds. Could you hold an afternoon tea for your friends and family? Could you do a sponsored event? What about an evening event? Or could a school or club raise some much needed funds?
There are too many people to mention who help us – thank you so much – it’s always about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without you. However, there are three groups of people that I want to thank publicly as they really do go above and beyond.
Allander Rotary Club have been supporting us for the last year with fundraising and we will be with them all day tomorrow at Bearsden and Milngavie Highland Games. If you are local then please do pop along to West of Scotland Rugby Club where the Highland Games take place – Saturday 8th June. Thank you to the members of Allander Rotary Club who are all volunteers for the time and effort you put in to support Changing Lives Malawi. allander rotary club
Vets with Horsepower are currently on their annual motorbike tour, volunteering and giving lectures to other vets and sharing their expertise on Equine Medicine. They raise money for different charities each year and we are very thankful to be one of their beneficiary charities this year. It has also been very helpful that they have shared our posts as more people now know about the community we are helping to support in rural northern Malawi. vets with horsepower
Bananabox Trust in Dundee organise the containers that take boxes of aid to Malawi. The people who process the boxes and pack the containers are all volunteers and we are very grateful for their help and support. the bananabox trust
If you would like to get involved and be a volunteer for Changing Lives Malawi then please do get in touch – we always welcome new people to our team! Thanks everyone, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Some of the packs of 8 blank fundraising cards made from original paintings by one of our trustees, Christine Cresswell. We will have these for sale at Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games on Saturday 8th June £5 per pack of 8. They can also be ordered from me at £5 plus p&p.
An update on the students who need sponsors to be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School.
Sarah’s blog 6/6/24
Recently, I shared a post about 18 young people, who were about to leave Chambo Primary School and expected to pass their primary school leavers exams, needing to be matched with sponsors to help support their secondary school education which has to be paid for in Malawi. None of these young people can afford to pay so unless they have help they won’t be able to continue with their education.
I’m delighted to share that 4 of those young people have now been matched with sponsors and will be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School in September. Agness, Silvia, John and Myless all have sponsors and we are very grateful to them for offering to support these young people. Agness was matched today with her sponsor which is why I’m using her picture in this post.
It only costs £25 per month per student, less than £1 per day, and you can sponsor as an individual, split the cost with friends, sponsor as a business or a club… anyone can make a difference to these young people, giving them choices and chances they wouldn’t normally have had…giving them a brighter future.
I have the huge responsibility of trying to match the other 12 young people with sponsors before the end of August, which is only a couple of months away, so that they too can attend Bright Futures Secondary School and receive free education, school uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day – for most this is the only meal that most of them have each day so your support is vital for their wellbeing.
Here is the link to the previous post with all the young people who need your help. Please do contact me if you want be a helping hand for one of these vulnerable young people contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you to each and every one of our sponsors… your generosity really does help. Please do get in touch if you’d like more info or to tell me you’d love to help. Thanks, Sarah x
The Malawi National Junior Certificate of Education exams start tomorrow. These are formal exams taken at the end of S2. Here are some of the S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They’ve been to register and get their IDs today and Levison has given out more school uniform as they have 6 full days of exams to do and each student only had one white shirt.
They are thankful for their new water bottles and stationery they were given last week all of which will be very useful for them as they do their exams. I had bought a batch of water bottles, pens, pencils, erasers & sharpeners plus small bars of soap and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Each water bottle was filled with these gifts and Levison gave them out recently. As you can see, there were lots of happy students. Small gifts like these help to keep them motivated and let them know we are thinking about them. Good luck to the S2 students in their exams.
Almost every week I am writing grant applications in the hope of getting money that hundreds of other small charities are also applying for. Lots don’t reply. Some reply to say ‘sorry’ they have a large number of applicants etc etc. but this week has been an extremely good week as there have been three successful responses. Very many thanks to the following for supporting us to help support the orphans and vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi;
The Gilchrist Trust gave £1,000 towards text books for the new S4 class at Bright Futures Secondary School that will be needed in September.
CB & HH Taylor Trust donated £1,000 towards purchasing fruit tree saplings for a new School Orchard Project.
The Souter Charitable Trust sent a cheque today for £3,000 for a solar panel kit for one of the new buildings and also solar lamps for students.
We are so grateful to individuals who support us and also organisations like the above who support our work and the work happening in Malawi.
We have also joined DonorSee where we are trying to reach out to a new audience. So far we have had three small projects fully funded which we are delighted about. There are some more projects that we have uploaded so, if you’d like to donate a small amount please create an account and login to donate. If you could leave us a review that would really help others to see and trust us. Thank you. https://donorsee.com/project/23641?share=1 is the link for the Chicken Project and the link to view all of the small projects we have on DonorSee just now is DonorSee .
We are still looking for sponsors to support these students who have just finished p8 at Chambo Primary. Unless they have someone to help pay for their secondary education, they will need to look for jobs in the fields as that is their education over. Will you be a sponsor please? It’s only £25 per month contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Here is the link to a recent post with photos of all the students who need your help for a brighter future. Please help if you can. We always say it’s teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without you. Thank you so much, Sarah x
Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old! Thanks for your support and here’s to the next 5 years!
Sarah’s blog 29/5/24
Happy 5th birthday to us! Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old today. We are very grateful for all the support we have had along the way and thankful for everyone who has sponsored a vulnerable child or young person.
A lovely happy birthday message from some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School
Here are a few highlights;
500 children and young people are being fed a nutritious meal once a week at the Feeding Programme. This is the only proper meal of the week for some and children are walking 15km-20km to receive this food. Some young people carry their younger siblings with them. Once a week isn’t enough but all we can afford while we are helping with setting up other projects. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in that area so most are malnourished and all are hungry.
All who need them have been given reusable sanitary towels so they don’t miss a week of school every month. Girls now have equality with regards to their education and school attendance. These sanitary towels have been made by a group of girls who have been using the hand turn Singer sewing machines we sent. They want to start making clothes to sell.
up to 75 pre-school children attend Bright Futures nursery and are being fed breakfast each day.
Vulnerable young people, whom we match with sponsors, are able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School free of charge. BFSS was built with the help of our supporters and opened in November 2022. More sponsors are needed for the students that want to take up their places in September 2024 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s less than £1 per day. Students receive a free education, uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day.
There is clean drinking water, and a shower block for all the young people to use.
Our school literacy project is supplying primary schools with boxes of preloved books to help students become more confident readers and to raise literacy levels.
Fruit tree saplings have been planted for a sustainable future food source.
Crops have been planted to be used in the feeding programme and students are learning how to care for them and the chickens as part of their agricultural lessons.
Mother & baby project – we have some very talented people knitting beautiful blankets and clothes for the new babies on the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre. The mums are extremely grateful for these beautiful things. If they go back a few weeks later, they are given other gifts for their babies and this is another chance for health professionals to see that mother and baby are well.
The above are just some of the ways that your support goes to help the most vulnerable people in Ibuluma. It’s always about teamwork and we very much appreciate everyone’s support.
There is still so much that needs to be done to help this community to get back on its feet. They want to be self-sufficient and just need a helping hand to get there. We will continue reaching out to try to connect with more people over the next five years so that there is a bigger team enabling more work to be done.
Thanks also to the core team of volunteers – you are an amazing support!
We have a few projects on DonorSee that we are raising money for and would appreciate your help. If you could ‘follow’ and give us a review on DonorSee that would be great, as it helps us get seen by more potential donors.
