Exam fees needed to be paid by today and Angela’s school fees too now that she has a sponsor.
Levison visited the school and was able to take some supplies to the young people that had arrived on the container recently. They’ve had underwear, toothbrushes & toothpaste and other toiletries, some clothes and calculators.
All the young people are doing well and were pleased to receive their gifts and they look very smart in their school uniforms.
Levison managed to take some individual photos too, which I will post tomorrow, before the torrential rain started again. I’ve made a note of who had photos taken and will ensure that anyone who didn’t will get their photo taken next time.
Many thanks again to all the sponsors for giving these young people opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the photos, Sarah x
Tuntufye Radio in Malawi interviewed Mr Msukwa the Education Advisor for the whole of Chisenga District in the north of Malawi where the Foundation is. I hope to be able to put his interview onto our facebook page but here is a summary of what he said about Levison, The Foundation and the sponsorship programme.
“Levison Mlambya does a lot of work here in Chisenga through lots of different projects. He has supporters in the UK (and elsewhere) we call it The William Stewart Foundation. There are 30 students in Chisenga school and 2 students in Wenya school. There are 19 girls sponsored and in school. I wholeheartedly appreciate the job this young man has done for us. It’s not easy to do what he does. Instead of girls getting married, they are being kept in school. Levison Mlambya already paid all the students fees at the beginning of term and all the learners are in school. I pray they work hard. I encourage them to work hard for university. He (Levison) has done a good job and hope he continues doing a good job. He has a good heart and he his a God fearing man.”
High praise indeed for Levison who works so hard for the hundreds of children supported by The Foundation. Praise that is extremely well deserved. We are extremely lucky to have him. As we keep saying, it’s all about team work. The Education Officer, Mr Msukwa, is so appreciative of how the sponsors are supporting these children, giving them opportunities and changing their lives and it is great to receive feedback like that from the authorities that they recognise that we are all making a difference to orphans and other vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi.
We still have 11 young people who passed their primary school leavers exams who have sponsors but did not get selected for secondary school. We have been told to wait until the education authorities see what places become available due to students who cannot afford to take up their offered places at secondary school. Hopefully, our 11 will get places then. If not then we will look at hiring a teacher for them at The Foundation.
Levison’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since that radio interview with people requesting funding for their children. Maybe one day he might be in a position to say ‘yes’ but at the moment there are still hundreds of children supported by The Foundation who need a sponsor. 80 children matched with sponsors is an amazing achievement but we do need to try to find sponsors for other orphans and vulnerable children and give them the chance of education too.
It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can sponsor as an individual, a family, split the cost with a friend or your business could sponsor a child. Or you could commit to our Feeding Team and sign up for £5 or £10 per month to help feed the malnourished children more than once a week. On average 500 children are fed a substantial, nutritious meal every week. It’s a great start but not enough. It costs £100 to feed 500 children one meal. Some children don’t eat every day. We appreciate the help of every single person who has committed to these children…but we need to expand our team. Please can you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Levison with some of the children at their Christmas party. They were given new raincoats that had been generously donated and a pencil and lollipop each.
I thought another few facts might be helpful as sometimes I forget that not everyone has seen all the posts from the past couple of years. If you ever want to know about anything in particular then please let me know and if I don’t know then I’ll try and find out for you.
Approximately 800 orphans and other vulnerable young people are supported by The William Stewart Foundation in rural Northern Malawi.
The age range is from age 4 to early 20s.
There are no other big agencies feeding children in that area.
Most children suffer from malnutrition and their one substantial, nutritious meal of the week is at the Foundation.
At the moment we can only afford to run the feeding programme once a week.
It costs approximately £100 to feed 500 children and young people.
We fundraise for The William Stewart Foundation and raise awareness of the wonderful work going on to improve the lives of the most vulnerable.
The cost of maize, cooking oil and so many other things have risen in Malawi recently.
Changing Lives Malawi is a small group of 7 volunteer trustees, with a few others who help us, trying hard to change these children’s lives for the better.
We have over 70 children and young people matched with sponsors now but there are many more waiting in desperate need. It only costs £25 per month to give a child the gift of secondary education and food.
Nursery schools and secondary schools charge fees in Malawi and the majority only attend primary school.
Dependant on exam results, there are 36 young people whom the Foundation supports and who now have sponsors, who will be going to secondary school in January. Before the Foundation, and sponsorship, young people didn’t go to secondary school. This is a huge achievement and is something to celebrate.
Changing Lives Malawi sends money from a donation to The Foundation each month to help run the nursery for 50 children age 4-6. This meets 3 times a week and the children are given some food at each session.
A clean water supply has been installed and a shower block thanks to fundraising and generous donations.
We are looking for your help. Can you buy some e-cards or e-gifts? Providing a football will make a big difference as will fruit tree saplings to provide future food and income. Can you share our posts? Do you have a jar of coins or a drawer full of coins that you could donate to us please? As there are so many orphans, vulnerable young people and the elderly needing help and support, it does cost a lot to feed and support them until the Foundation becomes more self-sufficient. But we do not take any money for admin costs here…all the money you donate is used and the small team of volunteers cover the cost of petrol for taking boxes to the container, buying boxes and buying certain things to send.
We are fully committed to the Foundation that the late William Stewart and Levison Mlambya founded. It is amazing what has been achieved in a few short years. So much has been done but there is so much more still to do to change the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. Will you join us on this journey? Whether you have £5 to spare or £25 per month, we need you to help us please. It’s about being part of a team of helpers and we’d love you to help us Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Mwiza Mtambo is a boy who has touched our hearts. He has additional needs. He has a sponsor and so does one of his three sisters so life is a little bit easier for this family. Life is still very hard though. The dad is sick so cannot work, the mum has to do everything and Mwiza, because he cannot get to school, sits or lies on his mat most of the time. Even if Mwiza was able to get to school, there is no local school with staff and resources to cater for children with additional needs. Life isn’t fair. “Fairness is not giving everyone the same thing. Fairness is giving each person what they need to succeed.”
My background, for those who don’t know me, is Early Years Education, Additional Needs and Social Care. Although I’m not a teacher, I love this quote as it applies to everyone who cares about children with extra needs, “Some see the disabilities, but special education teachers see the possibilities.” Whether your own children have additional needs, you’ve cared for children with additional needs or worked with them. They touch your heart and teach you so much.
Mwiza had previously been given some books in which he showed great interest and his sponsor recently sent him a wooden trainset. This will help his muscles when reaching and hand eye coordination as well as something to stimulate him whilst playing. Mwiza’s sponsor and I had bought and sent a box of resources for Mwiza as he cannot go to school.
The next part of the plan is that there are 4 sponsored girls about to leave school after doing their final exams. They obviously have to wait to find out their results in a couple of months and Levison will discuss with them what they would like to do next; a couple of them have said they would like to train to be teachers. If their grades are good enough, we will try to support them with this and apply for sponsorship grants for their further education. In the meantime, they are all going to be helping at The Foundation. It will be good for the girls to help at the nursery and also for them to visit Mwiza at his home to read to him and play with him and see what progress he makes. I will be able to support with activities if needed and we can monitor progress. A great experience for Mwiza and a great opportunity for potential new student teachers.
Also we are going to source a low chair with a back on it so Mwiza is able to have some support as his muscles tire very easily. I love seeing photos of Mwiza and I hope you do too. We will do another update to share how Mwiza is getting on. Hopefully, this is an insight into how there is so much going on behind the scenes. Each child, each family, has it’s own needs and times of hardship. We are hoping that our group of supporters will grow as time progresses so that we can help more children and families in need. We all need a helping hand from time to time. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
Hi, I’m sharing a few photos of sponsored children and the apprentices who received some clothes today. All the apprentices received work trousers and a t-shirt and some of the apprentices who are sponsored received care parcels. The apprentices who don’t have sponsors were given donated clothes by Levison.
There are some photos too from younger sponsored children who received care parcels. Each sponsored child now has their own page on our website. There have been lots of photos taken that we have to go back and look through but from now on, if there are photos taken of sponsored children like these, the photos will be posted to the child’s page. They can be accessed at any time and it will be easy to see the positive changes that having a sponsor has made. Please sign up to receive blogs and updates and share with anyone who might be interested in being a sponsor. Thanks, Sarah x
I was going through some photos from a recent event and am just amazed at the difference in Laston since he has been matched with a sponsor. He was malnourished, in rags with shoes that were far too small for his feet. £1.50 was all that a farmer paid him for a month’s casual labour. Things seemed hopeless for him and his grandmother. He’s happier, feeling and looking better, has a monthly food parcel, access to the weekly feeding programme, a blanket, clothes etc. He’s just left primary school and, instead of his education being over which is what happens to most children, his sponsor will pay his fees and he will start secondary school in January. He has said he would like to become a lawyer. Lots of studying and hard work and who knows? Laston may achieve his dreams. There are 30 children who have left primary school who are waiting for a sponsor. Can you help one of them achieve their dreams? Its £25 per month contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading. Sarah x
