It is International Day of Education. Every young person deserves an education and to be the best they can be. Today’s blog shares photos from our projects.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 24/1/26
Today is International Day of Education. I’m sharing some photos that reflect some of the projects and young people we are helping to support. There is still much to do. But, thanks to the help of our supporters, young people in rural Northern Malawi have a brighter and better future. It is always about teamwork and we’d love you to join our team of supporters. You can help enable even more young people to reach their potential on International Day of Education.
These are just a few of the ways we are involved in supporting the education of the most vulnerable children and young people. If you would like to help then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or you can donate via our website. On International Day of Education will you help a child succeed? Together, we can give young people more opportunities and support education. These children are amazing and want to succeed. They want to learn and are hard workers. They just need a helping hand.
Also, I am visiting Malawi for the first time this summer and am getting very excited about my trip. Here is a fundraiser and I’d be grateful if anyone would like to make a small donation. It is to help some of the projects which I will be helping during my visit. https://gofund.me/db5496892 As always, a big THANK YOU for all the support and help we receive, Sarah x
Literacy at Chambo Primary School and Kalanga Primary School is improving thanks to the preloved books we have sent as part of the School Literacy Project. Students are becoming more confident readers now they have a range of books to read and exam pass rates are rising.Young people have been involved in planting fruit tree saplings and pine trees, supporting their education, giving them skills for life and planting future food. Students at Chambo Primary School were delighted to receive notebooks and pensWe have matched some of the most vulnerable children with sponsors and they receive a food parcel each month. Children cannot learn if they are suffering from malnutrition. Unfortunately, the food crisis in Malawi is getting worse.Thanks to everyone who has supported the building of Bright Futures Secondary School. There are now 5 classrooms and a dedicated classroom for Bright Futures Nursery.The newest classroom block has a classroom dedicated to sewing and textiles and another classroom for Bright Futures NurseryChildren walk for miles as they are so hungry and know that they will receive a proper meal once a week at the feeding programme. We need your support to continue feeding them with rising food costs and scarcity of food.There was great excitement when the first boxes of preloved books arrivedStudents at Bright Futures Secondary School have designed and built their first beehive and are now waiting for the bees to move inStudents are learning skills for life at Bright Futures Secondary School. They are also supporting the Period Poverty Project by making reusable sanitary towels for all who need them to ensure girls do not miss school for one week each month.Some of the science equipment bought with a grant received from The Clive Richards Foundation for Bright Futures Secondary SchoolPeriodically, children are given clothes that we have sent. These children in red tops attend Bright Futures Nursery.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive free education and free school lunch thanks to their sponsors. They also receive free school uniform, stationery, water bottle, school bag and shoes all free of charge. The more vulnerable teenagers we can match with sponsors, the more teenagers can be helped through education.Happy students with their gifts. They have also received toothbrush, toothpaste and soap.We helped with the introduction of rugby to the north of Malawi. Young people are enjoying learning and playing a new sport.Thanks to the many clubs who have donated preloved sports kit, making a difference to the confidence and self-esteem of hundreds of young people who are now proud to be part of a team.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School are working hard to pass their examsFour of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School with some of the new tools they received
Good luck to the second year students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they start their national exams tomorrow!
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 2/6/25
We wish the very best of luck to the S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they start their national exams tomorrow. Secondary school is over four years in Malawi, with national exams being done at the end of year two and year four. The BSFF students’ exams are over the first 6 days of the timetable.
None of these young people would have had this opportunity if it wasn’t for the generosity of their sponsors. They are all living in extreme poverty and, despite having passed their primary school leavers exams, that would have been the end of their education as none of their families could have afforded the secondary school fees. Most of the students at BFSS are orphans, living with extended family. Most don’t eat at home, so their free school lunch is vital.
They have all been given new pens & pencils and school uniform so they look and feel smart and confident. The exam centre is at Chisenga School so they will be getting taxis there and back each day. Until recently, they had never been in a car before! Once there are more students at Bright Futures Secondary School, students will be able to take their exams at their own school. We need to match more sponsors with students so that they too have the opportunity for a secondary education and have choices and chances that they wouldn’t have had.
We are still asking only £25 per month per student – so if you would like to give a young person a brighter future then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to make a difference.
So, good luck to the S2 class – Leonard, Timothy, Maggie, Asante, Phaless, Wongani, Wongani, Mphatso, Martha, Brave and Aaron – we are very proud of how hard you have been working and everything you have overcome to get this far! Thanks so much to their sponsors and teachers, Sarahx
Thank you to everyone who donated to help provide stationery for approximately 150 vulnerable students at Chambo Primary School
Advertisements
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.
Morning everyone! I’d said that, as our 5th birthday is coming up at the end of May, I would be highlighting some of our projects. We have received lots of preloved books recently for our School Literacy Project which will have a big impact on literacy levels. We are collecting another big donation of books from Strathblane Primary School today and are very grateful for their support.
Most of the orphans and vulnerable children we support attend Chambo Primary School where there are over 500 children across 8 classrooms. The students in p8 are about to start their national exams on Wednesday. They cannot go to secondary school unless they pass all these exams. Even if they pass these national exams, unless they have the funds they cannot attend secondary school as only primary education in free in Malawi. None of the children we help to support can afford school fees. So should they only have access to primary education because they are living in extreme poverty?
https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1This is a link to our fundraiser to supply the students with stationery at Chambo Primary School. Please click on the link to see the video. A generous donor has agreed to match what we raise up to the total of $200. Please support this project.
With a lot of help from our supporters, we built Bright Futures Secondary School for the most vulnerable students. We have generous supporters who have kindly agreed to support students through their 4 years at secondary school. It costs £25 per month and this helps pay towards their education, a cooked school lunch each day, school uniform and stationery.However, Bright Futures Secondary School has lots of space for more students.
So, highlighting our Child Sponsorship Project, we need to find more kind hearted sponsors to enable more of the young people who live in extreme poverty to go to Bright Futures Secondary School. Will you sponsor a young person? Or a group of friends could share the cost? It might be the most important thing anyone does for that vulnerable young person. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Please, please help us fill Bright Futures Secondary School with sponsored students giving them opportunities for a much brighter future. Silvia, Elizabeth and John are all expected to do well in their exams…please give them a chance. Through education, these children can be the brighter future for their community. Thank you, Sarah x
We’ve had an Amazon wish list for a while but the wind up torches were out of stock for ages! It gets dark at 6pm all year round so children and their families are in the dark after 6pm unless they can afford to buy a candle.
I posted the link to the wish list and I’ve enjoyed receiving packages over the past few days. Thank you to everyone who has bought a gift for the children. Your kindness will make a difference to them and they will know that people care about them. Thank you. Here is the link and thank you for reading, Sarah x https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1JZISVA9X45UF?ref_=wl_share
Hi, I thought it might be good to give a few facts for anyone who has joined us recently. If you have juststarted following us ….. welcome!
In Malawi it gets light at approx 6am and dark at approx 6pm all year round. The Foundation now has power but none of the houses in the area have electricity. So unless people are lucky enough to have a candle or a windup torch they are in total darkness after 6pm at night. How can children read or do their homework in the dark? That’s why we want every child to have a windup torch and we welcome donations of candles and windup torches.
The William Stewart Foundation supports over 800 orphans and other vulnerable children through a variety of projects, as well as supporting the elderly and infirm. Approximately 500 children turn up each weekend for a meal at the Feeding Programme. That might be their most filling and nutritious meal of the week. As there are no big charities feeding children at school in that area, some children walk up to 20km for a meal. Teachers have noticed a difference in the children’s concentration since the Feeding Programme started. They have also reported that the children are more confident now they have new clothes instead of rags. Last year 20 children who are supported by the Foundation, out of a class of 80, all got higher results than their peers in their primary school leavers exams.
70 of the most vulnerable children and young people now have been matched with sponsors, ensuring they have a monthly food parcel and that their secondary school fees are paid. Without this support, the children supported by The William Stewart Foundation do not get to secondary school. We have young people waiting for that opportunity to see if they can go to secondary school with their friends in January…or if their education is over. It’s only £25 a month to make a huge difference to a young person.
Class sizes are up to 80 children and at the primary school nearest The Foundation, the children sit on the floor. We are collecting reading books for them so the children have books to practice reading. There are mixed age groups in each class as, due to the dire poverty, children miss chunks of school to try to earn the equivalent of 10p a day to buy some food (for reference a bar of soap costs approx 30p). One of the boys who has now been sponsored and is off to secondary school in January, used to work for a whole month for a farmer and get paid £1.50 for the month. Things have now improved greatly for him thanks to having a sponsor. So there are 16 year olds having just left primary school, desperate to get to secondary school. In Malawi, education is everything and out of reach for most. They are required to supply their own stationery, again another challenge for the poverty stricken.
Football and netball are really popular and the children and young people love to play both at The William Stewart Foundation. They are able to forget their problems and have fun with their friends. New footballs and netballs are always needed!
The nursery at the Foundation is run thanks to a monthly donation. 50 children meet for 3 sessions a week. These children are age between 4-6 as children start school at age 6 in Malawi. The children receive food each time they meet and they received uniforms and fleecy blankets recently. We would like to gift each child who starts nursery a bag with uniform, a blanket, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and other essential items to support their wellbeing and attendance at nursery.
Hopefully, you’ve found these facts interesting but please do message if there are other facts you’d like to know. I’ve attached photos below of things that we are collecting to support the hundreds of children at The William Stewart Foundation. We would love it if you could purchase a few things next time you are shopping please, or let us have preloved items that are in very good condition. Thanks for reading. Sarah x
