The link between CSM and Morning Star Nursery began when Charlie met Maggie Malata, a staff member of a local orphanage, and was invited for a walk through the community.
Maggie showed Charlie the work that Henry, her husband, was trying to do without the need for any thanks which inspired Charlie to help in any way we could.
Henry began by renting a disused property with a small handful of children and slowly built up its numbers of both children and teachers.
He had set up a small nursery and some school classes with three teachers but was struggling to get parents to pay fees so that he could pay his teachers. He had a big heart and wanted to help the children but was not succeeding to pay rent and wages.
Changing Stars trustees helped Henry to put together a business plan and gave practical advice. We also helped with the following:
This nursery is in the Mangochi area and some distance from where Changing Stars work, so we took the decision that we had done as much as we could to help Henry establish the nursery to run on his own. The nursery is still running today (2024) and Henry knows that we are available should he need further advice.
Changing Stars believes that whilst we can put things in place to help people, ultimately our projects have to be self-sustainable by those we are working with. As trustees, we have to remind ourselves that we can't help everyone but we can have a life-changing impact on those we do help.
Working with the school, Changing Stars Malawi has achieved:
The nursery currently has 50 children attending and CSM will continue to support as this nursery grows.
If you would like to sponsor a child then please check out our shop section where you can choose to sponsor a child’s education for the year.
