Leith is a special needs teacher at a government school in Perth, Australia. She first heard about The Sparkle Foundation through a chance meeting with our founder Sarah at Kingdomcity Dubai. That conversation planted a seed. 

Less than two years later, she made the journey to Malawi as a first-time volunteer abroad, to meet the children, see the work, and experience it all for herself. This is the story of Leith's journey with purpose. 

The decision to come to Malawi was straightforward, in the end. I met Sarah in Dubai, heard her speak about The Sparkle Foundation, and I knew I wanted to be part of it. After months of supporting Sarah, I knew it was time to go to Malawi and meet the children. 

I hadn't volunteered abroad before. I didn't arrive with a detailed plan or a clear sense of what the week would look like. In many ways, I simply showed up. Open, curious, and ready for whatever came. 

If there's one thing I genuinely wasn't prepared for, it was the humidity. It hits you immediately and doesn't let go. I found it one of the more physically challenging aspects of the trip, particularly in the first few days. 

Which is why I will be forever grateful to the donor who installed air conditioning at the Sparkle Shack not long before I arrived. It might sound like a small detail, but it wasn’t. It was a quiet reminder of how the things many of us barely notice (like a cool room at the end of a long day) are, in reality, luxuries not everyone has. That space became a true sanctuary, and more than once I caught myself thinking about the generosity that made it possible. 

My time at The Sparkle Foundation in Malawi was focused primarily on education and community work, and what struck me most was not just the programmes themselves but the people delivering them. Frances, one of Sparkle's community officers, was a standout. She was genuinely excited about her work, with the kind of energy that comes from believing deeply in what you're doing. 

Frances has a background in both education and social work, and we talked about it at length during one of our car journeys. As a teacher myself, with social workers in my family, I felt an immediate connection to how she approaches her role. Watching her in action, particularly during community visits, gave me a real sense of how The Sparkle Foundation's community work operates: with care, with knowledge, and with a genuine relationship built over time with the people it serves. 

If I had to choose the single moment that has stayed with me most, it would be meeting the women of the tailoring group in Namitembo. Seeing the group up and running, watching the women at work, understanding what this project means for their independence and their families. It moved me deeply. 

I was able to make a small personal contribution to the group during my visit. It's a strange thing, trying to describe what that felt like. Not the act itself, which was small, but the meaning behind it. Knowing that something modest from my end can help provide a real, lasting hand up to women building their own livelihoods. That stays with you. 

Among the Sparkle team members I spent time with, Brian stood out in the classroom. His level of engagement with the children was something I noticed immediately, and as a teacher myself, I watch those things closely. 

There's a particular quality to someone who is truly present with children, rather than simply managing them. Brian had it. The children responded to him in a way that told you everything you needed to know. 

By the time of my visit, the two new classrooms at Namitembo had just opened. Seeing them in use, understanding what they replaced and what they now make possible, made the abstract concrete. 

Not everything was easy. Beyond the humidity and the cold showers, there were moments that stopped me in my tracks in a different way. During the trip, I visited a home for disabled children separate from The Sparkle Foundation’s work, but part of the wider reality of the community I was in. 

As a special needs teacher, and as someone with a disabled sibling, I am no stranger to the world of disability. But seeing children in that environment, with so little by way of resources or support, was deeply confronting. I found myself cycling through it mentally, trying to work out how to help, who to contact, what was even possible. I don't think I've fully resolved it. I'm not sure you're supposed to. 

What it did was remind me how much the work The Sparkle Foundation is doing matters, and how much further that work could go. The need is vast. The difference each programme makes is real. Those two things sit alongside each other constantly. 

I came home more grateful than when I left. That sounds simple, and perhaps it is. But living for a week without constant electricity, without hot water, within a community navigating genuine hardship daily. It recalibrates things quickly. 

I am privileged to live where I live and teach where I teach. The children in my class in Australia have access to resources and support that most children in the world will never see. Knowing that more deeply now changes how I show up for them. 

If you're on the fence about volunteering with The Sparkle Foundation, here is my advice: just go.

Don't overthink it. 

The children are beautiful. You will fall in love with them. And that, on its own, would be enough. But it's only the beginning of what you'll find there. 

I'm already planning to go back. They tell me June is a good time to visit... 

Leith, thank you for making the journey with an open heart and no expectations. Just a willingness to show up and be present. That spirit is exactly what our communities feel, and it is exactly what makes the experience as meaningful for the people you meet as it is for you. 



If Leith's story has inspired you, we would love to hear from you.   

There are many ways to get involved with The Sparkle Foundation—from embarking on your own Journey with Purpose to supporting our programmes from wherever you are.