Six Years of Success as The Sparkle Foundation celebrates its 6th Birthday

The Sparkle Foundation is marking May as its ‘month of celebration’ after reaching its sixth year of supporting vulnerable children across Malawi.

The UK-based charity celebrated its 6th birthday on Sunday 16th May 2021. Over the past six years, Sparkle has provided 500,000+ meals to vulnerable children and educated more than 250 children every day. In addition, the charity has treated over 7,000 medical cases, including screening up to 2,500 women for cervical cancer.


Sarah Brook, CEO and Founder of Sparkle, commented: “When the pandemic hit, it was a pivotal sink or swim moment for many charities. It was clear Sparkle would be impacted by the loss of donations from both individuals and businesses during this difficult time. However, we are absolutely delighted to say that we have overcome those initial challenges and are now ready to celebrate our 6th birthday with Malawians and the people who have continued to support us throughout this journey.”


Turning six is no small achievement for The Sparkle Foundation. With 40% of small charities in the UK expected to close by the end of 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity has been fortunate to receive additional volunteering help through the UK furlough scheme and continuous support from its corporate partners.


“We’d like to thank our corporate partners,” added Sarah. “Without their fundraising and volunteering support from the beginning, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the incredible success Sparkle has seen over the last six years. This support has enabled us to take over 200 people around the world to Malawi as volunteers.”


Since its inception, The Sparkle Foundation has worked with several companies in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the UK to create bespoke CSR initiatives that have sustainable impact. Cornelius Group has been a corporate partner with Sparkle since 2017 and its generous contributions have made a real difference to communities in Malawi.


Neville Prior at Cornelius Group, said: “It’s been a delight to work with The Sparkle Foundation. Our employees have participated in many fundraising activities, including the latest ‘Spring in your Step’ challenge, which saw staff complete 10 miles in 10 days by running, cycling and walking. The Sparkle Foundation works tirelessly to create a world where every village can become self-sufficient and has the tools to truly Sparkle. At Cornelius, we are grateful to be a part of their journey.”


The charity has ambitious growth plans for the year ahead too. “Next year, we want to focus on our development and growth at Sparkle, so we can provide educational, health and nutritional support to hundreds more vulnerable children across Malawi. We believe every child has the right to Sparkle!”, added Sarah.



If your company or school would like more information on The Sparkle Foundation’s corporate partnerships, please contact us at partnerships@sparklemalawi.org.

Stuart: From Legacy to Lived Experience

By Talhia Le Berre • April 27, 2026
For over ten years, The Payback Time Trust has supported The Sparkle Foundation, a relationship first led by Stuart Barcock’s late father, Peter, alongside his stepmother, Kathy, who were early believers in Sparkle’s vision. While Stuart had long been aware of and connected to Sparkle through this relationship, his involvement deepened significantly after becoming a Trustee in early 2023. Since then, his connection to the charity has been more direct and engaged, shaped through ongoing conversations, updates, and a growing understanding of our work. This year, that connection took on a different form. Stuart travelled to Malawi this past March to experience our work in person. Not as an observer from afar, but as someone stepping directly into the environments, communities, and programmes his family family had supported for so long. This is the story of Stuart's journey with purpose. What I Thought I Knew Having supported The Sparkle Foundation for more than a decade, the decision to visit Malawi felt both natural and necessary. From the perspective of The Payback Time Trust, it was important that one of us saw the work first-hand, to understand not only what is being delivered but how it comes together on the ground. Reports and conversations provide insight, but they inevitably leave gaps. Being there, physically present, offers a different level of clarity . There was also a personal dimension to the trip. The trust itself was founded by my [late] father and stepmother, who had been early supporters of The Sparkle Foundation and a strong believers in [founder] Sarah’s vision. Continuing that connection is something I take seriously, and this visit felt like an extension of that responsibility, as well as a way of honouring what they had helped to start.

From Seasonal to Sustainable: The Sparkle Greenhouse Secures Nutrition

By Talhia Le Berre • April 23, 2026
A fully funded greenhouse is now operational at The Sparkle Foundation Farm, made possible by a generous grant from the Australian Government
podcast guest reihan sagar on left and the sparkle foundation founder and ceo sarah brook on right

From Bake Sales to 40,000 Dirhams: How One 18-Year-Old is Changing Lives

By Talhia Le Berre • April 20, 2026
The Sparkle Foundation Podcast is where we shine a light on the extraordinary people behind our mission: volunteers, changemakers, and champions who show up, roll up their sleeves, and prove that one person really can make a difference. Each episode is an honest, unscripted conversation about what drives people to give back, and what happens when they do. Hosted by Sarah Brook , Founder and CEO of the The Sparkle Foundation. Meet Our Guest Reihan Sagar is an 18-year-old student at Brighton College Dubai, currently serving as Head Pupil. Since joining The Sparkle Foundation in October 2024, he has raised over 40,000 dirhams for children in Malawi through bake sales, a school-wide t-shirt design competition, a raffle, and a secondhand uniform drive. He was recently awarded the Ed Goodwin Award by BSME (British Schools Middle East) for his outstanding contribution to the charity.