Mary’s Meals has announced today that it is now providing 1,257,278 of the world’s poorest children with a nutritious daily school meal, thanks to the continued generosity of supporters from around the world.
The charity’s most recent expansions to its school feeding programme, in the first few months of 2018, are reaching an additional 20,822 vulnerable children in Zambia and Ethiopia. Mary’s Meals has begun feeding an additional 14,606 children at 34 schools in Mambwe in Zambia and 6,216 children at nine schools in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Mary’s Meals works alongside impoverished communities across four continents to set up community-run school feeding programmes, encouraging children – who may otherwise be forced to work, beg or forage for food – to come to school and receive a nutritious meal, which helps them to concentrate on their studies.
From feeding 200 children in Malawi in 2002, Mary’s Meals has since grown into a global movement providing life-changing meals to more than 1.2 million children in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean every school day.
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Mary’s Meals’ founder and chief executive, says: “Today, we share the wonderful news that we are now reaching 1,257,278 children with Mary’s Meals. This beautiful work of ours is only possible thanks to the love and dedication of our supporters and volunteers around the world who give their time, money, skills and prayer to help children find hope in the classroom.
“With 61 million children still out of school and many more too hungry to concentrate on their lessons, our work is only just beginning. We are determined to keep our promise of a nutritious daily meal in a place of education to those children already benefitting from our school feeding programme, while – as funds allow – reaching out to the next hungry child waiting for Mary’s Meals. Together, our journey continues – one step at a time, one meal at a time, one child at a time.”
Mary’s Meals is owned and run by local communities in the countries where it operates. The global school feeding programme is made possible thanks to thousands of volunteers – including more than 80,000 in Malawi alone – who give up their time to cook and serve the food for their children.
Robert Zulu is a volunteer cook at Uyoba Primary School, one of 34 schools in Zambia that recently began serving Mary’s Meals for the first time. He said: “I come and cook to help the school because I am a parent and my children will start school next year. The children are always full, they think the porridge is tasty. The children come to school eagerly with their cups in their hands. School is important because when they are educated they will have knowledge and will become better in the future.”
Research shows that in schools where Mary’s Meals is provided, enrolment increases, attendance improves, drop-out rates fall and children are happier, get better results and find it easier to concentrate in class.
By providing daily meals in a place of education, Mary’s Meals attracts chronically hungry children to the classroom, where they can gain a basic education that offers a route out of poverty.
To find out more or to donate, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk
