Life

Mary's Meals now feeding 1,101,206 children every school day

Children in Malawi, where 814,000 school children currently receive Mary's Meals, celebrate the charity providing 1,101,206 of the world's poorest children with a daily meal in school
Children in Malawi, where 814,000 school children currently receive Mary's Meals, celebrate the charity providing 1,101,206 of the world's poorest children with a daily meal in school Children in Malawi, where 814,000 school children currently receive Mary's Meals, celebrate the charity providing 1,101,206 of the world's poorest children with a daily meal in school

THE charity Mary's Meals, which draws strong support in Ireland, is now feeding more than one million children in some of the world's poorest places every day they attend school.

The exact figure is said to be 1,101,206 - a number which is making an enormous difference to chronically hungry children by not only feeding them but also encouraging them to attend school and learn, thus giving them the chance to break free from poverty in the future.

Mary's Meals began in 2002 by feeding 200 children in one school in Malawi and today calculates the cost of feeding a child for a whole school year in the places it works at just £12.20, or €14.50.

The Scottish charity passed the milestone of feeding one million children in May 2015.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the founder of Mary's Meals, said that serving a nutritious meal in a place of education made a remarkable difference to a hungry child.

"In all of the countries where we work, I have seen first-hand the transformation that can take place when a child is given the opportunity to learn with a full stomach," he said.

"The happy news that more than 1,101,000 children are now receiving Mary's Meals is all thanks to the tireless efforts of our army of supporters around the world who give whatever they can - time, money, skills and prayer - to help us reach more hungry children with daily meals in school and give them the chance to thrive.

"All of these little acts of love bring us closer to realising our vision that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education and that those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things."

Mr MacFarlane-Barrow said there were still around 59 million children who did not attend school, with thousands dying each day from hunger-related causes.

"This is a scandal in our world of plenty, and lets us know that we have much more work still to do," he said.

Mr MacFarlane-Barrow was moved to start Mary's Meals in 2002 when he met a young woman in Malawi called Emma who was dying from Aids.

He asked her 14-year-old son what his dreams were: "To have enough food to eat and to go to school one day."

:: More information about the work of Mary's Meals can be found at www.marysmeals.org.uk