A Big Thank You From Malawi
Your generosity means hungry children will be able to eat
Last year, we teamed up with school-feeding charity Mary’s Meals to raise money for starving children in Malawi, and yet again you, our lovely readers, were quick to support us.
Your kind donations have resulted in more than £42,000 being raised, which will all be used to provide the vital lifeline of a mug of porridge to young people who may otherwise not receive any other food on that day.
Malawi was already one of the poorest countries in the world before a severe flood, followed by a drought, left the country’s infrastructure in disarray and families with little means to support themselves. Crops were destroyed and livelihoods wiped out. For a region already suffering the effects of crippling food poverty, it was nothing short of catastrophe, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency. It is estimated that around eight million people in the country are facing starvation, and there are few indications the situation is going to improve.
Speaking as we launched the appeal, Martin Swinchatt, country director for Mary’s Meals in Malawi, said, “People have been forced into selling what possessions they had, just to provide any kind of food. People who had very little now have absolutely nothing. People need the porridge more than ever.”
It means the work of Mary’s Meals is ever more important. The mug of porridge they serve in schools is packed with nutritious ingredients, which will give the young people strength at a time when healthy, fulfilling food is hard to come by.
This immediate relief is combined with a more long-term strategy of encouraging youngsters to go to school, giving them the means to break out of the cycle of poverty when they leave education.
The situation has been so dire, the charity took the unprecedented step of operating throughout the school holidays, because they knew that if they didn’t, the chances are there would be no food for young people to eat at all.
What all this means, is that your generous donations are all the more vital than ever, and as we told the stories of young people in Malawi facing unimaginable hardship, you responded in your thousands.
Last year it cost £12.20 to feed a child a healthy meal a day for a whole year, meaning your donations will go a long way.
This is particularly true in Malawi where school enrolment is on the rise.
Magnus MacFarlane-
“These gifts from My Weekly readers will help provide life-changing meals”
Barrow, founder and chief executive of Mary’s Meals, said, “We are extremely grateful for the incredible kindness which My Weekly readers have shown us once again.
“Today, around the world, 61 million children miss school because of poverty. Instead of sitting in a classroom gaining an education, they are working in fields, begging on street corners or scavenging among the garbage to survive.
“Millions more attend school so hungry that they are not able to concentrate properly and learn.
“These precious gifts from My Weekly readers will help us provide more life-changing school meals to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries, helping to give them hope for a brighter future.”
For more on the work of Mary’s Meals and details of how you can donate, go to WWW.MARYSMEALS.ORG.UK