Old backpacks wanted
School kids from Perth are being asked to take part Perth pupils are being encouraged to celebrate the new term by donating their old backpacks to poverty-stricken school kids living more than 7000 miles away.
Localchildre n arebeing sought to take part in the backpack project, run by Mary’s Meals, by filling their old bags with notepads, pencils and clothes.
The charity will then send them to schoolchildre impoverishedn i n Malawi with more than40,000 bags being gifted every year.
Malawi is oneof the poorest countries in the world, and has long faced huge challenges in education, access to healthcare and widespread child malnutrition.
It is home to Mary ’ s Meals’largest school feeding programme, which reaches 32 per cent ofprimary school aged children across the country.
Primary five pupils from Pitlochry High School have recently contributed hugely to the scheme, sending out 55 complete backpacks to the African country.
Daniel Adams, executive director of Mary’s Meals uk, thinks schools in the Fair City can follow suit.
He said:“I hope pupils in Perth will celebrate the new term by joining in the backpack project and donating their old bagsto children who eat Mary’s Meals in Malawi.
“Abagfilled with school essentials is a wonderful gift because it ensures these children canget the most outof their education, giving them a ladder outofpoverty and the chanceof a better future.”
And,after the donation of a new van by Arnold Clark, it will now be easier than ever for Mary’s Meals to collect bags from schools in Perth.
To findout more about the backpack project, visit www.marysmeals.org.uk