Holyrood’s £220,000 for Malawi charity

A charity helping hungry children in Malawi has been awarded more than £220,000 by the Scottish Government as the country faces its worst food crisis for a decade.

Ministers said Glasgow-based Mary’s Meals will use the money to extend its schools feeding programme, reaching almost 24,000 extra children.

It comes three days after the launch of an emergency appeal to help the millions of people affected by drought in Malawi.

A further £230,000 from the Scottish Government’s international development fund will be used to match-fund cash raised in Malawi appeals by Christian Aid, EMMS International, Oxfam and SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund).

External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “This year, another food crisis is unfolding in Malawi. Many children are not able to attend school due to hunger and Mary’s Meals will now be their only meal of the day.

“This additional funding will extend our current support of Mary’s Meals schools feeding programmes in Malawi, and help break the cycle of poverty which has trapped so many generations before them.

“I also hope the public in Scotland continue to demonstrate their humanity and generosity by donating to one of the special Malawi appeals by Scottishbased aid organisations.”

The Scottish Government said it has backed the charity with more than £1.7 million funding since 2005, which, according to Mary’s Meals, has provided nearly 43 million nutritious hot meals for more than 73,000 schoolchildren.