Mary’s Meals serves billionth dish to needy

Milestone for worthy cause celebrated in Indian school

A charity which provides school meals to impoverished children around the world has served its one billionth meal.

The dish, provided by Mary’s Meals, was eaten by 12-year-old Mohsin, at the Sangam Vihar Informal Education Centre in Noida, India.

He and his classmates were served vegetables and rice – the typical meal prepared by Mary’s Meals volunteers in India – after which they celebrated the occasion with dancing and songs.

Mary’s Meals began by feeding just 200 children at a school in Malawi in 2002, but now provides meals to more than 1.2 million children across 14 countries every school day.

The Scottish charity’s founder and chief executive, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, said: “While Mary’s Meals isn’t really driven by big numbers, this is a remarkable milestone.”

“One billion meals served – that’s a number almost too big to comprehend and one that has been reached simply by focusing on one child, one meal at a time.”

Mohsin lives with his parents and five siblings in the impoverished slums of Sangam Vihar.

As his mother is ill he helps to support his family by selling rat poison at the local market after school.

The 12-year-old relies on Mary’s Meals for a guaranteed meal each school day.

He said: “I wake up in the morning and sometimes there is no food.”

The cost to provide a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year is £13.90.

More information can be found at www.marysmeals.org.uk.

Mohsin and a classmate enjoy one of Mary’s meals.