Vincent, 4, has just learned he doesn’t have HIV. So why is he so sad? Because he has also learned AIDS killed his mother

educate the children on what money she could raise. Mary’s Meals stepped in with funding in 2010. Marie said that was a potential lifesaver.

The intervention came through some networking the two did in Los Angeles when both were at the CNN Heroes Awards, where Magnus was being recognised.

Marie had been given the same honour two years before and was there as a guest. She said: “We were both unlikely guests at a fancy event in America but we had so much in common.

“I told him that the cost of food at Jacaranda was a heavy burden and that any help he could give would improve things immeasurably for us.

“Mary’s Meals moved into the school and it was a revolution for us. Children who receive HIV medicine on empty stomachs do not get the benefit. If they are weak from lack of food it doesn’t matter if they receive the drugs or not.

“I would see them develop sores and they would become so run-down. I would look at their faces and see such sadness but having nutritious food every day really helped us make a massive step forward.

“Look at our kids – you cannot tell who has HIV and who has not. They are all happy and enjoying their lives.”

Tionge Bandwe, 16, has become used to living with HIV since her mother died of AIDS in 2007, aged 31.

Tionge suffered from tuberculosis when she was five and has faced a daily battle to eat enough to stay strong. She lives in the village of Ntungulutsi, in the south of Malawi, with her aunt Bridget.

Tionge looks years younger than her age and is still at primary school but hopes her aunt and uncle will find the £55 a year she needs for secondary school education.

She keeps her HIV secret so she won’t be shunned. She said: “I don’t tell anyone because I don’t want to be different.

“The illness happens a lot in the village but I try not to worry. I get free medication.”

Bridget said Mary’s Meals coming to Ntungulutsi four years ago was a Godsend for Tionge and her seven siblings.

She said: “The food is nutritious and we know it will be there every day. We owe so much to Mary’s Meals.”