No Child Should Die Of Hunger
After the death eath of a pupil, pupil Esther issued a plea for help – and Mary’s Meals answered
Helping Hand Appeal 2020
For many of the children attending Francis Keleekai School in the Bong County area of Liberia, Mary’s Meals provide the only food they will eat that day.
The school, which has up to 300 pupils, is situated around two hours’ drive from the capital city of Gbarnga and reached along a generally empty and bumpy dirt road.
When the school closed earlier this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mary’s Meals began community food distribution, asking parents to come to the school to collect rice and beans which they could cook for their children at home.
The school has recently reopened, and while Mary’s Meals has not resumed feeding at the school, pupils are continuing to receive food to eat at home.
Abednego Yarkpawolo (14), who is in 6th grade at Francis Keleekai School, is happyppy to be back in the classroom, learning his way towards a better future.
As he sits in a dark classroom, echoing with the voices of children repeating lessons from different classes in the school yard, he explained, “[Before the pandemic], we used to eat Mary’s Meals every day and it made us feel good. I’m happy that Mary’s Meals is still continuing to feed us while we return to school.
“Hunger can make some of the students drop out of school – but because we have food to eat, we are able to learn.
“We all had to drop out of school because of the virus but I’m now very happy to be back.”
The UK Government is matchingg donations made to the Helping Hand appeal in support of Mary’s Meals until January 31, 2021, up to a maximum of £2 million.
This money will help feed and educate children in the Bong County of Liberia which suffers extreme poverty. It will allow Mary’s Meals to expand its work by reaching around another 43,000 hungry children with a nutritious meal at school, attracting them into the classroom and giving them the energy to learn.
Esther Keleekai (67) opened Francis Keleekai School in 2015 with her husband Francis, who has since died.
It relies solely on donations to operate. However Esther hopes to be able to use the small farm at the back of the school as a means of raising further funds.
Esther first got in touch with Mary’s Meals and asked for the charity’s help
“I’m happy that Mary’s Meals is still feeding us while we return to school”
for her school after one of their pupils died as a result of hunger.
She said, “I don’t know whether he ate the day before, I really don’t know much about his condition. But the fact that in this time in our lives, a child can die of hunger, is not acceptable.
“Ever since Mary’s Meals came, it has been a blessing to these children. Our children do not eat breakfast so Mary’s Meals is a big help.”
Commenting on the
impact of coronavirus, she added, “Without Mary’s Meals things would have been worse because everybody is afraid to go out in the open. Even though by God’s grace we have not experienced the virus around here, we are all still afraid.”
In many of the countries where Mary’s Meals works, schools have already reopened or are taking steps to be able to do so soon. However the picture and timeline is very mixed.
Despite all of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, children in Liberia have continued to eat Mary’s Meals thanks to safe community distribution of food that is to be prepared and eaten at home.
The promise of the daily meal from Mary’s Meals is giving children and their families hope – and nourishment – during these difficult times.
The charity has been working in Liberia since
1994, and already serves meals to more than 150,000 children across the country.
In Liberia, more than half of all children drop out of classes before they even finish their primary education – and 64 per cent of schoolage girls are out of school.
Kerbah dreams of becoming an engineer once she finishes her studies so that she can help others living in Liberia.
It is not an easy path for the 13-year-old to follow, but she is determined to overcome any obstacles that stand in her way.
Kerbah is one of 50 children living in an orphanage situated within a compound in the Montserrado county of the West African nation.
For Fo the young girl, the food she receives from Mary’s Meals is fuelling her hopes and ambitions for the future.
She says, “Without Mary’s Meals, I wouldn’t feel fine, because I would not be having food in my system.”
Talking about her future f dreams, Kerbah said, “My teacher told me m that I can become a civil c engineer. I would be able to mine gold.
“Then what I will do to help the country is, I will provide money for the people in the country who don’t have any.”