Scottish Catholic Observer

Mary’s Meals provides a daily meal in school, attracting chronically hungry children to the classroom where they can receive an education that could be their route out of poverty. The charity’s work in Malawi and Liberia is well documented, but Mary’s Meals is also playing an essential role in changing the lives of thousands of children elsewhere in Africa, and across another four continents—supporting more than 868,000 children every school day.

Mary’s Meals reaches more than 40,000 children across South Sudan and Kenya with a daily nutritious meal in their place of education. Communities in these areas of East Africa continue to suffer because of political unrest and conditions can be very challenging, but thanks to the generosity of Mary’s Meals supporters, they are not alone.

South Sudan

In South Sudan, the charity’s partner organisation—Rumbek Diocese—provides a daily meal to pupils in temporary schools, mainly for children from nomadic pastoralist communities.

A recent update from Mary’s Meals staff on the ground reads: “Nearly all the schools have additional newcomers and this can be attributed to the school feeding programme.”

In fact, community volunteers have recently joined forces to build more temporary classrooms to accommodate the increased numbers of children attending these emergency schools.

Kenya

In Kenya, Mary’s Meals is working with two partner organisations—The Way Christian Ministries and Diocese of Lodwar—to reach two distinct groups of vulnerable children.

In the northern tribal area of Turkana, a daily meal is served to more than 7000 nursery-aged children at 65 early childhood learning centres across the region.

Drought is common here and conditions are tough, but the provision of early childhood support and education is vital to the community and its future generations.

Margaret, a volunteer cook at Kokuro Nursery in Turkana, not only prepares the meals for the children of her community, she is careful to ensure all the children wash their hands before they eat their daily meal.

“I am always telling the children, you must be patient and wash your hands before you take the food—it is my job to make sure you don’t get sick and stay healthy,” she said

In the urban areas of Nairobi and Eldoret, around 19,500 pupils receive a nutritious meal every school day. This food, provided by Mary’s Meals, is often the only thing keeping the children from returning to the streets for survival.

At least half of all people living in Kenya reside in slums with limited access to water and sanitation and many children are living on the streets without anywhere to call home. Thankfully, Mary’s Meals can offer these children a new beginning and a better future.

Anthony’s story

Anthony ran away from home when he was five years old. He felt life on the streets might be better than staying in a home where there was never enough for him and his six brothers and sisters to eat.

Like a lot of the street children in Eldoret, Kenya, he would spend his days looking for work, begging for money, or foraging through piles of rotten food looking for something to eat. Some nights he would go back home, but on others he would sleep outside, usually in shop doorways.

“I was very scared,” Anthony said. “You can see people look at you with hate in their eyes. It’s hard to find food and sometimes I was very cold. Sometimes I was so hungry I would steal food. And on the nights when I slept outside, I was afraid that someone would hurt me.”

Now, aged 15, Anthony is living at home full-time and spends his days in school, where he receives a nutritious lunch from Mary’s Meals. His life is far from easy, but he finds refuge in his learning and his teacher says he can often be found studying in the classrooms at the weekends.

“I like coming to school and, if there is enough money, I would like to go to secondary school next year,” he said. “I dream of becoming a pilot—I’d love to see the world.”

But sadly, there are many more children—including Anthony’s younger brother—who still spend their days on the dangerous streets of the Langas slum. With your help, we can reach the next child waiting for Mary’s Meals.

— To help Mary’s Meals reach more of the world’s poorest children with a life-changing daily meal in a place of education, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk