Scottish Catholic Observer

Mary’s Meals has no other option but to send emergency air deliveries to war-torn South Sudan, to keep to its promise of feeding 16,000 children in need.

A major bridge, crucial for delivering food, has been destroyed as a result of the ongoing war in the country. This resulted in the bleak prospect of suspending the programme, which provides daily meals to hungry school children. As the bridge is not expected to reopen in the near future, the food delivery is now being flown from the capital city, Juba.

The cost of delivering aid by air is far higher than transporting by road, but it is the only way children enrolled in the Mary’s Meals programme can get their promised meal each day and continue with their studies.

South Sudan now has the highest proportion of children out of school in any conflict zone in the world. The rising costs of goods in the country is exacerbating food insecurity, with the most recent figures suggesting that up to 4.8 million people are going hungry.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Mary’s Meals founder and Chief Executive, said :

“The brutal war raging in South Sudan has left the lives of many children in chaos, and is stealing the hopes and dreams of an entire generation.

“The cost of transporting food by air is significantly higher and it was a difficult choice to make, but we have made a promise to South Sudan’s children and we are determined to keep it.

“No matter how challenging, we will ensure we continue to meet the needs of those 16,153 children who depend on receiving a daily meal in school.”
The war has resulted in one in three schools across South Sudan to be destroyed, occupied or closed. As a result, there has been widespread displacement and almost a quarter of the population (2.6 million) has been forced to leave their homes.
The charity’s work is vital as it provides one daily meal in a place of learning to attract impoverished children into the classroom, where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their way out of poverty.

If you would like to find out more about Mary’s Meals or to donate, please visit: www.marysmeals.org.uk

PIC: Rwandan peacekeepers serving in the U.N. Mission in Juba, South Sudan