Argyll charity Mary’s Meals has received a cash boost that will feed more than 10,000 schoolchildren for a year.
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised £425,000 for the Scottish charity that works to ensure some of the world’s most deprived children can eat and go to school.
The cash injection will provide 10,961 meals every day for a whole school year.
The Mary’s Meals donation will reach children in eight African countries – Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Olivia in Zambia
Every morning before school, 14-year-old Olivia gets up early and goes to work on the family farm in Zambia.
When she gets back from the field, she helps with the household chores before setting off on the hour-long walk to Kawambe Primary School.
Her first meal of the day is a mug of Mary’s Meals porridge.
Olivia said: “I feel very hungry when I get to school.
“Phala (vitamin enriched porridge) fills me with energy. It helps me to concentrate. School is important, because when I have finished, I will be able to support myself.”
Mary’s Meals – a very special pledge
Mary’s Meals founder Magnus MacFarlane Barrow started his international aid career from a shed in Argyll.
He zeroed in on supplying one good meal a day to children in some of the most impoverished parts of the world.
Key to his philosophy is providing that meal in schools, to get deprived children into the classroom.
Mary’s Meals donation an important boost
Since 2015, players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £2.7 million for Mary’s Meals.
Mary’s Meals executive director Daniel Adams said the charity is “hugely grateful” for the boost.
He added: “The nourishing food we provide can be a lifeline and for many children may be all they eat that day.
“With local communities cooking and serving the meals, children from some of the poorest countries in the world are attracted into the classroom, giving them the opportunity to learn towards a brighter future.”
Callum Aitken, international development advisor at People’s Postcode Lottery, added: “We know that children don’t learn as well when they’re hungry and find it more difficult to concentrate and retain information when they don’t know when they’ll next eat something.
“I’m delighted this latest funding award of £425,000 raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery will help feed 10,961 children.”
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