“I will be able to do a lot of things.”

“My favourite subject is maths because when I go to the market no one can cheat me out of my money,” eight-year-old Pierre says with a smile. “I know how much to give them and how much to keep in my pocket.” 

For little Pierre, the quest for knowledge is an uphill struggle. Every weekday morning, he clambers up the mountain slope to L’École Bon Berger de Domond, one of 27 schools in Haiti that recently began serving Mary’s Meals for the first time. 

The rocky path is worn and slippery in places and it is a steep climb for such a little boy – but the promise of a tasty meal and the chance of an education makes the journey worthwhile.  

“If I work hard at school, I can learn to read and write, and I will be able to do a lot of things,” he says. “I want to be a doctor when I’m older so that bad diseases don’t kill anyone. I will try to cure them.” 

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and the ongoing effects of natural disasters make it difficult for families there to grow enough food. Like many children in his community, Pierre often eats just once a day at home. The food served in school helps to satisfy his hunger and focus his mind, allowing him to concentrate in class.    

“When I leave home, there isn’t anything for me to eat,” he explains. “I’m happy when I get something at school. I work better when I have eaten. My favourite meal is rice and beans with sauce. I like it when the rice and beans are cooked together.” 

Pierre’s mum Edith is one of the Mary's Meals volunteers who prepares the food for her son and his classmates. It has only been a few short months since the school feeding programme arrived in the town of Domond, but Edith can already see a marked difference in the children – and daily meals aren’t just changing things inside the classroom.  

“The school feeding is having an impact at home too,” she says. “It’s really helping Pierre a lot.  

“School is important because Haiti is still developing. If children are illiterate, they can’t help themselves at all. Pierre tells us he wants to be a doctor. This is why we fight to give him an education – and we pray that he will become what he dreams of being.” 

With your help, we are now reaching 36,097 vulnerable children in Haiti’s urban slums and remote rural communities with daily meals in school. Together, we’re giving young people — who might otherwise never see the inside of a classroom — the chance to gain the precious education that could be their ladder out of poverty.  

The plate of rice and beans that Pierre and his friends receive each day is far more than just a nutritious meal; it is life-changing sustenance feeding his — and Haiti’s — hopes for a brighter future.