“Mary’s Meals gives me strength.”
The worsening food crisis in Malawi means children like 10-year-old Annie are depending more than ever on Mary’s Meals.
As the food crisis in Malawi continues to worsen, the daily meal we provide is not just a powerful incentive to come to school, but a vital lifeline for vulnerable children in desperate need of nourishment.
Annie, 10 – an orphan from Mwanza district – is one of the children depending on our school feeding program for what is often her only meal of the day.
"I feel weak when I’ve not eaten,” Annie says. “My tummy is full of pain and I get a big headache. We already don’t eat for a few days each week and I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next months.”
When Annie’s parents passed away, she and her two siblings were taken in by their aunt – Dorothy, 33 – who already has five children of her own.
Dorothy tells us: “It’s not easy looking after such a large family. This is the hardest year I’ve ever seen for hunger.
"I try my utmost to provide enough for the children and encourage them that this season will pass. They tell me they love me and say it’s enough, but it’s reassuring to know they will be able to eat in school.”
Annie, her siblings and her cousins attend Chidzumbi Primary School where, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, they receive a daily mugful of nutritious, vitamin-enriched maize porridge.
"When I eat the porridge at school, it gives me strength,” Annie says. “It takes away my hunger and helps me to listen and concentrate in class. The next few months will be very difficult, but I’ll try to work hard and not worry.”
Please help us keep our promise of a daily school meal to the 1,187,104 children, including Annie, who depend on our programme worldwide.
Millions are going hungry. Help us reach more children now.