Emergency in Southern Africa
People in Southern Africa are facing “emergency” levels of hunger – help us feed hundreds of thousands more children in the region.
It’s early when we arrive at Tafika Primary School, but the volunteer cooks have been there for hours. Like most of Malawi – and much of Southern Africa – this district is suffering the effects of the worst drought here in over a century. But this morning we have splashed though puddles on dirt tracks amid water-logged fields where crops are trying hard to grow.
After planting in November, the people of Tafika waited for rain, but it never came, and their maize died. Again, they planted, and unpredictable weather destroyed their crops. While stirring a pot of Mary’s Meals porridge, Amy tells the other volunteers that her maize was washed away during a deluge at the weekend.
Climate change and disruption to the rainy seasons mean that people don’t know when or what to plant for a successful harvest. Heavy rain falling on parched ground means flooding is also a threat, often washing away months of hard work.
Providing a lifeline to children in Southern Africa
There is a lot to figure out here.
Adopting new ways of farming will be key to the survival of these communities. But how do you learn new methods of agriculture when you cannot read or write? Or you’re too hungry to learn?
I sit on the school steps and talk to a boy named Desire who tells me – between slurps of porridge – that he’s 13 (although he looks much younger). He talks about the desperate hunger he experienced before he began receiving Mary’s Meals a few months ago.
“I used to shiver a lot,” he says, demonstrating this to me with a shaking hand.
“So, I found it very hard to write,” he adds with an apologetic smile.
Today he enjoys English lessons the most – and the fact he no longer needs to leave class early to search for food. The hunger situation is extreme here but, with Mary’s Meals, children’s need for food is being met while their potential for learning is unlocked. The food they receive now will help them, in time, to play their part in figuring out what and when to plant to feed themselves, and their families.
Reaching more children waiting for our daily meals
Desire is just one of millions of children across Southern Africa in urgent need of Mary’s Meals. I’m so thankful that our most recent expansion reached his school, but so many children are still waiting.
We are ready to rapidly expand our school feeding programs across Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique to reach more children in desperate need, if we can raise the funds.
Please help if you can.
It costs $25.20 to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year. Mary’s Meals is currently serving nutritious daily meals to more than 1.5 million children in schools across Southern Africa. Now, more than ever, your support is needed to spread the word about our work and the emergency in the region. With your support, we can reach hundreds of thousands more children waiting for our daily meals.
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow is the founder and CEO of Mary's Meals.