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A girl at school in India

India

Mary’s Meals serves more than 65,000 children every school day in India

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Where we work

Life in India

India is currently ranked 132 out of 191 countries and territories in the Human Development Index (HDI).  India is the second largest country by population and is home to some of the poorest and most marginalized people in the world.  10% of India’s population lives below the International Poverty Line ($2.15 per day).

The Indian Caste system creates a hierarchy of status, adding inequality and social exclusion to an already complex register of issues – not least food insecurity.

Gender inequality is a persistent challenge in India, with girls typically only benefitting from 5.4 years of schooling, versus 8.7 years for boys. Across the country, there are 3,067,813 children out of school, and over 70% of these are boys.

India accounts for one quarter of the world’s undernourished people.

a group of friends at school

Mary's Meals in India

Mary’s Meals has been serving school meals in India since 2004.

We feed children in areas across northern India and some urban slum communities in large cities across the country. The majority of the children enrolled in our program live in Bihar and Jharkhand.

We are currently reaching 71,576 children in 165 places of education in India. Our program is delivered through a close partnership with BREAD Noida.

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We hear from Father Joson, from our partner BREAD. He runs our programme in India, where Mary’s Meals is currently feeding 64,000 children every school day.
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International Day of Education

This International Day of Education (24 January), we are taking a closer look at some of the countries where we work to showcase the impact of our school feeding programme in different education settings and to meet some of the incredible people helping to shape the lives of the next generation.

 Read more about International Day of Education
When did we start working in India?

Mary’s Meals has been serving school meals in India since 2004

How many children do we feed in India?

We are currently reaching more than 65,000 children in India

What meal do we provide?

Vegetable curry or lentil dhal with rice

Where are we based/where do we operate?

We operate in seven states across India, predominantly feeding children in Northern India and some urban slum communities in large cities across the country

What is the capital of India?

The capital city of India is New Delhi

What language(s) are spoken in India?

Hindi is the official language of India, however, more than 20 languages are commonly spoken in India

What currency is used in India?

The currency in India is the Indian rupee (INR)

What is the population of India?

The population of India is 1,422,027,000