Mary's Meals: Recent Episodes
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A daily meal in school is essential for growing children but the impact can ripple much further out into the wider community. Read more about how the introduction of Mary’s Meals at one school in Madagascar has also dramatically changed the life of one of the parents.
World Refugee Day is a day that highlights the bravery of people forced to uproot themselves when they can no longer live in the place they call home and underlines the human right to seek safety.
The war in Ukraine is tearing lives and livelihoods apart in villages, towns and cities across the country, with little sign of relief for its beleaguered people. And around the world, people of every nation are already feeling the ripple effects of the devastation in their own day-to-day lives. Hunger is the biggest concern for an increasing number of families.
The war in Ukraine is tearing lives and livelihoods apart in villages, towns and cities across the country, with little sign of relief for its beleaguered people. And around the world, people of every nation are already feeling the ripple effects of the devastation in their own day-to-day lives. Hunger is the biggest concern for an increasing number of families.
Long-standing Mary’s Meals volunteer, Marija, shares her Mary’s Meals journey and recounts a chance encounter with a man from Haiti who once ate Mary’s Meals at school which left a lasting impression on her.
This World Environment Day, we are sharing four ways our incredible partners are working to protect the environment.
Since 2018, Mary's Meals has been working with a local partner to provide nutritious meals to vulnerable children being held in five detention centres and one re-integration centre across Madagascar.
This World Hunger Day, we are celebrating a garden project at a school in Zambia, fuelling pupils with fresh and nutritious vegetables and teaching them valuable skills for the future.
Watch Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Founder of Mary’s Meals, reflect on 20 years of Mary’s Meals from the Shed in Dalmally, Scotland – the place where it all began.
Caring for others is instinctive for Grandma Alice, a mother of six in Zambia who lives with her husband and five grandchildren and still finds time to volunteer for Mary’s Meals.
On International Day of Families, one family in Zimbabwe relays how the introduction of school feeding will ease the strain on their daily life.
Mary’s Meals joins forces with a new partner in Zimbabwe, ORAP, allowing us to reach even more children in areas where food is scarce.
Together with our local partner organisation, Fundación Cristo Misionero Orante, Mary's Meals has been serving children in Ecuador since 2010 where we currently reach 360 children.
With a fire beneath her placid surface, this young girl in Zambia sets her sights on her future.
For 13-year-old Natasha, attending school and gaining an education means the hope of a better life.
This 13-year-old spends most of her time alone and doing chores. School, and Mary’s Meals, provide a welcome respite of companionship and nourishment.
In 2002, Mary’s Meals made a promise to the world’s most vulnerable children to provide nutritious daily meals in places of education.
15-year-old Nohe* tells of his traumatic journey from the outbreak of war in Tigray to becoming captain of his displacement camp’s football team.
We speak with the founder of Feedback Madagascar about climate change's disastrous effects on an already struggling nation.
Times are tough for girls in Uganda, but 16-year-old Mercy is full of determination and hope for her future, de- spite the realities.
As the bloodshed continues and the number of displaced Ethiopians surges, a Mary’s Meals funded programme to provide education, a semblance of normality, and create safe spaces for women and children living in temporary camps gets underway.
Mary’s Meals are firmly back on the menu in schools in India after two years of severe Covid restrictions and closures
With the 2 million milestone still fresh in our minds from September 2021, our work has not stopped. We continue to grow, expanding our programmes in the countries we serve, and adding new programmes in other parts of the world.
Poachers are being rewarded for conserving, rather than killing, wildlife in Zambia with a circular economy initiative that feeds hungry children while incentivising legitimate livelihoods.
One in three people around the world lack handwashing facilities at home. That’s 2.3 billion people who are without access to soap and water in their day-to-day lives.
The Power of Porridge.
"Porridge fills my stomach and gives me energy.".
At Mary’s Meals, our community run school feeding programs were born from the belief that every child deserves an education and enough to eat. We often talk about the positive benefits a daily school meal in a place of education can bring to a young person’s life, but what exactly are these benefits?
At four years old, Thomas would not have dared imagine how life would be for his ten-year-old self.
South Sudan is one of the most food-insecure countries in the world, with years of conflict, instability and climate-related issues severely limiting the country’s food production abilities.
On her first day at a brand-new school, Teresa was too timid to stand in line to receive her lunch from Mary’s Meals. Seeing a young girl like herself, Tabitha approached with a smile, offering to share her meal with a new-found companion. In that moment, a lifetime of conflict between two warring factions was set aside by children who just needed a friend.This is the story of how two young girls, thrown together by fate and kindness, have become symbols for peace in South Sudan.
Mary’s Meals expands its programme in Madagascar with new partner, Money for Madagascar.
A girl in South Sudan recounts the day her life changed forever and the long road ahead.
In South Sudan, the promise of a daily meal in class means many parents now allow their daughters to attend school
Since the conflict in Tigray began in November 2020, I have on several occasions finished an emotional call with my friend and co-worker there and thought to myself that things could not possibly get any worse. And then they have.
At just 13, Moses has taken on a role that no child should have to – caring for his elderly grandmother.
Six thousand miles from home, one missionary nun was brought to tears by the poverty and insecurity she witnessed in a South Sudan village.
The only food Abak and Aping eat in a typical day is a simple bowl of maize and beans served by Mary’s Meals at their school.
Ill-fitting footwear won’t stop these sisters in their quest to learn and receive a daily meal
Our newest programme country is one which is in the most urgent need as it faces long-term, and devastating conflict and increasingly difficult conditions.
Join us as we take a look back over the past year at Mary's Meals, reflecting on our milestones and looking ahead to a new year and new chapter.
At 77 years old, Gogo Kumpini perhaps did not expect to become sole guardian to a lively group of young boys and girls.
Church, modest meals, and hope for better days mark the season in Malawi’s cramped Dzaleka camp.
For many in the West African nation, Christmas is celebrated with special songs, greetings, and mixed feelings about the holiday.
Everything you need to know about giving during the most wonderful time of the yearFor many of us, Christmas is a time to gather around the dinner table to feast, tell stories and create cherished memories with loved ones. Christmas is also a special time for Mary’s Meals, and with the festive season well underway, we are inviting you to set a place at our virtual Big Family Christmas dinner table this year to bring hope to hungry children living in impoverished communities.Every place set at our virtual table gives a child with chronic hunger a life-changing gift of school meals for one year. There is no limit on the number of places you can reserve, so whether you’ve reserved a place for a colleague, family member, friend or in memory of someone special, there will always be room for everyone. It’s a place where more is always merrier as by design, the more places set, the more lives are changed.Mary’s Meals is already serving more than two million poverty-stricken children every school day, but our work is far from complete. Help us achieve our vision that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education and join the thousands of people all over the world this Christmas with our Big Family Christmas campaign. As a thank you for reserving your spot, you’ll receive a beautiful, personalised placemat which you can email, print, or pass on to others during this festive season. Your personalised dinner plate will also appear virtually beside hundreds of others on our Big Family Christmas webpage.Today, more than 58 million primary school-aged children are out of school because of poverty. Millions more attend too hungry or tired to learn. Your gift of £15.90 will serve a nutritious, locally sourced meal to a child in a place of education every school day. The meal is also an incentive for them to attend lessons and gain an education. We believe the provision of a daily meal enables children to grow up healthy and educated to become men and women with the skills and strength to lift their communities out of poverty. It’s a simple idea that works.For other ways to give with Mary’s Meals this Christmas, check out our magical selection of Christmas cards and digital gift cards.Find out more about Mary’s Meals’ Big Family Christmas campaign.
As the situation in this war-torn region of Ethiopia worsens day by day, our work continues to find the best way to keep our promise to feed those in such desperate need
Hawa walks a two-hour round trip to attend one of the over 620 primary schools in Liberia that receive Mary’s Meals.
The Mary’s Meals global family is not one for sitting still. Whatever the occasion, our faithful supporters never cease to amaze us, defying all the odds to spread the word of our vision and fundraise to ensure over 2 million children and counting – who would otherwise go hungry – are served a daily meal at school.
South Sudan remains one of the most food-insecure countries in the world with years of conflict, instability, mismanagement, and climate-related issues severely limiting the country’s food production.
The joy of returning to school was doubled for thousands of children from Goromonzi District, in the Mashonaland East province of Zimbabwe.
Excitement abounds as Mary’s Meals has begun feeding in 12 new primary schools in the Wau region of South Sudan. Together with our new partner MHA (Mary Help Association) another 5,000 children will receive this essential meal every school day.
Over the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in terms of increasing access to education for all, which has led to increased enrolments, especially for young girls.Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic has, in many ways, crippled development in various areas of the world and the education sector has not been spared.
The world should be looking out for little Gibson Nonde from Zambia, because any four-year-old who has the courage and the motivation to enrol himself in school has the potential to achieve anything!
Despite all the challenges which young Jefferlyn faces growing up in Liberia, she is determined to fulfil her ambitions of becoming a brain surgeon when she leaves school – even if that means getting up in the middle of the night to study.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, hunger and fear have been spreading across the world’s poorest countries, possibly even more quickly than the virus itself.
Cleopatra Banda, like most 12-year-olds, loves nothing more than playing games with her friends, reading, and going to school. Cleopatra is a Grade 6 pupil at Walubwe Primary School, Zambia, where her father is a teacher.
The second wave of corona is not a wave; indeed it is a tsunami, taking everyone in its fury.
As we work closely with our trusted local partner to assist growing numbers of internally displaced people in Tigray, we hear harrowing reports about their living conditions and experiences.
As schools began to close because of the pandemic, it was unclear how we could continue to bring vital daily meals to the children already relying on us. One year on, despite these challenges, we are celebrating welcoming more than 171,000 additional children to our global school feeding programme.
On International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate some of the inspiring women at the heart of Mary’s Meals and the girls who will become the empowered women of the future.
Despite the challenges thrown up by the global pandemic, our team in India is working around the clock to make sure children can still enjoy Mary’s Meals.
Find out how your support is helping to change children’s lives in and around Zimbabwe’s capital city.
As our Covid-19 response continues, Naomi Malunga shares an update from a Mary's Meals food distribution at Chigodi Primary School in Malawi.
Our work is made possible by the life changing magic of many little acts of love – here are just a few examples…
Despite the pandemic, Mary's Meals is now feeding more hungry children in Madagascar. We spoke to our programme partner, Feedback Madagascar, to find out more…
2020 was tough, but it wasn’t all bad. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights…
Mary’s Meals Covid-19 response continues to feed more than one million children across Malawi as classrooms reopen
Christmas will be a little different this year. We asked children in Liberia how they plans to spend the holidays...
Annie Lennox calls for people to help feed hungry children this Christmas by supporting Mary’s Meals.
Fantastic fundraiser, Felix, is going the extra mile for hungry children, despite being paralysed from the neck down.
Meet some of the incredible volunteers who prepare tasty meals for 42,011 children in Haiti every school day.
We’ve launched an urgent appeal to help provide vital rice packs to families in desperate need of assistance following extreme floods in India.
As the situation worsens for children in South Sudan, our founder Magnus explains why help is desperately needed.
Meet Jennica from Haiti and discover how daily school meals are giving her something to smile about.
Meet some of the children who are finding hope in Haiti’s classrooms, with a little help from Mary’s Meals.
Thomas works in South Sudan for Mary’s Meals’ partner the Diocese of Rumbek. He explains how he gained courage and strength from a visit to a school receiving Mary’s Meals.
In Lebanon, Mary’s Meals offers refugee children like Fadi an escape from hunger and the chance of a brighter future.
Together, we’re helping even more hungry children in Haiti to find hope in the classroom.
Mary’s Meals has opened a new information centre in the pilgrimage village where the organisation has its roots.
Hollywood star Gerard Butler unveils his latest production – a school Nativity play in Haiti
By providing daily meals, Mary’s Meals is encouraging children to come to school where they can learn and make lifelong friendships.
Escaping poverty can be especially hard for girls – we hear from some amazing young women who are chasing their dreams, thanks to the promise of daily school meals.
Dalida from Haiti hopes she’ll make it as a top chef – discover how Mary’s Meals is helping to nurture her dream.
Meet Pierre from Haiti and discover how Mary’s Meals is feeding his community’s hopes for a brighter future.
Communications officer, Mary, shares some of her favourite moments from her first year in Malawi.
Daily school meals are helping hungry children in Haiti to make the most of their education and follow their dreams.
For refugee children like Walid, life can be tough. Discover how Mary’s Meals is feeding his hopes for a brighter future.
Meet the little girl from a remote Malawian community who’s determined to succeed, with a little help from Mary’s Meals.
We’ve got some amazing news – Marys Meals is now feeding 1,361,586 children in 17 countries every school day!
Even when there is nothing to eat at home, Simeon from Malawi can rely on a nutritious meal each day at school.
Our communications officer, Gerry, travels from West to East Africa, but what he finds is not so different.
Mums like Miriam from Malawi are going to great lengths to build a better future for the children in their communities.
Loise from Liberia shares her thoughts on singing, schoolwork and her musical ambitions.
Our work is only possible thanks to lots of little acts of kindness carried out by people like you.
Join our Big Family Christmas and help change the lives of hungry children around the world.
Thank you for helping to reach more hungry children in South Sudan with life-saving daily school meals.
We’ve got some fantastic news – 1,425,013 children in 18 countries are now enjoying Mary’s Meals each day at school!
Gillian, our director of strategic partnerships and policy, recently presented at the Global Child Nutrition Forum in Tunisia, to talk about Mary’s Meals and the impact of our work.
Almost 80,000 people cook Mary’s Meals for children in Malawi every school day. Let’s take a closer look at why they volunteer…
Mary’s Meals is helping families forced from their homes because of torrential flooding in Malawi. 12-year-old Bessie tells her story.
Images of Aleppo’s devastation have gone round the globe, so how do you live a normal life in the war-torn city?
Bob, works for our partner to deliver Mary’s Meals in Uganda, in this blog he explains the impact he sees first hand.
Meet some of the 40,349 nursery-aged children from Liberia who eat Mary’s Meals every school day at kindergarten.
From fighting crime to flying planes, children enjoying Mary’s Meals at school in Malawi have big plans for the future.
From fun runs and fancy dress to coffee and karaoke, find out what our amazing supporters have been up to.
We’re helping vulnerable families in the aftermath of Lebanon’s harsh winter storms. Jean and Isabelle from our partner Dorcas share an update from the heart of the action.
Our founder Magnus gives thanks for all the ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’ that make Mary’s Meals possible.
As she visits our school feeding programme for the first time, new communications officer, Mary, describes why she made the move from Argentina to Malawi.
While growing up in one of Haiti’s poorest and most dangerous slums, Jimmy enjoyed Mary’s Meals every day he attended school. Now, he works with our partner in Haiti, helping other children to fulfil their potential. Introducing Jimmy…
Sharing pictures and memories of island life as Mary follows in her great-aunt’s footsteps.
You can forget your PlayStation, Xbox and Wii, here are the top 10 games for schoolchildren in Liberia.
Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon enjoyed a mug of porridge and a game of football during a visit to a Malawi primary school, where the children eat Mary’s Meals every school day.
Samson has big plans for the future that reach far beyond the remote island he calls home.
A moving visit to northern Kenya gives Joanna from our policy and impact team a greater appreciation of the power of pre-school meals.
Today, we’ve reached an important milestone – 1,504,471 children around the world now enjoy Mary’s Meals at school!
“I want to be a bone doctor when I leave school. I read about that job in a book. We don’t have many of those in Liberia.”
From an exclusive preview of our new film to turning pennies into pounds, these are some of our highlights from Mladifest 2019!
If you could go anywhere, where would you choose? These Liberian children share their dream destinations.
These eight-year-olds come from different countries, backgrounds and cultures, but age isn’t the only thing they share.
These little ones from Malawi are still at nursery, but that doesn’t stop them dreaming big – find out how Mary’s Meals is feeding their hopes for the future.
Every gift to Mary’s Meals is a seed that has been planted and will grow to bear fruit.
Some of the international communications team have shared their favourite Mary’s Meals image. Find out why these pictures came out on top…
Our founder, Magnus, visits a community in Madagascar that is waiting for Mary’s Meals.
Philip sees Mary’s Meals volunteers in action every day in Liberia – but how would they compare with the ones he met in Glasgow?
We asked some of our staff team what their favourite Mary’s Meals’ photograph is. Here are some of the top pics and the reasons why…
India’s children are as varied as its countryside; meet five who are battling the odds to change their futures.
As an engineer, Stephen loves to design solutions and fix things. He’s also passionate about social justice, so when the opportunity arose to join Mary’s Meals as our IT and Infrastructure Lead, it ticked all the boxes!
Actor Gerard Butler swapped Hollywood for Haiti, where he shared a meal with children being helped by Mary’s Meals.
With your help, we’re working hard to keep feeding hungry children in these challenging times.
Thanks for bringing hope to hungry children in some of Kenya’s poorest and most remote communities.
Today, 1,667,067 children around the world will eat Mary’s Meals at school – and it’s all thanks to you!
“For most people in this situation, what they had is completely gone. It’s not part of the house, or a roof or a wall, it’s everything.” Our Country Director in Malawi tells us how communities have been affected by the recent flooding.
The pandemic is making life even harder for families already struggling to survive. Here’s how we’re helping to support vulnerable communities through these challenging times.
We’ve teamed up with Mavambo Orphan Care in Zimbabwe to help save 6,000 vulnerable children from starvation.
Our founder Magnus, makes an urgent plea for help to bring life-changing meals to schools without food.
In part two of this blog – focused on our impact assessment work – Gillian McMahon, our director of strategic partnerships and policy, tells us about one of the families she met in Malawi while conducting this research. Read part one: Assessing Mary's Meals' impact in Malawi
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow explains why now is the time to talk about charitable giving as his new book, GIVE, launches.
In part one of this blog, Gillian McMahon, our director of strategic partnerships and policy, shares news of our exciting new research which demonstrates the impact of our life-changing work.Read part two: How Mary's Meals is helping families invest in their own future
The global pandemic is making life even harder for kids like Augustine in northern Kenya. Find out how we're helping...
Keeping our hands clean is a simple way to stop the spread of disease and save lives. But what happens when you don't have running water or soap?
Following an almost five-month hiatus on social media, Gerard Butler inspires his followers with a personal message about charity.
The current, troubling situation in Ethiopia is escalating. Much of the conflict is centred around the Tigray region, where Mary’s Meals has been working for several years.
Naomi Malunga has been documenting our Covid-19 response. Let's take a closer look at some of her photos...
Our founder, Magnus, reflects on the challenges of providing life-changing meals during a global pandemic.
Despite school closures, plans are in place to reach more than one million children as part of our Covid-19 response.
Meet some of our supporters who are pushing themselves to the limit to help us reach the next child!
David from Liberia shares his thoughts on the beautiful game – and his goals for the future.
Our founder Magnus shares an update about a recent trip to France, and some of the wonderful people he met along the way.
Hear from the next generation of teachers, doctors, nurses and pilots about their dreams for the future.
Magnus explains how porridge-slurping is a great way to break down cultural barriers – except when it comes to elephants.
We have launched an urgent campaign in response to the worsening crisis in war-torn South Sudan and call on your support to help children in desperate need.
Not even worries about the harvest will douse these students’ desire to learn in Zambia.
Gift hopes to be the first person in his family to finish school – find out how we’re helping him to reach his goal.
Discover how you’re helping Edda to follow in the footsteps of her motorbike-riding hero.
Our comms officer visits schools in Zambia where students have just begun receiving Mary’s Meals.
What do a couple of sporty teens, some running nuns and an Olympic gold-medallist have in common?
When you work with children, it’s inevitable you meet the mothers who put their children’s experiences into perspective. Our comms officer Gerry came across some impressive mums on his trip to Kenya – one of them was Margaret.
In Turkana, most people make their living from sheep and goats, but seven-year-old Longoria has other plans…
We have some amazing news. We are now reaching 1,257,278 of the world’s poorest children with nutritious daily school meals!
Moses was sleeping rough and rummaging through bins to survive. Today, life is very different…
Desert cook Christine goes to great lengths to give children in her community a good start in life.
Though they take care of themselves in one of Kenya’s urban slums, twins Anthony and Aggrey are planting seeds of a brighter future.
How many uses can you find for a Mary’s Meals food sack? Eric from Kenya tells us more.
Mary’s Meals has robust and effective safeguarding practices in place.
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In line with our statement of values and code of conduct, Mary’s Meals takes the issue of safeguarding extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that abusive behaviour is not tolerated within our organisation.
Solomon, from Ethiopia, hopes that Mary’s Meals will help his children get the education he missed out on.
It’s been a difficult year for Malawi’s farming families, but Mary’s Meals is easing the struggle for parents and little ones.
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Head teacher, Ataklti, shares his hope that Mary’s Meals will transform children’s lives in Ethiopia.
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Gerry, our communications officer in Liberia, reflects on an inspiring year.
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A Big Family Christmas – that’s what we have in Liberia, as Gerry, our communications officer, found out.
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Your kindness makes impossibly beautiful things happen.
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Mary’s Meals helps children in Liberia to come to school and concentrate in class, but it also nourishes the hopes they have for the future, as our communications officer, Gerry, found out.
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Samukar, from Liberia, loves his science lessons, but the thing he likes most about school is Mary’s Meals.
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Jacob, Moses, Varney and Daniel received Mary’s Meals in school, and are now working hard to bring life-changing meals to the next generation.
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Giving a young netball player a sporting chance at school in Malawi.
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Mary's Meals makes things better for Misgina and his friends.
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Mary’s Meals is only made possible by passionate, dedicated people like these…
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For orphans like Lovetee in Liberia, Mary’s Meals offers an escape route from a life of poverty and hunger.
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In India and around the world, Mary’s Meals works alongside local communities to help feed young learners.
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