East Africa Emergency Appeal
Mary’s Meals is continuing to respond to the current crisis in East Africa with its emergency appeal.
We are now providing life-saving food to children and families facing starvation in drought stricken Somalia by giving around 200 tons of food aid to be delivered to Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, where tens of thousands of people have fled to in search of food. Mary’s Meals has teamed up with the African relief agency Gift of the Givers to provide over two million meals for those affected by the famine in Somalia. The cost for us to provide one life-saving meal is just 6.5 cents.
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Mary’s Meals Founder and CEO personal account of his experience in Somalia– read more >
Mary’s Meals grew out of a response to the Bosnian conflict in the early 1990s, and has been involved in emergency relief work in countries including India, Burma and Thailand, and most recently Haiti, where the charity was involved in rebuilding its school feeding projects following the earthquake. Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, chief executive of Mary’s Meals, moved by the harrowing scenes of the East Africa crisis, seized on an opportunity to partner with Gift of the Givers, which is the first African agency and the only agency in the world to fly six planes into Mogadishu over a two week period, delivering 112 tons of aid.
“Like everyone else, we have been horrified by the images of suffering children and the scale of the need in Somalia, but initially we did not see an opportunity to work effectively there and until now have concentrated our response to northern Kenya where we have worked for many years,” said Magnus. “However, when our trusted partners established themselves in Mogadishu and began effectively distributed food to those suffering most there, it made it possible for us to help, simply by sourcing food in Malawi, where we have a large operation, for direct transport into Mogadishu. “We are delighted that we can now use donations to save lives in a place where so many are suffering.”
The food we have bought to be delivered to Somalia is nutritious maize-based porridge Likuni Phala – the same food Mary’s Meals provides to children at its projects in Malawi. This is being sourced locally, thereby supporting the Malawian economy. The children Mary’s Meals is feeding in East Africa are affected by ongoing issues of drought, regional conflict, food and water shortages and massive food price increases. Many are at serious risk of severe malnutrition. We recently expanded our response in Turkana in northern Kenya, by providing a daily meal to an extra 6,000 nursery-aged children, ensuring they received crucial nutrition during a six week summer holiday, when other sources of food were not available.
We rely on any donations that can help us continue feeding hungry children in this region and to allow us to respond to other desperate requests for life-saving help in this area
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