We have been able to keep the costs of providing Mary’s Meals low with the average global cost for this year being just $16.80.

This has increased from last year’s figure of $15 largely due to rising food costs and unprecedentedly high fuel prices which have had a significant impact on transport costs.

In Malawi, where we are now feeding over half a million children, the cost for us to provide Mary’s Meals for an entire school year is $11.

Despite some fluctuations in food costs in the region, we have kept our spending low as the growing volume of hungry children we feed has enabled us to become more cost-effective. We continue to save money in Malawi, and across all our projects, because we obtain resources locally and rely on the input of volunteers.

We work extremely hard to keep our overhead costs low and remain committed to ensuring at least 93 cents of every dollar that is donated goes on our charitable work.

All 45 of our pre-school under six centres have been buzzing with excitement and anticipation which is a time of fun for both children and volunteers alike.

Little girls are all dressed in their best outfits – shiny, shimmery fabric in blues, pinks and whites; little boys in their best shorts or trousers and shirts. Despite the efforts the little ones make, their hardships in life are evident through the little rips and wear and tear of their best clothes. Though all one can see on their dear faces is eagerness and wide smiles.

Children at under-six Christmas parties

The children chant a few nursery rhymes and show us what they have learnt for the year and at one centre, the head volunteer gives a speech thanking Mary’s Meals for their contribution, without which the centre would not survive. Then it’s time for snacks and a little present.

Each child enjoyed glasses of refreshing orange juice along with packets of corn curls, after which the Under Six team distributed bars of colourful soap to the children. The bars were received with beaming smiles by the children.

The children had already received early Christmas presents at the end of school year parties we threw in July. Each present had been painstakingly packed. Inside the plastic bag each child received were clothes, toothpaste, toothbrush, washing soap, biscuits, crisps, juice, soft toys and a game of some sort.

Attending these Christmas Parties reinforces some of the reasons why people who celebrate Christmas do so – that is of sharing and spreading joy. These Christmas parties help us remember to share with those and appreciate those who are less fortunate.

Certainly, these children embody the love and abundance of joy that is Christmas and after one witnesses their patience and absolute happiness with the most simple of presents – one cannot help but love them all the more.

Hundreds of people have been killed by flash floods triggered by a tropical storm affecting areas including Dumaguete City where we provide food to 2,000 impoverished school pupils and to children living or working on the streets.

Some of the volunteers for Mary’s Meals fled to safety by taking shelter in one of the charity’s feeding centres after their houses were swept away by the torrential floods and landslides. All the volunteers and children receiving Mary’s Meals have been accounted for.

Mary’s Meals, which provides meals to children at three schools in the shanty town area of Dumaguete City and to a community on the outskirts of the city, is responding to requests for funds to rebuild the homes of 10 volunteers.

“Thousands are displaced and all those along riverbanks lost their homes … children’s bodies floated on rivers,” described Virginia Villahermosa, head of Mary’s Meals’ programme in Philippines.

“Yesterday, the volunteers were still digging in the mud trying to retrieve whatever they could. They were wet and dirty and they have no other clothes except what they have on.

“They wanted to put up makeshift tents but they just have nothing at all, even their little possessions were all swept away or whatever they retrieved was all wrapped in mud.”

We have been operating in the Philippines since 2006.

Mary’s Meals chief executive, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, said: “We are extremely saddened to hear of the devastation that has swept through the Philippines and which has claimed so many lives, leaving people with nothing.

“Our desire was to take urgent action and respond to the requests of help from our friends. We are continuing to stay in close contact with them so we can support those who are hungry and in need in any way we can.”

After reaching the milestone of half a million children at the start of this year, the continued support and generosity of supporters for the charity has enabled an extra 100,705 children to receive a daily meal in a place of education in 16 different countries.

Much of the latest increase in the number of children Mary’s Meals is feeding has taken place in Malawi, where we are now reaching 18 per cent of primary school children.

Support for our Sponsor a School scheme, which allows individuals and groups to fundraise to cover the costs of building a kitchen and / or the amount required to feed all the children at a school for a whole year, has also helped us expand into further schools.

Meanwhile, a new project in the West African country of Benin has meant over 500 children are now receiving Mary’s Meals. This was made possible by Mary’s Meals supporters in Croatia.

“It is incredible that as this year comes to an end, the number of children we are feeding has grown further still so that today, 600,000 of the world’s poorest children are now being fed every day in their place of education,” says Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals.

“None of this would be possible without the wonderful acts of love we receive from around the world from people who share our vision and who are helping us transform the lives of children by keeping them healthy and encouraging them to attend school.”

It is the latest batch of food aid provided by Mary’s Meals which has teamed up with the African relief agency Gift of the Givers to provide around 900,000 meals for those affected by the famine in Somalia.

The emergency response for Somalia will bring the total amount of food aid bought by Mary’s Meals so far to nearly 200 tonnes.

The nutritious maize-based porridge Likuni Phala – the same food Mary’s Meals provides to children at its school feeding projects in Malawi – is on its way to Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, where tens of thousands of people have fled to in search of food.

Mary’s Meals is appealing for public donations to buy more food to send to East Africa as soon as possible.

Until recently, getting aid into Somalia has been difficult due to security concerns, but Gift of the Givers – the largest disaster relief organisation of African origin – has been able to gain secure entry and exit. The UN estimates tens of thousands of people, half of them children, have died and a further 750,000 are at risk of death.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, chief executive of Mary’s Meals, who recently visited Somalia, said: “Seeing the difference that our support can make, it is so important for us to continue sending food from Malawi to feed people who will otherwise starve, knowing that every bag of Likuni Phala we can send from Malawi will save lives.

“We are delighted that we can now use donations to ensure this food directly reaches so many people who are suffering.”

Mary’s Meals has been working with its trusted partner Gift of the Givers since early September, this year, when as an initial response, it provided 100 tonnes of food aid to Somalia.

Gift of the Givers has been providing medical assistance in hospitals and has set up four feeding camps within Mogadishu, which are now catering for 30,000 malnourished people. Staff at the feeding centres prepare three hot meals of Likuni Phala, which is fortified with essential vitamins and minerals, every day to those who are suffering.

The latest batch of food aid – 84 tonnes of Likuni Phala – is being transported by road to Durban in South Africa where it will be shipped to Somalia.

Supporters of Mary’s Meals in the US celebrated World Porridge Day.

The global event, which takes place every year on October 10, gives porridge enthusiasts the chance to celebrate one of Scotland’s favourite national dishes, whilst raising awareness of the life-saving work of Mary’s Meals.

Porridge provides a delicious breakfast for people all over the UK, but for over 479,000 school-children in Malawi – who receive a daily mug of maize-based, porridge-like ‘likuni phala’ from Mary’s Meals – it is a powerful incentive to go to school and, for many, the only nutritious meal they will have that day.

In the US, a school in Texas did away with chairs and tables at lunchtime to put themselves in the shoes of poor children around the world who don’t have a place to eat.  The students at McKinney North High School were then given oatmeal for their lunches.

World Porridge Day has also been marked with events in far-flung places such as Canada, Abu Dhabi, Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. At Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, chimpanzees have been going bananas for big portions of warm porridge to mark World Porridge Day.

World Porridge Day highlights the role which porridge plays at Mary's Meals

And the nutritional benefits of ‘oat cuisine’ are not lost on the keepers at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, who feed sizeable portions of porridge to their chimpanzees four times every week. Enthusiastic chimps like Louis, Lucy, Lyndsey and Liberius always go ape for their oats – alongside a wide selection of fruits and vegetables, as part of a varied diet which is designed to make sure they get all the nutrients they need.

Dee Masters, Budongo Trail Team Leader, commented: “Porridge is of fantastic benefit to the 21 chimps in Edinburgh Zoo’s Budongo Trail. It’s great for their digestive system and it fills them up just like it would a human.

“We make the porridge from scratch with water and oats, sometimes adding extras like bananas, yoghurt, raisins, honey or sunflower seeds. The chimpanzees absolutely love it. We put their porridge into plastic bottles so they can drink the mixture or use sticks as tools to pull it out. They’re always sure to drain every last drop.”

Abeer Macintyre, head of supporter care at Mary’s Meals, said: “We’re delighted that the chimps at Edinburgh Zoo will be marking World Porridge Day in their own unique way. We invite everyone around the world to have an oat-based dish on October 10 as a show of solidarity with children for whom this is the only meal of the day.

“It’s wonderful to see so many people having fun on this day but there is a serious message and that is: This cup of porridge, which costs just 3p to provide, will save children’s lives. The fact it is delivered in a place of learning will give children the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty as adults.”

Meanwhile, not far from Edinburgh Zoo at the Scotland’s First Minister’s residence, Alex Salmond has also been celebrating World Porridge Day. Bowls and spoons were at the ready at Bute House last week when the First Minister and his cabinet were served platefuls of porridge.

Support for World Porridge Day has come from far and wide, with people from the US to the UK taking part in the international day. Events include fundraising breakfasts in schools, community centres and church halls – as well as a live link-up between Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow and a Mary’s Meals partner school in Malawi, as the pupils each eat porridge breakfasts at the same time.

Children at HHI Primary School in Malawi, which receives Mary’s Meals, also celebrated with musical performances focused around the role of the porridge provided by Mary’s Meals.

Magnus has met with Mary’s Meals supporters in Kansas City, Iowa and Chicago where he has been overwhelmed at the efforts being made to help feed more kids around the world. The average global cost of providing a daily meal is just 6.5 cents.

In Iowa, a group of Mary’s Meals supporters have been helping to raise funds by selling T-shirts with the slogan ‘Got Food’ on the front and ‘852 million’ don’t on the back. So far, the group of kind-hearted supporters have sold over 1,000 T-shirts. “For each shirt we sell it feeds a child for a year at their place of education,” says Ellen Miller of Indianola.

“A lot of people laugh when they see the slogan on the front “got food” and then when they see the back and realize 852 million don’t it’s kind of a stopper.”

The Iowa supporters are involved in Mary’s Meals Sponsor a School scheme which allows all sorts of groups and individuals to cover the annual costs of providing Mary’s Meals for a whole school year. “People in Iowa are linked to four schools in Malawi that are getting meals because of the fundraising efforts going on here,” says Magnus.

“By buying one shirt you feed one child and to that one child you have made a difference and that’s where it starts.”

During this emergency, Mary’s Meals, working with the Diocese of Lodwar, is reaching almost 4,000 children in the most isolated and remote parts of Turkana, providing a daily nutritious meal of maize, beans, rice and vegetable oil in 35 community based nurseries. A further 6000 children have been receiving Mary’s Meals over the last 6 weeks as a response to the humanitarian emergency that is affecting many parts of East Africa. For most of these children, this is the only meal that they are eating each day.

Early the next day we begin the journey to the north of the region, where we will visit communities on the Ethiopian and Sudanese borders. Peter is moving north with his family to be the new teacher at one of the most remote nurseries, Nakinomet. As there is no public transport, our visit to the north offers a welcome opportunity to bring their belongings. As we cross the first dry river bed, Peter tells me that unexpected rains had fallen last week, but these were a false hope as they petered out after three days. Before this, there has been no rain since last November. Climate change here means longer and more severe droughts, higher temperatures and the unpredictability of the seasons.

A small child stands on the horizon watching over a herd of goats. Turkana children also traditionally follow the herds with their parents, collecting wild fruits to eat and occasionally eating the meat, blood and milk of the family’s animals. As the herds have perished, thousands of Turkana children have succumbed to malnutrition as their families scoured the dry scrub-land looking in vain for water and pastures. Over the next three days we will see no cattle, only a few goats and camels.

We visit 8 nurseries as we travel north and in each community we meet with the children attending the nurseries, their parents and the village elders. Peter translates from Turkana. The communities are closely involved in the running of the nurseries and we see that they have built classrooms, store rooms and shelters using local materials. Mary’s Meals’ programme is meeting immediate needs by providing enough food to prevent malnutrition but is also enabling children to receive an education and the teachers work hard to prepare them for entry into primary school.

Most of the communities tell me that Mary’s Meals is the only daily meal that the children will receive. In some of the nurseries, over the prolonged drought period, the numbers of children has quadrupled. In Kotopia Nursery which opened in June, Alice, a mother of 8 tells me – ‘Before, the children were not eating anything for days. We would give the weak ones milk but we have no cattle left now. Even the wild fruit trees had stopped bearing. We had absolutely nothing. Our children’s lives have been saved by the nursery. Before they could only sleep, they were dizzy, weak and sometimes fainted. Their skin was coming out in sores, and their hair was turning brown; they had all the signs of starving. We had to look for help and walked here. Now we see all of our children getting better. They get enough to eat and finish nursery happy, and ready to play and help us gather firewood and get water’.

Peter explains that drought has not been the only reason for the loss of herds. Neighbouring tribes from Sudan and Ethiopia regularly cross the border in armed groups of more than a hundred men to raid the Turkana herds. As we approach Nakinomet, we see a group of armed Turkana men patrolling the area.

Recently a series of violent raids took place and as people fleeing the violence added to those who had already lost their herds to hunger and thirst, the numbers of children attending the nursery increased from 260 to 870.

The Turkana people are praying for rain in October and hope that they can gradually recover their herds. They know that climate change is making their traditional livelihoods more and more difficult and they are beginning to adapt with the support of the Diocese by beginning to plant crops. They are also encouraging their children to gain an education so that they will be better prepared for the challenging future that faces them. In the meantime, the children in the Diocesan nurseries depend on Mary’s Meals for their survival.

Chris MacLullich, Programmes Officer for Mary’s Meals

The gargantuan cargo plane sat contentedly on the runway at Kamuzu International Airport, Malawi’s international airport, it’s enormous belly filled with 20 tonnes of porridge. Know in Malawi as Likuni Phala, this very nutritious porridge is what we use to provide children in Malawi with daily school meals. Normally Mary’s Meals buys food from within the country in which we are working so that we support the local economy, and that food can be transported in all sorts of ways. Trucks, donkeys, small boats and dugout canoes are amongst the forms of transport I have seen employed to move our food to the schools where it is eaten by hungry children. This though, is the first time I have seen our food loaded onto a cargo plane. But this time, the Likuni Phala, whose ingredients are grown here in Malawi is not destined for children in this country, but instead for those starving thousands of miles to the north, in famine ravished Somalia.

As we fly towards Mogadishu I read the latest depressing UN bulletin stating that 4 million people in Somalia are now at risk of starvation, 750,000 of them imminently. Tens of thousands have already died, around half of them children. Our plane touches down in Mogadishu beside white beaches and a blue sea but as we descend the steps from the plane, the brief illusion of holiday resort evaporates as we are confronted by a broken plane, shot down some years previously as it took off. Our party, consisting of doctors and journalists, is transported by convoy away from airport. Our security, provided by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, is reassuringly robust. Pick-up trucks full of young soldiers brandishing AK47s , take up the front and rear and move us quickly through streets scarred by 21 years of civil war. A few days previously a Malaysian cameraman had been shot dead on this same route.

The recent retreat of al Shabaab from some areas of the city it used to rule has left a power vacuum resulting in a return to local power struggles and less predictable violence. The crowded pavements teem with armed men in various uniforms or civilian clothing. Later that evening as we unpack in our makeshift accommodation a loud and uncomfortably close explosion makes me start. One of our gently spoken Somalia hosts turns to me and, as if soothing a small child says. ‘Don’t worry. Don’t worry. It was just a bomb.’

Mary's Meals reaches Somalia

Our partners here are a South African based organisation called Gift of the Givers. They have been friends of ours for some time in Malawi where they have supported our work by sinking water wells at some of the schools where we provide Mary’s Meals. They have become the biggest African based emergency response organisation in Africa and in recent months have set up an effective organisation in Mogadishu, relying on a mixture of local knowledge, courage and huge public support from South Africa. They are working to encourage ‘African aid for Africa’ across the continent and while so far amounts donated are modest they believe they believe they are helping to create a new attitude and sense of responsibility. Their success in distributing food effectively and safely in Somalia and the fact that they have been sourcing food in Malawi, where we feed nearly 500,000 children every day and have a good relationship with food suppliers, led us to realise we could help the starving people of Somalia simply by buying food for transport directly into Mogadishu.

At Howadaq camp, in an area of Mogadishu recently vacated by all Shabaab, hundreds of women, many holding emaciated children queue for food the food parcels that are keeping them and their families alive. I am delighted to see a large pile of our Likuni Phala, last seen in Malawi three days earlier already being distributed and some of it nearby being by cooked in huge pots and served to children. This is one of four feeding centres where our food is being distributed by Gift of the Givers and these centres serve a population of 20,000 people who have fled to Mogadishu leaving behind their land and their dead cattle. Fatima is one of those standing patiently in the queue with two small children. She explains to me that Samson is her son but that Howa dressed in a brown dusty shawl is an orphan whose parents died in the famine. She has seven children at ‘home’, a small hut she built of sticks, cardboard, discarded plastic and rags. She had to leave Bay – the latest region to be categorised by the UN as suffering from famine – after all ten of her precious cattle died. She was left with no option but to make the same journey, that at least 100,000 others have made in recent months from rural farms to war weary Mogadishu.

Standing next to Fatima in the queue is Fartune who is holding her very sick child. Pinte’s head is far too big for his little body and his swollen eyes can no longer see. He is three years old and has been sick for one and a half months. Fartuna has never had the chance to take Pinte to a doctor or receive any medical help for her child. She tells me she has another three children at home, with whom she walked 165km to get here. I ask her how her other children at home are. ‘Yes, they are fine,’ she smiles sadly. ‘Apart, from the malnutrition. We never have enough to eat. ’ And now that know that we can do it, this becomes our task, these next few months. To continue sending food from Malawi to feed people who will otherwise starve, knowing that every bag of Likuni Phala we can send from Malawi will save lives.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow
Founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals, has arrived back in Scotland having helped to deliver over 20 tonnes of food aid to the thousands of starving people filling makeshift refugee camps in and around the Somalian capital, Mogadishu.

“The trip went well and was without major incident, for which we have much to thank our partners in this relief effort, the African based relief agency Gift of the Givers,“ said Magnus. “ They have proven themselves capable of establishing safe entry and exit for aid workers and aid, thereby allowing much needed food supplies to get to the many people so urgently in need of it.

“Valuable though this first batch of aid has been, much much more is needed if we are to avert a humanitarian disaster. We currently have another 80 tonnes of aid in transit, which we estimate along with the first shipment will allow for the provision of some 900,000 meals.

“None of this is possible without the continuing generosity of so many people in the UK and beyond, but I hope that they will be reassured that we have the means to deliver this aid in a country where it can be difficult and dangerous to work.”