Scottish pupils helping youngsters in Malawi

Education is something many of us take for granted but for the children of Malawai it's a life line that could help pull the country out of poverty. With the help of some Scottish school pupils, charity Mary's Meals is helping to not only feed the mouths of world's poorest but also using the opportunity to feed their minds.

The youngsters from Holyrood School in Edinburgh arrived in Malawi to a warm welcome. They brought with them over 2,000 backpacks donated by children from Scotland. Each contained a set of simple tools that Scottish pupils may take for granted.
Education important to malawi youngsters


Pencils, pens and paper are a rare treat for children in a country where almost half of its population lives below the poverty line.

Peter Nkhata from Mary's Meals said: "Each time when we come to a new school, the enrolment goes up quite a lot. In some cases we have registered up to 20% increases. And we know that children wouldn't come to school before would come to school to get a meal.

For the youngsters from Glasgow, handing out the backpacks was an emotional occassion. Sharandeep Singh from Holyrood Secondary, Glasgow said: "I've rarely come across a kid without a
Education linked to feeding programme
smile and I think that's something that will stay with me forever. Anna Campbell from Holyrood Secondary, Glasgow said: "It's not the same - hearing about it and then actually being out here. Totally changes your perspective of what the whole project's about."

Many thousands of children queue up at lunchtime to be served a bowl of nutritional porridge that has all the vitamins in it they need to stay alert not only throughout the day but also to keep them healthy in the long-term.

The feeding programme has been such a success that schools in countries like Malawi have seen increases in attendance of up to 30%. Without the promise of a square meal every day many of the children would not attend school. They wpuld spend most of their time begging or scavenging for food.

Experts say the only way these youngsters can expect to escape the poverty trap is through education.