Mary’s Meals calls for urgent support as South Sudan food crisis deepens

Now more hungry children are turning to Dalmally-based Mary’s Meals for help as rising numbers of families arrive in the area where the charity is working, having fled from other parts of the country. The daily food Mary’s Meals provides is not just a powerful incentive to come to school, but is also a vital lifeline for vulnerable children in need of nourishment.

Moses Kopurot Kenyi, education coordinator for the Diocese of Rumbek, said: ‘It’s a terrible situation. Many of the children are displaced or without their parents. They are very traumatised. There is a lot of hunger and people are just eating leaves from trees. Mary’s Meals’ feeding programme is helping us a lot. For these children, there is no other source of food.

‘Education is really important for helping to build peace. Without education, the situation will never change and the division and anger will still be there. We have hope that this will be the generation that will bring an ever-lasting peace in South Sudan.’

Betty, a volunteer cook.

 

With one in three schools in South Sudan destroyed or forced to close since the conflict broke out, 72 per cent of primary school-age children across the country are missing out on an education – the highest rate in the world.

As the charity launches its Crisis In South Sudan appeal, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals, said: ‘The plight of children in South Sudan is truly heartbreaking.

‘For them, the promise of a daily school meal has never been more important. Those delivering food to schools in South Sudan are telling us that heavy rain has flooded roads, making it impossible to reach some schools by car.

Enrolment at schools serving Mary’s Meals is increasing. Daniel Comboni Primary School – the largest school in which Mary’s Meals operates in Rumbek – is ranked the highest performing in the country. This ‘extraordinary achievement’ shows ‘the transformative impact of daily school meals’, the charity says.

 

‘Instead, they are carrying the heavy sacks of food on foot, sometimes over great distances, because they know how much the children in those villages need it.

‘We are determined to keep our promise to the 1,257,278 children around the world who rely on Mary’s Meals. With more hungry children arriving at schools in South Sudan each day, we also need help to meet the growing demand there.

‘We hope to ensure that every new child enrolling at schools in South Sudan already serving Mary’s Meals can receive a daily meal and, as funds allow, also expand our programme to reach 1,657 additional children at five new schools in the country. We can do this with support, while continuing to expand our programme around the world to reach many more children.

‘I want to thank with all my heart those who are supporting our mission at this time of great need. Together, we can save lives and bring hope to innocent children caught up in terrible crisis.’