Thousands more children saved from hunger by Scots charity

Published on Monday 1 August 2011 15:33

MORE than 6,000 young children in drought-hit east Africa started receiving a daily meal yesterday thanks to the efforts of a programme led by a Scottish charity.

Mary's Meals, which provides school meals in some of the poorest communities in the world, has been working in the region since 2007, and already feeds thousands of children in South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

It is now expanding its work in the diocese of Lodwar, in the Turkana district of northern Kenya.

The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in more than 60 years. Last month, the United Nations declared a famine in two southern areas of Somalia.

Hundreds of thousands of Somalis are fleeing the worsening humanitarian situation to try and find food and shelter at the world's largest refugee camp - Dadaab in northern Kenya.

Mary's Meals' new programme will provide a daily meal of maize and beans for children, aged from three to six, from around 60 schools for at least the next six weeks, which are the school holidays.

The cost of providing a daily meal for a child in Kenya is estimated to be 50 pence per week.

That is more expensive than the charity's meals in other countries because of price hikes caused by food shortages and conflict.

It is also thought other children will be drawn to the centres by the prospect of food.

The organisation said the scheme will target nursery-aged children in the hope of preventing potentially life-threatening cases of malnutrition and making sure that they receive crucial nourishment during the summer holiday.

The new programme will take the number of children being fed by Mary's Meals in Kenya to more than 24,000.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the charity's chief executive and founder, said the situation in the region had become "increasingly desperate", with failed rains leading to food and water shortages.

He said: "What was a crisis has become an emergency, so when our partners asked for help to feed more hungry children, we felt compelled to give it."

The charity, which has a number of high-profile Scots supporters including Dragon's Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannantyne, Sir Tom Farmer and the artist John Lowrie Morrison - otherwise known as Jolomo - said more than a third of children under five in Turkana were severely underweight, causing families to take increasing risks in search of food.

Tim Flynn, administrator for the diocese of Lodwar, which delivers Mary's Meals in the region, said the situation was worsening.

He said: "Hunger is widespread and animals have started to die. We know that things are going to get worse because there is no expectation of any rain, if it comes at all, before October."

Scottish external affairs secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "Mary's Meals already makes a difference to the lives of hungry children around the world, offering them a daily meal and the opportunity to complete their education and lift themselves out of poverty.

"We are a compassionate nation, and are deeply saddened by the growing humanitarian crisis in east Africa. The Scottish Government recently announced 500,000 emergency funding for Scottish organisations working in the affected areas."