Thank you Martha: Malawi schoolchildren send message of appreciation to young Scottish food blogger

CHILDREN in Malawi have sent a message of thanks to nine-year-old Martha Payne, the schoolgirl from Argyll and Bute whose food blog Never Seconds became a global news story last week.

The blog had originally aimed to raise £7,000 for the Mary’s Meals charity, which provides food for schoolchildren in the world’s poorest regions.

With the current fundraising total standing at more than £84,000, the charity announced that the money will help fund the building of a new kitchen shelter and feed an entire school for a year at Lirangwe Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi.

Pupils at Lirangwe Primary today sent Martha and her supporters a message of thanks. On the blackboard at their school, they wrote: “Thank you Martha and your friends.”

The kitchen will also be named ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ in recognition of the worldwide support.

Martha shot to worldwide fame when Argyll and Bute Council became concerned that the publicity surrounding her blog, which had been praised by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver amongst others, was causing distress to the staff who serve the school dinners.

The council took the step of banning her photographs on Friday morning.

The move caused a huge outcry. Oliver and education secretary Michael Russell were among those who indicated that they disagreed with Argyll and Bute Council, which was forced into a humiliating U-turn.

Commenting on the response to her blog today, Martha said: “It’s really good because it can feed lots of children for a long time.

“Calling the kitchen ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ is important as it’s a thank you to everyone who has supported me and Mary’s Meals. Mary’s Meals is a very simple charity and it can achieve so much with so very little.”

• You can donate to Martha’s Just Giving page, and read her blog at neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk