Driving change in Madagascar

Alan Melrose is Director of Marketing at Mary’s Meals International

Towards the end of last year, I visited Madagascar to see the Mary’s Meals school feeding programme in action there. When I arrived in the island’s capital, Antananarivo, it looked to me like everyone was struggling. But there is hope: the people are determined to build a better future for themselves and their children – working together with Mary’s Meals.  

Community-led innovations

Our school feeding programme is owned and run by the communities who benefit from it. By serving our school meals in communities where levels of hunger are high, Mary’s Meals is reaching the children who need us the most – but it is also acting as a catalyst for other community-led innovations in Madagascar.  

Inspired and empowered by what they have achieved to deliver school meals for their children, and working alongside one of our partners on the ground (Feedback Madagascar), communities are now joining forces to address other challenges – such as improving access to clean water and growing food for schools.  

1. The community borehole 

At Ankarimaso Primary School, Armand is President of the borehole committee at Ankarimaso Primary School, where his children eat Mary’s Meals. His young children attend the school, where they eat Mary’s Meals. He says: 

“The borehole is very important for the pupils and the community in Ankarimaso. Before, we fetched water from the river and the well, which is not safe. [Now] there is no more problem in clean water access, which means no more diarrhoea and other diseases.”

2. The light library

Since Mary's Meals arrived at Ranomafana Primary School the children have more energy to learn. Jeannine decided to further boost the students' studies with a solar light library. The solar lights allow students to continue learning during power cuts that affect the rural community, without having to use polluting gas lamps. Jeannine explains: 

“We charge the powerbanks [with energy from the sun] in the morning and give them [out] in the afternoon. Part of the income [ from renting out the lights] goes into the school.”

3. The school garden

At Taratra Primary School, Gervais runs a small agroecology programme, educating the children in their school garden about the importance of sustainability. Produce from the garden is used to help supplement the school meals. Gervais says:

“We teach children the protection of the environment around the school. The products from the garden [are] used for food at the canteen and we try to produce seeds at school for the children to grow the following year.”

Helping children to learn  

Our meals don’t just meet a child’s immediate need for food, they have a significant impact on education. In Madagascar, where widespread poverty means access to education is limited, our school meals are encouraging children to come to school and giving them energy to learn.  

The introduction of Mary’s Meals has seen attendance at Antifotenina Primary School increase by almost 35%, but Headteacher Ginette proudly tells us the impact is wider than just attendance alone. She says:

“The results at the end of the school year [before Mary’s Meals] were a 48-50% passing rate. But since the school feeding programme, we have now reached a 100% passing rate for the official exam at national level.” 

Driving change

Despite the hardship I saw, what I really witnessed in Madagascar was extraordinary people driving change. As one elderly woman told me: “I know I’ll never be able to leave Madagascar. But I’m really happy you’re here so that people can learn about my country.” And Madagascar is truly an amazing country, unlike anywhere I’ve ever been.  

But the change I saw can only happen because of the kindness of people like you. It is only thanks to your support, and the support of so many others around the world, that today we can serve Mary’s Meals to more than 88,500 children in Madagascar, and 2.6 million children globally.  

Our low-cost approach means it only costs 10p per meal to feed a child with Mary’s Meals. With too many children remaining hungry and out of school we need your help to reach the next child waiting, in Madagascar and around the world. Please give today, if you can.