Mary’s Meals changed my life

At a social enterprise outside Blantyre, Malawi, a bright young man called Gift heads up a team bringing light to the homes of people living with no electricity.

Gift’s story is an incredible one – from a boy who skipped school because of hunger, to graduating from secondary school and studying at university in Scotland, to returning to his home country to use his education to help his community.  

He says: “I can say that Mary’s Meals really changed my life.” 

Gift started eating Mary’s Meals at primary school, when he was eight years old. Before that, he says, hunger meant he lacked the motivation to go to school and learn. 

He explains: “I was raised by a single mother. Sometimes she would have to go to work or to look for food and knowing that she wasn’t at home affected my attendance. If my mother wasn’t there then it was difficult for her to control whether or not I went to school. I was so demotivated and hungry – sometimes I just wanted to hang around [at home] as maybe the neighbours would give me something."  

He continues: “When I started to eat Mary’s Meals, I would know if I go to school then I will have something to eat. In Malawi, you have kids who are dropping out of school because they’re hungry, so just knowing that this wasn’t an issue for me inspired me to go to school. Even on the days where I didn’t want to go, the promise of Mary’s Meals inspired me to attend classes, and it really helped me to focus at school.” 

While he was at secondary school, Gift lived at STEKA, a home for vulnerable children in Blantyre. It was there he met Emma Wood and her daughter, from Scotland, who were supporters of STEKA.

Emma says: “My daughter worked at STEKA as a volunteer and got to know the young people very well. She knew that Gift was doing well at school and dreamed of studying sociology so that he could learn more about the barriers to social change in Malawi, and how he could make a difference. 

She continues: “By that time we had set up a charity, based at the university, to support STEKA to build a vocational skills training centre outside Blantyre. Gift came to live with our family while he was at university. And the rest is history – he gained a 2.1 in Public Sociology and went on to earn a distinction in an MSC in International Management and Leadership. 

“Most importantly however, he played a leading role in a project to develop a dialogue model which equips very poor and marginalised people to find their voice and power, which is transforming the lives of young people in Malawi and Scotland.”  

After graduating from university in Scotland, Gift returned to Malawi to intern at a social enterprise which supports entrepreneurs in the local area to start new businesses. Now, he heads up a team helping people living without electricity to light their homes with solar power.  

He says: “The impact of Mary’s Meals has been life changing. If I didn’t have Mary’s Meals then maybe I would have dropped out [of school]. I’ve been able to go to Scotland because of school. To have completed education, been able to go to university, I think it’s something that has changed my life.” 

And Gift continues to dream about how he can help bring social change to Malawi. 

He says: “I would like a job with an international NGO as I feel that I have a unique insight into the lived experience of people suffering from poverty and abuse in Malawi. I believe that it's very important that everybody's voices are heard, and my life experience and my education has given me the skills and insights I need to do that.”  

Mary’s Meals feeds 2.4 million children every school day. That’s more than 350 million meals a year. Our supporters and volunteers grow the global movement – working together to reach the next child waiting. They are people from all walks of life, people of hope, people like you. 

There are lots of small ways you can help Mary’s Meals transform the lives of more hungry children like Gift. It costs just 10p a day to feed a hungry child with Mary’s Meals in school, so just £4 will provide 40 meals. This means that even the smallest donation will have a big impact.  

Or you could share our work on social media, volunteer a little of your time, set yourself a small active challenge, or donate cashback on your online shopping. Every little act of love makes a big difference for hungry children living in some of the world’s poorest communities. Find out more here.

Images: David Aveyard