Mary’s Meals feeds children facing hunger crisis in Zimbabwe

Mary’s Meals is working with Mavambo Orphan Care to deliver an emergency food and hygiene distribution programme to children in and around Harare, many of whom are living with HIV.  

While schools are closed in Zimbabwe, we are providing a daily meal of maize porridge for families to cook at home. Good nutrition is essential for all children but especially those living with HIV whose antiretroviral medication will not function effectively without it.  

The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated an already severe hunger crisis in Zimbabwe, with a recent UN report highlighting that the number of food-insecure people in the southern African nation is expected to surge by almost 50 per cent by the end of the year.  

With the majority of these 6,000 children’s caregivers already living in abject poverty and relying on small businesses or market trading for survival, lockdown has left struggling parents with no employment options and zero income. At the same time, the Covid-19 restrictions have impacted farming and food supply chains, which has led to a surge in food prices and left poor families unable to feed themselves.  

While starvation is the biggest risk to these communities in Harare and the Goromonzi district, great care is also being taken to protect them from the spread of Covid-19 while food is distributed. As well as take-home portions of porridge, families are being provided with soap packs and handwashing advice. Trained volunteers are overseeing the community distributions, which take place at open-air pick-up points with clear social distancing and hygiene procedures.  

Nicole, 11, from the Highfield District in Harare, collects her porridge from a distribution centre at a closed school. When talking about the impact of Covid-19, she says: “It has really affected me because my mother is no longer employed. Now she is unable to do anything because we are always at home, and it was difficult to get food. I now feel happy that I get [Mary’s Meals] to eat.”  

Alex Keay, head of programme partners at Mary’s Meals, said: “The situation for these communities is dire at the moment and without this programme the children we are helping to support would not be able to eat.   

“We are committed to working together with communities and trusted partners to bring the most effective help to those suffering the effects of extreme poverty and we are incredibly thankful for the support of everyone who chooses to stand in solidarity with the children we serve.”  

Mary’s Meals usually serves its nutritious meals in schools, attracting impoverished children to the classroom where they can gain an education that will one day be their ladder out of poverty. In Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia, the children are served steaming mugs of porridge enriched with vitamins to help them learn and grow. To help raise awareness of the difference this daily mug of porridge makes to the lives of hungry children, the charity celebrates World Porridge Day every year on 10 October.  

Visit worldporridgeday.com to find out more about how to support hungry children this World Porridge Day and throughout October.