Stand with us for the hungry child
We want to let those elected to parliament know that we care about those beyond our borders. Not only do we care, we want to do something that could change their lives.
At Mary’s Meals, we believe that wherever and however we can, we should help our brothers and sisters overseas, many of whom are living in poverty that we can barely imagine. That’s why we serve nutritious school meals to more than 2.4 million children every day.
Our work contributes directly to Sustainable Development Goals 2 (zero hunger) and 4 (quality education) and we have been alarmed to see global progress on sustainable development goal 2 going backwards since the Covid-19 pandemic and its ramifications. In recent years we have also seen cuts to the UK’s international aid budget, from 0.7% to 0.5% of GDP as a ‘temporary measure’.
Latest UN statistics indicate there are 67 million children of primary school age who are out of school, while 200 million children’s lives are at risk because they are malnourished. Right now, having lived through the atrocities of the Tigray war, millions of Ethiopians are facing emergency levels of food insecurity and hunger.
One of the key barriers to education is hunger. A hungry child is more likely to drop out of school because they need to look for food, and is less likely to be able to concentrate in class even when they do attend. Providing a meal in school is a key driver of improved attendance, as our impact reporting shows
There is hope. Thousands of incredible supporters, like you, stand with us in our vision, that every child should have a meal in school each day so they can access an education that could be their ladder out of poverty.
As the election draws near, we are raising awareness of the needs of those many children waiting for Mary’s Meals. We want to let those elected to parliament know that we care about those beyond our borders. Not only do we care, we want to do something that could change their lives.
Please join with us by signing our pledge below.
