7 November 2011

Mary’s Meals AKA “The Magic Porridge Pot” - Part 2

Update from WildFox Fiona on a field visit to see the positive impact Quadrathlon funds raised for Mary’s Meals has on thousands of children in Malawi. 

Day two of our visit to Mary’s Meals schools showed quite a contrast between schools, but both highlighted how significant the impact the Quadrathlon fundraising has been.  

We started off at the Chanunkha Lea school in Mulanje and were blown away with how well a head master can do when given so little material to work with.  Since the addition of the school feeding programme, funded by the Quad, this school has over 1600 pupils.  In the UK that would equate to about 55 teacher, but not in Malawi.  At Chanunkha Lea school there are just 16 teachers, equating to 100 pupils per teacher. 

It’s not just the teacher numbers that are low, it’s the classrooms as well.  I saw at least five outdoor classrooms, which means children sitting on the ground under a tree with their teacher and a mobile blackboard in front of them. 

Despite all these challenges, what we saw blew us away.  All the children were so well behaved, often crowded around 1 book between 5, they still paid attention and seemed genuinely interested in learning.  We visited a number of classrooms to say hello and how are you, to which the 100 children in each class replied in unison in English “hello sir, I’m fine thank you, how are you”.  These children are extremely bright and with the addition of a daily feed their attendance and concentration in class can only get better.  In Malawi, with a government that is falling apart, it seems that education is the only way out of the circle of poverty for these children. 

We had the chance to help serve the ‘Likuni Phala’ (aka the porridge) to the children who patiently waited in line for their only feed of the day.  The children get served the porridge into plastic cups which they are given at the start of the feeding programme by Mary’s Meals. To these children that simple cup is the most valuable thing they own so they hold on to them for dear life.  

When I asked the women who help prepare the ‘Likuni Phala’ (aka the porridge) why they volunteer on a regular basis the answer was that many of them have children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces at the school and they want to help feed them and support the local community by cooking for all the children.  One woman told me that it is the porridge that motivates her son to get up and attend class every day. Before Mary’s Meals came along he rarely made it to school.

Our second visit of the day was to a more urban school, where the kids were a lot more boisterous.  I would hazard a guess that behaviour at this school is an issue, but they stood in line like model students when the porridge came out!   We were treated to a spectacular performance by some of the male students. 

They danced what’s called the ‘Chiwoda’ which is traditionally done as a thanks for the harvest or at special ceremonies.  I’ve never seen such a brilliant performance done with such high energy.  Let’s just say I think it’s good they had somewhere to channel that energy they must be getting from the porridge!  

Throughout our morning visits Mount Mulanje was looming over us.  David is already planning a new WildFox challenge going up and over this spectacular 3002m mountain.  Watch this space for more details!  

In the afternoon we drove back to the city of Blantyre and visited an under six centre which Mary’s Meals provides food at.  Of the 181 children who attend 110 are orphans and the under six centre is often the only place they get any love, attention or food.  We were all very impressed with the kids, who despite their age and situation recited the alphabet perfectly and counted to 10 in unison in English.  Visiting the under six centre was another example of the great things Mary’s Meals does, and left us all wanting to try and raise even more money to support this fantastic charity.  

Visit our flickr site to see a selection of photos from the trip.  Or go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildfoxevents/sets/72157627956787029/