Mary’s Meals charity

The money that the school raises for Mary’s Meals charity will be used to build a kitchen

and/or pay for the pupils’ meals in one school (or more).

Mary’s Meals have asked that this school should be in Malawi or Liberia.

They have given us a choice of schools in six different areas.

Mary’s Meals charity

• You are going to be asked to vote for your choice of school (district).

• Please read carefully the information on these six districts.

• The school receiving the most pupil votes is the one that we shall support.

Mary’s Meals charity

• The information we have on the different districts is limited.

• Please try and vote for the one which appears to be the most needy.

Mary’s Meals charity

First,some information on Malawi

It is a small central African country ...............

Mary’s Meals charity

• The good news................ During the last 10 years in Malawi• literacy rate amongst young women has increased 14%• the number of female MPs has more than doubled• the number of babies dying has dropped by one –third• the number of pregnancy-related deaths has

decreased by one –quarter• the number of people with HIV/AIDS and T.B. has

decreased a little• 80% of the people now have a cleaner water supply• people’s average income has nearly doubled• and life expectancy has risen by two years

Mary’s Meals charity

• And now, the bad news ............• Fewer children are starting primary school• Fewer children are completing primary

school• There are half as many female students at

university than males• Many educated, qualified young adults leave

to work abroadAnd

• Although most areas in Malawi are getting better, some are not, including:

School 1: January school, Thyolo district, Malawi

Thoyolo is an area of hunger in a land of plenty.

It is an area of tea estates and some coffee-growing.

But the tea-pickers do not earn enough to meet their daily needs.

School 1: January school, Thyolo district, Malawi

Thyolo has also been hit by drought.

The farmers are very poor and have nothing to sell.

So they go hungry.

School 1: January school, Thyolo district, Malawi

You can only expect to live until 37 in Thyolo.21% of adults have HIV/AIDS.It is the biggest cause of death,and the cause of so many orphansAnd the reason why many children work and do not go to school

Chankhungu Dowa district, Central Malawi

School 2: Chankhungu school, Dowa, Malawi

Dowa is an upland area suffering high levels of malnourishment.Most people are farmers.

People mostly farm maize but tobacco too as a cash crop.

However, most families run out of maize by December and survive as best they can until the next harvest in March.

Consequently, most people are undernourished and this has affected their growth.

School 2: Chankhungu school, Dowa, Malawi

Average income is $48 per year.

The average farm size is 2 hectares (5 acres).

Rainfall averages 800mm a year but is unreliable. There was a serious drought five years ago and most rivers dry up in the dry season.

1471 children require feeding in this school.

School 3: Chiradzulu school, Malawi

•Life expectancy here is 40 years•The area badly suffers from a brain drain of qualified people, to South Africa or even the UK and USA•Unemployment is 50%.•Food prices have doubled in recent months.

School 3: Chiradzulu school, Malawi

•It is one of the worst 3 districts in Malawi for HIV/AIDS•33% of teenage girls here drop out of school.•It was here that Dr David Livingstone helped Bishop Mackenzie found the Church of Scotland in 1861

School 4: Ndandanda school, Balaka district, Malawi

•Situated in Southern Malawi

•One of the six hungriest areas in Malawi•The area has not received enough rain for the last 3years

•One of the unhealthiest areas in Malawi•Few girls go to school.

•Women have to walk ten miles to get fresh water. They are often bullied on the way and use contaminated water instead.

•Malaria, AIDS and pregnancy are main causes of death. People need to learn how to prevent these diseases. They could be taught these things at school.

•The local hospital has no beds and one doctor

School 4: Ndandanda school, Balaka district, Malawi

•How can I help? By giving students in the rural Balaka District of Southern Malawi a daily mug of nutritious porridge so that they can focus on their studies, not on their empty stomachs.•What does it cost? It costs just £6.15 to feed one child for a whole year.•When will I see the difference? When we have raised enough money to feed all 509 children 

And now some information on Liberia.

It is a small West African country.......................

Mary’s Meals charity

The good news................During the last 10 years in Liberia:• The 14-year long civil war finally ended• average life expectancy has risen by 9 years• the death-rate amongst children has fallen by

40%• HIV/AIDS has halved• more people work in industry; fewer work on

the land

Mary’s Meals charity

And now, the bad news ............• Many young people have spent more time engaged

in war than in school• The country’s imports cost more than the money

they make in a year• Less than 1 in 5 people have access to proper toilets• Only just over half of the adults can read and write• Tuberculosis is increasingAnd• although most areas in Liberia are getting better,

some are not

School 5: Bomi, Liberia

1. Most people are subsistent farmers, growing food for themselves to eat.

2. However, for the last three years, they have not been able to grow enough food.

3. Cassava is the main crop, followed by rice.

4. It is one of the worst areas in Liberia for child hunger- one third of children are malnourished.

5. For nearly half the children, lack of food has not allowed them to grow properly.

School 5: Bomi, Liberia

1. 1 in 5 of child deaths are caused by lack of food.

2. Another 1 in 5 child deaths are due to preventable diseases such as diarrhoea.

3. Most girls have their first child before they turn 18.

4. HIV rates amongst adults are around 5.7%

5. Half the schools do not have safe drinking water or toilets.

Mary’s Meals charity

Now you decide

Which school do you want to support?• School 1: January school, Thyolo, Malawi• School 2:  Chankhungu school, Dowa, Malawi• School 3:  Chiradzulu school, Malawi• School 4:  Ndandanda school, Balaka, Malawi• School 5: Bomi, Liberia

VOTE NOWhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5TGTWN6