The Mothers of Malawi: Providing Food for Thought

Seeing hunger in the way children eat

In a village in the Machinga district of Malawi, Mrs Matiki is stirring a huge pot of porridge, fortified with groundnuts. She and her five friends, all local mothers, are preparing a morning meal for 600 children. She says that many of the children come to school hungry and fall asleep in class, and that these children are quietly given extra helpings. How does she know who they are? “We can tell by the way they eat.”

Mrs Matiki left school when she was twelve and understands her loss. “I will make sure my children are educated,” she says. “And all the children here,” she adds, looking along the line of patient children stretching away from her into the sunshine.

Malawi is just beginning to recover from heavy floods. The landscape of rolling fields is green and beautiful, but the look of paradise belies the hunger that is coming. A storm on December 17th was the worst in living memory. Across the countryside, we can see collapsed homes and schools without roofs. And while families and communities are starting to rebuild, they can do little for the harvest due in April. Families grow what they eat, and mothers grow what they share. It is a physically demanding way to live, and it carries huge anxiety. There is no chance that food will last until the harvest in 2016. Before the end of the year, meals will become more and more meagre as women eke out supplies…

The mothers of Malawi know what is coming – and we can help

Mother Support Groups in Malawi work tirelessly to give regular meals to 17,500 school children every week. Your help will support the most vulnerable children on their journey through school by providing communities with vital food and supplies.