MARY'S Meals has just passed an important milestone - feeding its one millionth child.

 

The country she lives in, Malawi, has just passed another much bleaker milestone - being named by the World Bank as the poorest country in the world.

The name of the millionth child is Patuma Macheso and she lives right on the sharp edge of that poverty. Her school, Chirimba Primary, is a relatively short walk from her house, along a path surrounded by mango trees and sugar cane, but some days 13-year-old Patuma doesn't make it because she is too weak from hunger.

Just three weeks ago, the situation was particularly bad.

Everyone in Patuma's family was struggling to eat and had to boil pumpkin leaves to survive.

But today, amid singing and dancing in the sun, Patuma and her community are celebrating her becoming the one millionth child to receive the porridge that is now provided by Mary's Meals in 12 countries around the world.

Watching Patuma is Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the founder of Mary's Meals, who points out his charity started very near this spot in 2002 when he met a boy called Edward whose mother was dying of AIDS. When he asked the boy what his dreams were, he replied "I want to have enough food to eat and to go to school one day."

That experience inspired MacFarlane-Barrow to start Mary's Meals from his home in Argyll, with the aim of providing a good meal for children in Malawi and in the longer term encouraging more to go to school.

Twelve years later, Patuma has become the one millionth beneficiary and hundreds of people have come to celebrate. They surround Patuma as she is served her porridge and sing over and over again, loudly and joyfully: "We are happy, let's celebrate"

Patuma herself is happy too and as she eats the porridge, which is a mixture of maize, soya and vitamins, she explains how quickly it has made a difference to her life.

"Before the porridge, I would be absent from school, but since the porridge, I haven't missed a day," she says. She says she would sometimes get dizzy from hunger; sometimes she would make it to school but not be able to concentrate.

Not now. She holds up the bright red cup she's eating from and smiles.

"I am the millionth child and I feel really good about that," she says.

"When I am full, I work hard and I do my chores. I am happy because I'm not hungry."

MacFarlane-Barrow is pleased to hear it and in a speech to the local children, parents and officials, he tells them they are celebrating the first million but the work has just begun.

The scale of the job is daunting.

Most of the households here in Malawi are very vulnerable because of crop failure and HIV/AIDS.

Most governments, including the UK's, have also stopped aid because of corruption, although after the speeches are over, the deputy minister for education, Vincent Ghambi, insists action is being taken.

And as far as MacFarlane-Barrow is concerned, corruption is not the fault of the children who need help. "My starting point is if children are hungry, we should feed them," he says.

"We can't pretend the need isn't there and every child has a right to education.

"There's an onus on all of us to solve that."

And the one millionth child has basically the same message.

Outside a kitchen where the porridge is being cooked in huge vats, Patuma says thankyou to Mary's Meals. "These people are helping us a lot and I thank them very much," she says. "Please keep coming because the children are very happy now."