Mary's Meals leads way in war-torn Ethiopia helping 110k kids per day

Tigray was devastated by a bitter war over the course of two years and exact figures of the number of people who died during it isn’t known exactly, with suggestions of everything between 160,000 and 600,000.

The war was largely fought between Ethiopia and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on the other. A ceasefire and peace treaty was agreed to end the war exactly two years after it had started on November 3, 2023, but it hasn’t stopped the problems continuing.

The devastation is still being felt in the area with two million at risk of starvation. Mary’s Meals is now looking to help solve that and are helping more than 100,000 children in over 200 schools every day. The feeding programme had been serving around 24,000 when the schools reopened after the war last year.

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Millions more are also suffering food insecurity because of an ongoing drought following the civil and there are fears that a famine on par with the infamous Ethiopian famine of 1984 could be on the horizon. That made headlines around the world on that occasion because of the response of Band Aid and it continues to be an issue in the country.

An estimated 700,000 children remain out of school with their education disrupted by the civil war but Mary’s Meals are playing a vital role in saving lives and operating a support system for communities in the Tigray region. They have been feeding children in Ethiopia since 2017 and stepped up that work in the aftermath of the civil war.

Ara Primary School in the Hintalo Wajirat district of Tigray is one which has benefited from the feeding programme in recent months. Fitsum is the mother of 11-year-old student Aradech and before it began, teachers, parents and children all struggled to find enough food to eat.

It’s an ongoing issue for her and she said: “We are living with hunger. We only have this piece of bread or some soup. We don’t satisfy ourselves. We are surviving just with this. The problem now is the shortage of rain consecutively for three years.

“This repeated seasonal problem is causing great hunger – even death. It is not just happening to me, it is not only happening in my village, it’s all over Tigray.”

In the area, the community around the school has worked hard to implement the feeding programme and address the urgent need for life-saving food among students and their families. They built a rudimentary outside kitchen to allow the programme to start as quickly as possible and created a shaded area where kids can eat, as well as organising a roster of volunteers to cook and serve the nutritious porridge-like meal.

Aradech said: “I feel joyful now that we have school feeding. Before it started, I always had a headache at school from hunger. Now I feel happy, and we have the energy for learning, even for jumping rope. It has made such a difference at school.” 

Mahlet is another child at the school (Image: Mary's Meals)

Sister Medhin Tesfay, who leads Mary’s Meals’ partner organisation in Tigray, describes the current situation and why work must continue to reach those who are most vulnerable: “During the two years of war, nearly the entire population became dependent on food assistance and all basic needs. Currently, according to credible sources, we have 4.5 million people dependent on food aid. Unless we work together, there is a high possibility of losing so many people. It's vital – critical – that the emergency support people are very much in need of is provided.”

After being founded in a shed in the Scottish Highlands, where their headquarters remains, Mary’s Meals now works in 17 of the world’s poorest countries: Benin, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Yemen.

Alex Keay, Director of Programmes at Mary’s Meals, adds: “The fact that we received such an incredible response to our crisis appeal and have been able to expand our programme in Tigray so rapidly is a testament to how generous our supporters are, how highly respected our partner is, as well as the capability and determination of our Tigrayan colleagues and the communities they work alongside. 

“During recent visits to the region, we met children who have so little to eat that they are too lethargic to attend classes and parents who have had to choose which of their children will receive food from the tiny rations available to them. We know that for many children, the school meals we provide are all they will eat in a day. 

“Mary’s Meals will continue to work with its global movement of supporters and volunteers to feed more children in Tigray. We will not stop until we are no longer needed.”