Mary's Meals News

16 Jun 2025

Letter to Editor from Shona Shea, Head of Media and Content, Mary’s Meals UK

Letter to Editor from Shona Shea, Head of Media and Content, Mary’s Meals UK: Lydia and Shewit Mary's Meals

Dear Editor,  

When I first met Lydia, an 11-year-old student in Tigray, Ethiopia, I was struck by her confidence which clearly came from her mother, Shewit, who was also a teacher at her school.  

Shewit was a great role model for her female pupils. Her determination to advocate for them fuelled by the pressure she herself faced as a child; to get married because of the belief girls couldn’t be educated, let alone achieve anything in life.  

It was another five years before I saw Lydia and her mother again. The devastating civil war in Tigray made it impossible in recent years. In that time Lydia and Shewit faced unimaginable hardship, but they never gave up hope that things could get better.  

One of the reasons for their hope, is the nutritious meals Lydia eats in school, thanks to international school feeding charity Mary’s Meals.  

Thankfully Lydia doesn’t have to convince her mother that education matters, but many of her peers do.  Sadly, there are many girls in the countries where we work, that face huge barriers in accessing education. I’ve heard of so many dropping out of school because poverty has forced them to make impossible choices. Some must look after their home or care for family members, others work, some face early marriage or teenage pregnancy. Women and girls now account for 60% of those living in hunger worldwide.  

Mary’s Meals believes education is for everyone: 50% of those who eat our school meals are girls. Our school feeding programme is helping girls access education and overcome those barriers, giving them hope of a brighter future.  

At a time when there are so many harrowing stories of conflict and poverty – that often feel impossible to change – I often think of Lydia and Shewit, and the hope they have which inspires my own.  

I hear time and again that a whole community benefits when girls are educated. For just £19.15, Mary’s Meals can feed a child for a whole school year. A single meal costs just 10p, so it’s possible to make a life-changing difference with a donation of any size.  

As we approach the end of the school term for children in the UK, you can make a donation in honour of your child’s teacher – it’s the perfect gift for those who believe in the power of education.  

With heartfelt thanks, 

Shona Shea 

Head of Media and Content, Mary’s Meals UK 

Contact Information

Scott Paterson
 scott.paterson@marysmeals.org

Notes to editors

Image captions 

  • Lydia, right, pictured with her mother, Shewit, at home in Ethiopia

Notes to Editors 

  • Mary’s Meals serves school meals to more than 2.6 million children every school day in 16 countries. The promise of a nutritious meal at school attracts these children into the classroom, where they can gain an education and hope of a brighter future.  
  • Research shows that Mary’s Meals school meals programme reduces hunger, improves attendance, and enables children to concentrate better in class.  
  • Mary’s Meals firmly believes that the children who receive Mary’s Meals today can one day grow up, well-nourished and well educated, to become the adults who will lift their communities out of poverty and end their reliance on aid.  
  • The charity’s low-cost approach means that it costs just £19.15 to feed a hungry child with Mary’s Meals every day for a school year. This is only possible because of many dedicated volunteers across the globe – from people in the UK who raise awareness, to those overseas who rise early to cook nutritious meals for their children.  
  • Local communities own and run Mary’s Meals in the countries where the programme operates. Where possible, Mary’s Meals serves locally produced food, supporting the local community and its farmers, as well as the wider economy.  
  • Mary’s Meals works in 16 countries: Benin, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.   
  • The Mary’s Meals story began in 2002 when founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow visited Malawi during a famine and met a mother, Emma, dying from AIDS. When Magnus asked her eldest son, Edward, what his dreams were in life, he replied simply: “I want to have enough food to eat and to go to school one day.”   

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