Mary’s Meals started working in India in 2005.  We provide daily meals in school for over 2,000 children disadvantaged by caste, disability, gender or HIV status.  There are Mary’s Meals projects running in:  Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

School Feeding
It is estimated there are around 250 million Dalits or ‘untouchables’ trapped in chronic poverty in India.  Mary’s Meals offers a lifeline to children born into communities that have never had the opportunity to gain an education.  There is often no history of going to school amongst parents and no expectation that their children could do so.   In many cases children are forced to work as rag pickers, child minders or street beggars and would be unable to fit their work around a normal school day.

To meet this need Mary’s Meals are provided in non-formal education centres rather than schools.  These are proving to be an effective way of helping Dalit children to receive an education.  Each centre teaches around 30 pupils for 3-4 hours each day and ‘school’ can be anything from a tarpaulin shelter to a railway platform.  The meal attracts the children in and then they stay for the lessons that could open up a whole new future for them.

INDIA FACTS AND FIGURES
Population - 1.2 billion
% population that is undernourished - 21
% population living below poverty line - 25
Infant Mortality Rate per 1000 live birth - 30.15
Primary Enrolment % - 83
Survival to last grade of Primary of those enrolled % 95

India is in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.  It is the world’s largest democracy.  It is a vast and diverse country with many languages, cultures and religions.  India has a fast-growing economy that is benefiting the urban middle-classes but the majority of the population who live in rural villages are still poor.