Brenda’s hope – a meal at school and a chance to dream
Brenda often starts school hungry, making it difficult to focus in class. With her community preparing to introduce Mary’s Meals at her school, daily meals will help her build a brighter future.
My name is Brenda. I live with my mother and my siblings – two brothers and two sisters – and attend Thunga Primary School [in Malawi]. Our father left us many years ago, so my mother has carried the responsibility of caring for us on her own ever since. She does whatever odd jobs she can find to support our family and make sure we have something to eat.
“I go to school on an empty stomach”
On a normal day, I wake up at 4am to fetch water. As the eldest girl, I have to wake up early to make sure all the chores are done. I wash the dishes, sweep the house and the yard, and heat water over the fire so that I can bathe before going to school. We usually do not have anything to eat in the morning because there is no food. I have become used to it, so I simply go to school on an empty stomach.
When I come home from school, sometimes there is still no food in the afternoon, and I have become used to that too. I often visit my friends and talk about our dreams and encourage each other to work hard so that we can achieve them. In the evening, at home, I prepare our meal if there is food to cook, study for a while, and then go to bed.
“What worries me is that we do not have enough food”
Food is very difficult to find here because we rely on odd jobs on people’s farms to earn money for food. However, these jobs are seasonal. During the farming season, we rely on our mother to find work tilling other people’s land. We accompany her so that together we can earn enough money to buy food and school supplies. When the farming season is over, we do our best to find work so that we can eat, but when there is no work available, we struggle to find food.
What hurts me most is that because of our poverty, we have to do hard labour just to earn money for food, but the money we receive is so little. We can spend the whole day tilling a large garden and only be paid 5,000 Malawian kwacha (just over €2.50 ). That money is not enough to buy relish, maize flour, soap, clothes, or even shoes. We buy the little food we can afford and then struggle through the days when we have nothing left.
When I eat, my body feels strong. I can see what is written on the board clearly, I can talk to my friends well and I do not have stomach ache. But when I do not eat, I do not feel well. I struggle to see clearly on the board and I get stomach ache. Sometimes it becomes difficult for me to work hard in class because I think, ‘even if I go to school, will my future really change? Will I be able to go anywhere?’ These thoughts discourage me from working hard and make it hard to concentrate. What worries me [the most] is that we do not have enough food.
“It is important for children to have dreams”
When I grow up, I want to help my family so that they do not struggle in life. I want my children to have a better life and not experience the challenges we [currently] face. I think that to reach where I want to go in life, I need to work hard at school.
I think it is important for children to have dreams because at home there are many challenges, such as not having enough food and clothing. Having a dream gives you hope for a better life, where you can support your family and provide them with what they need.
I will be very happy when Mary’s Meals comes to our school because it will help us work harder in class knowing that during break time, we will have porridge to eat. Right now, we sometimes leave school and go home because we are hungry and we are trying to find a way to survive. The porridge will help us stay in school and focus on our education.
Thanks to generous supporters and local community volunteers who believe in the power of daily school meals, Mary’s Meals was able to launch a programme at Thunga Primary earlier this year. Before school feeding began, we interviewed pupils, staff, and parents about their current situation and their hopes about how nutritious daily meals would improve their lives.
It costs just €22 (EUR) / $25.20 USD / £19.15 (GBP) to provide a child with nutritious school meals for a whole school year. Make a donation this Christmas and fuel a child’s learning in school.