Mary’s Meals unveils new film Lettie: a woman’s survival against all odds

Global school feeding charity revisits the story of Lettie, first shared in 2012, and explores the remarkable journey she has taken since.

Witness how school meals are not only a lifeline against hunger, but also a catalyst for lasting change into adulthood and family life.

Mary’s Meals premieres a new film, Lettie, which revisits the story of a girl who featured in its 2012 award-winning documentary Child 31, and whose experience of hunger left a lasting impression on audiences.

When Mary’s Meals first met Leticia (Lettie) in 2012, she was just 11 years old. Following the death of her parents, she was out of school and caring for her younger brothers while facing severe hunger herself. More than a decade later, the organisation returns to her story to show where her life has taken her.

Today, Lettie is an educated, working mother in Malawi, providing for her son, who is excelling in school. She is a powerful example of what daily school meals can help make possible – not only reducing hunger at school, but helping to create the conditions for hope, opportunity, and lasting change that can carry forward into adulthood, family life, and the next generation.

Lettie’s story reflects the impact school feeding can have on children across Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programmes. In Malawi, where the charity has been serving daily school meals since 2003, more than 1,315,000 children now receive its meals every school day – more than a quarter of the country’s pre-primary and primary school children.1 That support is especially significant, as less than half of children in Malawi complete primary school. 2 Many families in Malawi also continue to face food insecurity, with 6.8 million people experiencing insufficient food consumption.3

Lettie’s connection to Mary’s Meals has come full circle. She has worked for Mary’s Meals Malawi since 2022 and is also a Youth Ambassador for the organisation, sharing the stories of children receiving school meals.

“I am a survivor – one of many children whose lives have been transformed by Mary’s Meals. My parents died when I was very young, and hunger was a constant companion. Some days we went without food; some nights we lay awake not knowing where we would sleep and what we would eat the next day. As a child, I was also a parent, taking care of my young siblings. I was on the verge of losing hope – but then I met Mary’s Meals,” says Lettie.

Lettie is just one example of the long-term impact school meals can have. For more than two decades, Mary’s Meals has served daily school meals to children, bringing hope of a brighter future to children, families and communities. In 2026, the charity is reaching more than 3 million children in 16 countries, including Malawi.

Lettie is available on YouTube from today (22 April 2026) worldwide. 

Lettie FILM: Lettie | 2026 

Lettie trailer: Lettie | Trailer | 2026

Media resources & photos (copyright: Mary’s Meals) https://contentlibrary.marysmeals.org/pages/search.php?search=%21collection9188&k=7df57f8f70

For Media Inquiries: 

Interviews available with: Angela Chipeta-Khonje, Country Director, Mary’s Meals Malawi.

Please contact: Paloma García Ovejero, Head of Media, Mary’s Meals International at media@marysmeals.org

Please visit marysmeals.org to find out more.