The UK charity Mary’s Meals, closely linked to the Church, has launched Crisis in Malawi, an urgent appeal to help lessen the devastating impact of Malawi’s food crisis.
Food insecurity has been an issue in southern Africa for several years, but with recent flooding in the region, many of the crops Malawians rely on have been destroyed.
The Malawian government estimates that eight million people – half the country’s population – will require food aid by the end of 2016.
Mary’s Meals, which feeds 1.1 million schoolchildren per day, reports that the situation in Malawi is so bad that many families are facing starvation and a state of national emergency has been declared.
The charity, which was founded in Scotland in 2002 and is named after the Virgin Mary, provides more than 800,000 Malawian schoolchildren a balanced lunch. They say this helps children to stay in education.
With the launch of the Crisis in Malawi appeal this week, Mary’s Meals hopes to continue its work in the region and extend their reach to as many schoolchildren as possible across the country.
The charity’s Catholic founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow visited the country this week. He said in a statement: “We are determined to maintain that promise to the hundreds of thousands of children already benefitting and to find a way to reach even more schools in the worst-affected areas. On behalf of all those families I met, I want to thank with all my heart those who are supporting our mission at this time of very great need.”
Malawi’s bishops have said the country needs major infrastructure reform, in order to find “sustainable and innovative ways” to support farmers in the rural areas where most of the population live.
Donations can be made at marysmeals.org.uk.
Supreme Court challenges SNP child monitoring scheme
Christian campaigners have welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the controversial Named Person scheme proposed by the Scottish Government must be modified.
The scheme aims to appoint a named adult – usually a teacher or health visitor – as a guardian, looking after the well-being of every child in Scotland.
In a unanimous ruling, the five Supreme Court judges said the scheme gave named persons too much power to share children’s private information.
They also said the scheme made it far too easy for “over-zealous” named persons to intrude into family life.
The judges said that the scheme could lead to attempts to “indoctrinate” children, observing that “totalitarian regimes” try to draw children away from their families.
Four charities and three individuals had mounted a challenge, including the Family Education Trust, the Christian Institute and Care (Christian Action Research and Education).
The Supreme Court has given Scottish ministers a 42-day deadline “to address the matters raised in the judgment”. The Scottish government has said it will amend the legislation to accommodate the concerns.
Goddard abuse inquiry opens
The independent inquiry into child abuse, led by Dame Lowell Goddard, began last week with preliminary hearings. The inquiry, which could last as long as 10 years, will attempt to find out whether British institutions have abided by their duty of care to protect young people from sexual abuse.
The Church will be investigated, along with other religious groups, as well as local authorities, schools, hospitals, and many other institutions.
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