Hope at Umodzikatubza Primary School

Life in Dzaleka is tough. To make ends meet, Vumiliya sells tomatoes, and her husband works as a carpenter and builder when jobs are available. Despite the couple’s efforts to earn and provide for their family, having enough food to feed 10 children is a constant struggle.

Seven of Vumiliya’s children attend Umodzikatubza Primary School located at Dzaleka Refugee Camp. It is there, every school day, that they receive nutritious servings of porridge from Mary’s Meals. All too often the porridge at school is the only meal her children eat before evening. 

Vumiliya says: “My husband does piece jobs like carpentry and building, but there aren't many jobs in the area. I also run small-scale businesses like selling tomatoes to make ends meet, but it is not easy. We can barely manage to provide food for my 10 children with what my husband and I earn.

“Mary’s Meals is a beacon of hope for me and my family. Without it, my children would have dropped out of school because of hunger.”

Vumiliya remains hopeful despite the challenges she and her family face. Her dream is for the children to complete their education and pursue a career or have a business, and she believes that the daily meals they receive are supporting them towards a better future. “There is hope here in Malawi, there is peace,” she says. “My children are attending school and have the privilege to receive a daily meal at school.”

Our meals were first served to children attending Umodzikatubza Primary School in 2007 and, since then, we have been consistently helping children who have had to abandon their homes, their friends, and their schools in a place that provides some much-needed stability. Thanks to your support – and the vital meals you help to make possible – children who have already lost too much are finding new hope in a country that, for now, they are trying to make their home.