The impact of drought on child hunger in Malawi
The village chief, headteacher and pupils from Mtusa village talk about how failed harvests and drought are affecting their lives.
Published onMary’s Meals recently started feeding at Tafika Primary School, Malawi, in October 2024. At the time of our visit, malnutrition was clear to see in the children that came to school, many with distended stomachs poking out from behind unbuttoned school shirts.
In this article, we hear directly from headteacher Agness Wakili and village chief Dorothy Sumaili on the impact drought is having on food insecurity and hunger in Southern Africa – and from learners Desire and Fatra on how Mary’s Meals is giving them the energy to concentrate and learn.
“Every family in our district suffers from hunger”
Agness Wakili, who was recently promoted to headteacher, says: “Every family in our district suffers from hunger. The harvest will be very poor because of the drought – the rain we have had in the past few days is not enough to sort it out. The maize is stunted and won’t mature properly. People had to plant again in December because the rain didn’t come.”
“People don’t eat at home because there is nothing to eat. The learners come for something to eat and then they are able to learn. Even the adults are starving – volunteers eat the remains of the phala (porridge) from the bottom of the pot.”
“We have seen an increase in enrolment because of the porridge. All the children around here are malnourished and very hungry, but now since the porridge, they are not so sick.”
“I often sleep on an empty stomach”
Desire is the youngest of four children. At 13 years old, he is very small for his age, and painfully thin. He says: “Finding food is hard, I often sleep on an empty stomach. I feel weak and [have] pain in my body when I don’t eat. When there was no food at school, I would shiver and shake so much I couldn’t hold my pen, and it was difficult to concentrate. Now, the porridge helps me concentrate and I have energy to help my mother and do chores around the house.”
Fatra is 16 and lives with her grandparents, 5km away from the school. She says: “The challenges around hunger and having enough food are really bad – I had nothing to eat last night. Most days are the same. Before feeding started I would be sleeping in class because hunger makes you tired. I want to complete my education and be a bank manager.”
“People have nothing and there is nothing to harvest”
Dorothy Sumaili is the village chief of Mtusa village where Tafika Primary School is situated. She says: “The current hunger situation affects the whole community and everyone is worried. It feels very different this year – 2024 was dry, but we managed to stay OK. But now people have nothing and there is nothing to harvest. Basic costs have doubled since last year. There is no maize to buy even [if] they have money.”
“Because of the changes in rain patterns, it is so difficult to work out what to plant and when. We have rain now (January 2025) and not in October/November when we usually plant our crops.”
“I am very happy for the introduction of porridge late last year. It’s the only food the learners eat at the moment. They have nothing until the next day at school and they don’t get food at the weekends. I have three grandchildren at the school. Phala is helping by giving them energy. I am so thankful to Mary’s Meals for coming to our school and for the porridge.”
Yet, amid the failed crops and widespread hunger, our school feeding programme is providing a lifeline to children and their families in Malawi.
It costs just £19.15, €22, $25.20 USD or $31.70 CAD to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year. Mary’s Meals is currently serving nutritious daily meals to more than 1.5 million children in schools across Southern Africa. Now, more than ever, your support is needed to spread the word about our work and the emergency in the region. With your support, we can reach many thousands more children waiting for our daily meals.
Veronica Chinangwa is our Communications Manager at Mary's Meals Malawi. She manages strategic communication functions to boost Mary’s Meals Malawi’s visibility and stakeholder engagement. Read another article by Veronica called "One family’s struggle for hope and education in Malawi".