Martha Payne « Mary's Meals

Martha Payne

Songs of joy welcome Martha

Posted Tuesday October 2 2012 by Editor in Archive News

Two thousand Malawian children sang and danced for joy as they welcomed Martha Payne and her family to the school which has benefited from her fundraising efforts.

Martha was greeted to Lirangwe Primary School by rows of excited children who sang songs and called out ‘well done Martha’ as they arrived.

Martha and supporters of her NeverSeconds blog have so far raised over £115,000 for Mary’s Meals and some of that money has been used to build a new kitchen shelter at the school and feed all pupils at the school with a daily meal for a whole school year.

The nine-year-old and her family took turns to put the finishing touches on the kitchen sign by painting the word ‘NeverSeconds’ which was followed by a celebrating involving a school choir, who sang songs they had written about Martha.

Martha has chosen to name her kitchen in Malawi as ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ in recognition of the worldwide support which she is receiving.

There was much laughter when the choir gave their take of the popular repetitive children’s song ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’, instead singing ‘If You Are Happy with Martha, Clap Your Hands’ which followed them moving to verses of ‘If You are Happy with Martha Shake Your Body.’

Martha described the overwhelming experience of the whole day as amazing, and said: “I woke up this morning and was very excited. This is the day I was waiting for.”

During her visit to the primary school, Martha joined a maths class where she participated in lessons.

She also stood in a queue of children who were served a mug of likuni phala, a nutritious type of porridge supplemented with additional vitamins and minerals.

Martha then sat alongside pupils at the school as she tucked into the porridge. Next to her was Gilbert who was one of the pupils that sent Martha a message of heartfelt thanks when her fundraising efforts took off.

Gilbert, 14, is an orphan who has no-one to look after him and he lives on the street, sleeping on benches. Gilbert was motivated to come to school when Mary’s Meals started feeding at Lirangwe Primary School because he would no longer have to spend his days worrying about how he was going to eat.

He said: “I like the porridge because after I eat the porridge I am active and can concentrate in class. It really helps me because it takes me a while to get hungry and worry about food.

“I would like to become the President of my country and look after our people, so there will be no more suffering.”

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Tags: Africa, malawi, Martha Payne, mary's meals

Martha receives special send-off

Posted Wednesday September 19 2012 by Editor in Archive News

Top chef Nick Nairn has joined nine-year-old blogger Martha Payne to wish her luck on her travels to Malawi, where she will see the work of her favourite charity Mary’s Meals in action.

Martha and friends of her NeverSeconds blog have so far raised over £114,500 for the charity which will go a long way to helping thousands of the world’s hungriest kids receive a daily meal.

Next month, Martha will travel to Malawi where she will see the kitchen shelter which has been built at Lirangwe School with some of the money raised, and where she will also meet children who will receive a daily meal from Mary’s Meals for a whole school year thanks to support from the blog.

Nick Nairn, who has previously congratulated the nine-year-old on her efforts, cooked up a special porridge breakfast for an excited Martha and wished her well on her travels.

The pair met back in June as part of a group to discuss school meals and food education.

Tucking into bowls of porridge, Nick said: “I’m here to wish Martha every success on her travels to Malawi. She’s achieved an amazing feat – raising huge sums for Mary’s Meals to provide a daily nutritious meal for children in dire need overseas. She’s also done a great job in raising awareness about what’s on offer for school dinners here in Scotland.”

Ongoing donations received through Martha’s online giving page are allowing Mary’s Meals to provide a daily meal to thousands of other hungry children around the world – and with every £10.70 donated, enough to feed a child for a whole school year, that number keeps rising.

In total, thanks to the incredible support for Martha’s NeverSeconds blog, over 10,000 children will receive a daily meal in some of the world’s poorest countries where poverty and hunger prevent them from getting an education.

Commenting on the tremendous achievement, Martha said: ‘I never dreamt we’d achieve so much. I can’t stop thinking about all the children we’re helping. Just 6 pence for Mary’s Meals gives another hungry child a meal.”

Martha and Nick felt it was appropriate to mark the occasion with a porridge breakfast as in Malawi, at Mary’s Meals’ largest project, over half a million children receive a daily nutritious porridge-like dish every school day to attract them to the classroom, where they can gain a basic education.

During her visit to Malawi, Martha hopes to put the finishing touches on the sign for the school kitchen that is being built by Mary’s Meals. She has chosen to name her kitchen in Malawi as ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ in recognition of the worldwide support which she is receiving.

Tags: malawi, Martha Payne, mary's meals, Nick Nairn

“Awesome” – Martha raises over £100K for Mary’s Meals

Posted Friday June 22 2012 by Editor in Archive News

Nine-year-old Martha Payne and her supporters have raised over £100,000 which will provide thousands of hungry children with Mary’s Meals for an entire school year.

The incredible support for Martha’s NeverSeconds blog will see over 10,000 children in total receive a daily meal in some of the world’s poorest countries where poverty and hunger prevent them from getting an education.

As a result of donations to Martha’s online giving page, she has raised enough money to build a kitchen shelter and feed an entire school for a year at Lirangwe Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi, as part of Mary’s Meals’ Sponsor a School initiative.

In addition to this, the ongoing donations being received are also allowing Mary’s Meals to provide a daily meal to thousands of other hungry children around the world – and with every £10.70 donated, that number keeps rising.

Commenting on the tremendous achievement, Martha said: “This is totally awesome and will help so many hungry children.

“Mary’s Meals is a very simple charity and it can achieve so much with so little as it costs just 6 pence to provide one meal. That meal can make a big difference. I’ve been told children receiving Mary’s Meals have to walk two hours to get to their school every day – I couldn’t walk that far every day.

“A massive thank you to everyone who is helping to support me and Mary’s Meals.”

Martha celebrated hitting the £100,000 mark by holding a small porridge party with her family and by preparing and tasting likuni phala, the nutritious porridge-like dish which Mary’s Meals feeds to children at its largest project in Malawi in order to attract them to the classroom, where they can gain a basic education.

The family is also planning a visit to Malawi later in the year where they will visit Lirangwe Primary School and put the finishing touches on the sign for the school kitchen that will be built by Mary’s Meals. Martha has also expressed an interest in visiting a class and doing a few lessons alongside pupils receiving Mary’s Meals.

Martha has chosen to name her kitchen in Malawi as ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ in recognition of the worldwide support which she is receiving.

It costs Mary’s Meals just a global average of £10.70 to feed a hungry child for an entire school year. We provide a daily meal to over 650,000 kids every school day in 16 of the poorest countries, including Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, India and Haiti.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder and chief executive of Mary’s Meals, said he was humbled by Martha and her friends.

He said: “This is incredible and I can’t thank Martha and her supporters enough for everything they have done.

“As a result of their amazing beautiful acts of kindness, the lives of thousands of the world’s poorest children will be transformed. Instead of being hungry and working for their next meal, these children receiving Mary’s Meals will be sitting in a classroom with a full stomach, learning how to read and write.

“For every £10.70 donated, we are able to ensure another child will get a good daily meal for a whole school year and a brighter future.”

Raymond Blanc, widely regarded as one of the world’s top chefs, is among those who have thrown their support behind Martha. The French chef, who runs the Michelin starred Le Manoir restaurant in Oxfordshire, joins his famous cooking contemporaries Jamie Oliver and Nick Nairn in being amazed and inspired by the extraordinary efforts of big-hearted Martha and the supporters of her blog.

He paid tribute to her efforts and added: “The real triumph must be to have raised so much money for Mary’s Meals, this charity which provides nutritious meals for seriously deprived areas of the world.”

To donate to Martha’s appeal, please visit www.justgiving.com/neverseconds, or visit the Mary’s Meals donation page.

Tags: Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Martha Payne, mary's meals

Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc backs Martha’s work for Mary’s Meals

Posted Wednesday June 20 2012 by Web Editor in Archive News

Raymond Blanc, widely regarded as one of the world’s top chefs, has thrown his support behind Martha Payne – the nine-year-old blogger who has now raised over £90,000 for school feeding charity Mary’s Meals.

The French chef, who runs the Michelin starred Le Manoir restaurant in Oxfordshire, joins his famous cooking contemporaries Jamie Oliver and Nick Nairn in being amazed and inspired by the extraordinary efforts of big-hearted Martha and the supporters of her NeverSeconds blog.

Blanc said: “The newspapers and the internet have been alive with reports of Martha Payne. What a wonderful, smart and brave girl!

“She has done a very simple thing: taking a photograph of her lunch and telling us what she thought of it each day. But she’s also done something many grown men and women might fail to do.”

Martha’s online giving page has been abuzz for the last week with people from all over the world donating to Mary’s Meals, the international charity which sets up school feeding projects in countries where poverty and hunger prevent children from getting an education.

As a result of the donations received so far, Martha has raised enough money to build a kitchen shelter and feed all 1,963 pupils at Lirangwe Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi for a whole school year. And, in addition to the kids at Lirangwe School, a further 6,700 of the world’s poorest children are set to begin receiving Mary’s Meals thanks to Martha’s hard work – with that number continuing to rise with every donation of £10.70.

Describing the momentous nature of what Martha has achieved, Raymond Blanc said: “She has raised awareness of the standards of food provided in most schools – tastes, textures, flavours and nutrition. She has also created a dialogue with schoolchildren and students across the world where we can all discover what they are eating.

“But the real triumph must be to have raised so much money for Mary’s Meals, this charity which provides nutritious meals for seriously deprived areas of the world.”

Responding to the top chef’s comments, Martha’s father Dave, said: “’I am touched by his kind words for Martha and Mary’s Meals. His support, along with the overwhelming response we have seen from around the world, has been amazing and we are so, so grateful.

“This will mean a lot to Martha because Raymond is someone who she loves watching on telly.”

It costs Mary’s Meals a global average of just £10.70 to feed a hungry child for an entire school year. The charity currently provides a daily meal to over 650,000 kids every school day in 16 of the poorest countries, including Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, India and Haiti.

Mary’s Meals founder and chief executive Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow said: “We continue to be absolutely blown away by the scale of the response to Martha’s efforts over the last week. Martha is obviously a very special young girl and we couldn’t thank her, her family and her supporters enough for everything they have done.

“As a result of their beautiful acts of kindness, the lives of thousands of the world’s poorest children will be transformed. Instead of being hungry and working for their next meal, these children will be sitting in a classroom with a full stomach, learning how to read and write.”

To donate to Martha’s appeal, please visit www.justgiving.com/neverseconds, or visit the Mary’s Meals donation page.

Tags: Martha Payne, mary's meals, Raymond Blanc

Mary’s Meals kids send big ‘thank you’ to Martha and friends

Posted Monday June 18 2012 by Editor in Archive News

Hungry kids in Malawi, who now have the chance of a brighter future thanks to the incredible efforts of nine-year-old Martha Payne and her friends, have sent a heartfelt message of thanks.

Martha and supporters of her NeverSeconds blog have raised over £115,000 for Mary’s Meals and worldwide awareness of the charity, which provides a daily meal to hungry children in some of the world’s poorest countries where poverty and hunger prevent them from getting an education.

The incredible support for Martha’s NeverSeconds blog will see around 10,000 children in total receive a daily meal in some of the world’s poorest countries where poverty and hunger prevent them from getting an education.

As a result of donations to Martha’s online giving page, the money raised will also be used to build a kitchen shelter and feed an entire school for a year at Lirangwe Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi, as part of Mary’s Meals’ Sponsor a School initiative.

Pupils at Lirangwe Primary, were excited to hear the news and gave Martha and her supporters a huge message of thanks. On the blackboard at their school, they wrote: “Thank you Martha and your friends” and sang songs in appreciation of the support received.

Martha has chosen to name her kitchen in Malawi as ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ in recognition of the worldwide support which she is receiving. Commenting on the amazing response to her blog, Martha said: “It’s really good because it can feed lots of children for a long time.

“Calling the kitchen ‘Friends of NeverSeconds’ is important as it’s a thank you to everyone who has supported me and Mary’s Meals. Mary’s Meals is a very simple charity and it can achieve so much with so very little.”

In Malawi, Mary’s Meals provides children with a daily mug of likuni phala, a nutritious type of porridge supplemented with additional vitamins and minerals, to fill their empty bellies and to attract them to the classroom where they can get an education which can lift them out of poverty in later life.

It costs Mary’s Meals a global average of just £10.70 (€12.40/$16.80) to feed a hungry child for an entire school year. The charity provides a daily meal to over 650,000 kids every school day in 16 of the world’s poorest countries, including Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, India and Haiti.

To donate to Martha’s appeal, please visit www.justgiving.com/neverseconds, or visit the Mary’s Meals donation page.