Returning to the classroom in Tigray

In Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the humanitarian crisis is far from over. Families continue to face extreme hardship, with many struggling to find enough food to survive. For countless children, the promise of a daily meal is uncertain, and hunger remains a constant presence in their lives. 

In response, Mary’s Meals is expanding its school feeding programme in the areas hardest hit by the crisis, working hand in hand with its trusted local partner, Daughters of Charity. Together, we are ensuring that children not only receive vital nourishment, but also the chance to continue their education despite the challenges surrounding them. 

Abraha Bahlbi, Head of the School Feeding Programme at Daughters of Charity, our partner in Ethiopia, shares why the school feeding programme is needed now more than ever and how a simple meal in a place of learning can bring hope, stability and opportunity to children who need it most.  

Hope after conflict 

Abraha says: “Between November 2020 and November 2022, a brutal conflict in Tigray, the northernmost region of the country, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more. Schools were also forced to close. When some finally reopened in 2023, we worked with Mary’s Meals and local communities to restart school feeding under very challenging conditions.  

“But Tigray remains volatile with ongoing armed conflict, climate-related disasters, high levels of food insecurity, and general socio-economic decline adding further strain on families already facing desperate situations. Drought and floods have destroyed crops and farmlands, and communities are experiencing severe hunger and health problems. As a consequence, many children in the region have had to leave their homes and migrate, while others have been forced into early marriage.” 

He continues: “Close to one million internally displaced people (IDPs) are now exposed to a severe lack of food, medical care and shelter – with children, mothers and the elderly facing the worst of the crisis. Some schools that closed as a result of the conflict have not yet reopened, and a number are serving as shelters for IDPs.”  

Abraha Bahlbi, Head of the School Feeding Programme at Daughters of Charity

Serving daily meals encourages children to attend school

Abraha has witnessed first-hand the positive impact of Mary’s Meals and the transformation it has brought to children and their communities. 

He explains: “Despite these immense challenges, Mary’s Meals has become a fundamental solution to problems faced by children in the region. Daughters of Charity – the organisation where I serve as Head of the School Feeding Programme – works closely with Mary’s Meals to deliver nutritious daily meals to more than 245,000 children in over 475 schools across the region.  

“Before the feeding programme, many children stayed home as their parents were not able to provide them with a basic meal and many of them dropped out of school. But since Mary’s Meals and Daughters of Charity started to feed children at school in Tigray, the number of students dropping out of school because of hunger has drastically decreased.  

“The programme is helping to provide stability to families who were considering migrating to other areas in search of work and food, enabling children to continue their education in hope of a better life. And because they are receiving a meal, students now arrive at school on time, are active in class, and complete their schoolwork properly. Children that used to go home before the end of the day now stay at school and learn for the whole school day.” 

Abraha continues: "And because they are receiving a meal, students now arrive at school on time, are active in class, and complete their schoolwork properly. Children that used to go home before the end of the day now stay at school and learn for the whole school day.” 

Encouraging children back to the classroom in Tigray

One school that was previously under the control of the Eritrean government, and which has just reopened after five years, is Salem Primary School. Though the buildings still bear the scars of conflict, Mary’s Meals, working alongside Daughters of Charity in Tigray, resumed the school feeding programme there in October 2025. For children who had been unable to attend school for years, the reopening of the school and the return of daily meals has made it possible to step back into their classrooms and begin learning once again.

Abraha says: “Children at the school received their first servings of Mary’s Meals with joy and smiles, and the true atmosphere of the school is slowly returning. One of its students – 14-year-old Fortuna – told me: ‘I am incredibly excited to be back and see all my friends after five long years. We were separated when the school closed, but now we interact every day.’” 

Abraha continues: “Thanks to this work, hundreds of thousands of children across Tigray who are also receiving daily meals at school feel in a similar way to Fortuna. Food is not only a source of joy for these children – it provides strong foundations for their education and brings hope of better future. 

“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Mary’s Meals and all of its supporters for funding this school feeding programme.” 

Understand how the promise of a daily meal at school enables the children we serve in Ethiopia to receive an education. 

To learn more about the situation in Tigray, watch our documentary, On the Frontlines of Hunger, which highlights the hidden hunger crisis in the region, and how the aftermath of the conflict coupled with drought left millions facing emergency levels of food insecurity. 

Help Mary's Meals feed even more children like Fortuna

It costs just £19.15 to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year with Mary’s Meals. If you can, please donate to help us reach more children with our life-changing school meals in Tigray and around the world.