Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the poorest and most drought-prone countries in the world. Almost a third of the population lives below the International Poverty Line ($2.15). 

Many children and their families face a daily struggle for survival, particularly in rural areas where most Ethiopians live. Recurring periods of severe drought and unpredictable rainfall make it almost impossible for people to grow enough food, causing widespread poverty and hunger. 

A two-year civil conflict in Tigray devastated the people of the region and destroyed infrastructure, leading to food and fuel shortages. More than 150,000 destitute and traumatised people – including children who had lost their parents – sought refuge in the region’s capital, Mekelle.

Even before the recent conflict, school drop-out rates were high with more than 60% of children failing to complete their primary education. Girls are particularly disadvantaged and around two thirds of the primary school-age children who are missing out on school are female.

Mary's Meals in Ethiopia

Mary’s Meals has been serving school meals in Ethiopia since 2017. 

We work with a trusted local partner to provide meals to children in the troubled Tigray region in the north-east of the country, close to the Eritrean border. 

The Tigray region was torn apart by a major conflict between November 2020 and November 2022, but many thousands of people were unable to return to their villages for more than a year after the fighting officially ceased. Following more than three years of disruption to their education, some children have been able to return to the classroom. But with the situation as it is, they desperately need school meals to be able to stay in school. We reinstated our school feeding programme at the end of 2023 and have since undergone a rapid expansion in response to the urgent need. We are now reaching more than 120,000 children with much-needed meals every school day.