Martha heads for Malawi to see how charity cash is spent

Tuesday 18 September 2012

A schoolgirl who has raised more than £100,000 to feed poverty-stricken children enjoyed breakfast cooked by a celebrity chef as she prepares to travel to Malawi.

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Nick Nairn made a special porridge breakfast for nine-year-old Martha Payne, who will travel to the African country next month to see how the £114,000 she has raised for the charity Mary's Meals is helping hungry youngsters.

Donations to Martha's JustGiving site flooded in after she was banned by her council from blogging about her meals at her school in Lochgilphead, Argyll and Bute. The schoolgirl was told she could no longer take photos of her school lunches for her NeverSeconds blog in June as media coverage apparently left catering staff fearing for their jobs. But Argyll and Bute Council backtracked on its decision after a barrage of negative publicity and a backlash on social networking sites. The controversial ban led to thousands of donations flooding in to Martha's JustGiving site, which she set up to raise money for the Scottish charity which runs school feeding projects in communities around the world. On her trip to Malawi next month she will see the kitchen shelter which has been built at Lirangwe School in Blantyre, Malawi, with some of the money raised, and will also meet children who will receive a daily meal from Mary's Meals for a whole school year thanks to the money raised. She said: "I never dreamt we'd achieve so much. "I can't stop thinking about all the children we're helping. Just 6p for Mary's Meals gives another hungry child a meal." The charity said that 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, as every £10.70 donated provides enough to feed a child for a whole school year. Martha and Mr Nairn chose a porridge breakfast today as in Malawi, through Mary's Meals' largest project, more than half a million children are given a daily nutritious porridge-like dish every school day to attract them to the classroom. The pair previously met in June as part of a group to discuss school meals and food education. Mr Nairn 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. "My mission is to get everyone more interested in what they eat - children and adults - and to get them eating well and cooking from scratch in schools and at home. "This also means giving children top-quality school meals. Gaining knowledge about good food means - like Martha - questioning what's on your plate." Martha has chosen to name her kitchen in Malawi 'Friends of NeverSeconds' in recognition of the worldwide support which she is receiving. During her trip she hopes to put the finishing touches on the sign for the school kitchen and is also interested in visiting a class and doing lessons alongside pupils receiving Mary's Meals. Martha will be accompanied on the trip by her father Dave, mother Rebecca Helliwell, siblings Joe, 11, and Polly, seven, as well as her grandfather John Helliwell who is said to be a big supporter of the charity. The family are taking Scotland footballs with them, which they will blow up and give out to people they meet in the community. Martha said: "It's a trip of a lifetime and I really can't wait. "There was a comment on my blog which said 'at least you get a school lunch, some people don't get any', which got me thinking. So we decided to put up a JustGiving page for Mary's Meals. "We're taking some Scotland footballs to Malawi and wherever we go we're going to play a game of football and give them it to keep. "Cooking with Nick was absolutely amazing, so much fun."

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Martha heads for Malawi to see how charity cash is spent

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