A SCHOOLGIRL who sparked an online storm over her blog about school meals has raised more than £110,000 for charity.
Martha Payne, aged nine, will visit Malawi later this year with her family to see where the money is being spent and to help put the finishing touches to a new kitchen project set up by Mary's Meals.
Martha attracted worldwide attention when Argyll and Bute Council banned her from posting photographs of her school dinners on her blog, NeverSeconds.
However, the council was forced to overturn its decision and the pupil, from Lochgilphead, inspired a flurry of donations to her chosen charity.
She has now raised a total of £110,662, which will be used to build a kitchen at Lirangwe Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi, and feed more than 10,000 children for a school year.
Her blog has also gone global, attracting posts and photos of children's lunches from around the world.
Martha said: "To have raised over £110,000 so far is totally awesome and I'm so happy this will help so many hungry children in other parts of the world.
"Mary's Meals is a very simple charity that can achieve so much with so little as it costs just 6p to provide one meal.
"I'm very excited at the thought of being able to meet the children receiving Mary's Meals – I hope to blog from Malawi so I can share that amazing experience."
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder and chief executive of Mary's Meals, said he was humbled by Martha and her supporters, who include celebrity chefs Nick Nairn, Jamie Oliver and Raymond Blanc and Scottish Education Secretary Mike Russell.
He said: "As a result of these amazing, beautiful acts of kindness, the lives of thousands of the world's poorest children will be transformed."
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