International school feeding charity Mary’s Meals programme is now reaching out to more than 2 million children in 19 countries globally with life-changing meals every school day.

30% of Malawi’s primary school population — about 1,043,455 children enjoy being served nutritious meals by this non-profit organization that initially aimed at feeding around 200 children in two Malawian schools in 2002.

In Africa, more than 335,143 children in Zambia are served meals in schools each day; 125,414 in Kenya and 144,208 in Liberia.

Other countries that Mary’s Meals reaches out to hungry school children across four continents include Haiti, India, Syria, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Thailand, Myanmar, Uganda, South Sudan, Niger, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Benin, Ecuador and Romania.

In a statement, Mary’s Meals Account Director, Juliet Tshele said the meals are served in the schools by local volunteers who are determined to help the next generation to build a brighter future.

Tshele said “This is a major milestone as Mary’s Meals now has 2 million reasons to celebrate, as it has reached more than two million children across a multitude of countries.”

The celebration of the landmark achievement of feeding 2 million children every school day will be officially announced and celebrated in the remote desert region of Turkana, Kenya, where communities serve the much-needed daily meals to children attending Early Childhood Development centers.

The virtual celebratory event, which will have Mary Meal’s founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow in attendance, will be broadcast at 8pm CAT and open to all through: marysmeals.org/2-million.

This landmark comes just six years after reaching the major milestone of feeding one million children each day.

The charity had humble beginnings to say the least: a one-off good deed from a shed in the Highlands of Scotland eventually led to a small school feeding programme in Malawi, aiming to bring vital meals to around 200 children in two schools while they learned.

In addition, Mary’s Meals not only feeds huge numbers of children attending government-run schools in Africa, but also brings daily meals to children finding hope in non-formal education centers in India; the sons and daughters of vulnerable migrant workers in Thailand; young people engaging in education while awaiting trial in prisons in Niger and Madagascar.

It also feeds children affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria – through feeding programmes in Aleppo and neighbouring Lebanon; and many thousands of young learners in Haiti, which has been plagued by years of political unrest and damage from natural disasters.

The Taliban say afghan universities will be segregated by gender, and a new Islamic dress code will be introduced.

Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani indicated women would be allowed to study, but not alongside men while announcing a review of subjects taught.

Women and girls were banned from schools and universities under Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001.

The Taliban have said they will not prevent women from being educated or having jobs but since they seized control on 15 August, they have asked all women, except those in the public health sector, to stay away from work, until the security situation improves.

The announcement of the higher education policy comes a day after the Taliban raised their flag over the presidential palace, signaling the beginning of their administration after seizing control from the elected government a month ago.

The policy marks a significant change from the accepted practice before the Taliban takeover.

Universities were co-educational, with men and women studying side by side, and female students did not have to abide by a dress code.

But Haqqani was unapologetic about bringing an end to mixed classes.

Some have suggested that the new rules will exclude women from education because the universities do not have the resources to provide separate classes.

However, Haqqani insisted there are enough female teachers and that where they are not available alternatives will be found.

Girls and boys will also be segregated at primary and secondary schools, which was already common throughout Afghanistan.

Women will be required to wear hijabs but Haqqani did not specify if additional face coverings would be made compulsory.

In an effort to prevent the incessant abduction of students across the country, the Adamawa State Government has engaged local hunters and vigilantes to protect schools and prevent the abduction of students.

The state Commissioner of Ministry of Education and Human Service, Wilbina Jackson, made the disclosure in Yola, the state capital, in an event organised by Education in Emergencies Working Group, to commemorate the International Day to Protect Education in the state.

She noted that the government took the measure in an effort to save the state from the abductions that have occurred in many parts of the country in recent times.

Jackson further explained that the vigilantes were required to complement the efforts of regular security arrangements.

The event tagged ‘International Day to Protect Education against Attack in Adamawa State’, which was organised by Education in Emergencies Working Group Nigeria in collaboration with the state Ministry of Education, featured student representatives from the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Yola, who made a speech and staged a drama.

The state Focal Person of the Education in Emergencies Working Group, Medugu Stephen, said his organisation works with stakeholders, especially in the focal states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, to ensure that schools remain open and studies are uninterrupted irrespective of emergency situations that may arise.

Stephen added that as much as his organisation supports de-boarding in secondary schools for security reason as the Adamawa State Government has done, his organisation is working with the state government to see that no student drops out of school, even as some may have to leave their current schools for schools nearer to their homes.

Teachers and parents in Rwanda have welcomed changes to the school calendar, saying it will bring various benefits to learners.

The 2021/22 calendar for primary, secondary and TVET schools was released on September 3 and under the new calendar, the academic year will start on October 11, 2021, and end on July 15, 2022.

Among the benefits, students will be in holidays during the hot season.

Headmaster of Institut de Formation Apostolique de Kimihurura (IFAK), Father Jean Bosco Ntirenganya, said studying during the hot season affected the performance of learners, adding that teachers, and parents actually asked that the calendar be changed.

Teachers say that students lose concentration during hot weather, while boarding schools face water shortages.

Ntirenganya added that they are optimistic about the next academic year, due to the fact the previous one was disrupted by Covid-19 fiasco.

A primary teacher at Groupe Scolaire Kacyiru, Jolie Ladegonde Mukase, said that the calendar will allow pupils from lower primary and pre-primary school to have a little break before going back to school, since they are still studying. Their studies were interrupted by the previous lockdown.

Astéria Munganyinka, a parent, said that the calendar came at the right time, because she will have plenty of time to look for school fees, and better provide for her children.

However, she added there is still a problem of schools raising school fees, suggesting that there should be an intervention on this issue because as parents it becomes difficult.

A senior five students at Collège Saint André, Josias Ndamira, said that as students they will no longer encounter problems of too much fatigue or dust that could cause them diseases in the hot season.

Head Teacher of ADEGI GITUZA in Ngoma District, Gregoire Niragire, said that the new calendar will allow the government to properly plan, recruit and assign teachers to different schools where they are.