Name: Mim  

Lives: Dhaka, Bangladesh   

Age: 9  

Mim is nine years old and lives with her mother and brothers. Her eldest brother works in a factory and is the main breadwinner. He does not make a lot of money and Mim often goes hungry because her family cannot afford to eat three meals a day. 

Malnutrition is still an underlying cause in two thirds of deaths of children under five in Bangladesh. Many people struggle to earn a living because they don’t have their own land or can’t find a job and many children Mim’s age work to help their family.

“My elder brother does not want me to go to work” Mim said. “He says that I should stay at school.”

Through a Save the Children scheme, Mim gets three meals a day at school. This means she’ll have a more nutritious diet all year round.

“Food is important to give us strength, for the brain to work and to give us good health. Food is also very tasty. When we take good food our brain will function well and we can study well and get good jobs. If I can study well and become a teacher, I can teach other children.”

Save the Children has launched a major campaign – called EVERY ONE – to stop children dying. Nearly nine million children die before their fifth birthday each year – most of them from easily preventable diseases and causes. For more information go to www.savethechildren.org.uk/everyone