First News

Recycling old rucksacks

Filled with stuff, such as notebooks and crayons, it will soon be on a ship, making its way to Malawi as part of Mary’s Meals’ Backpack Project. The charity not only runs projects giving school dinners to children in some of the world’s poorest regions, but it also tries to remove the obstacles that stop children from getting a proper education – like not having the right equipment or a bag to carry their things in.

So far this year the charity has sent more than 120,000 backpacks to children in Africa. Many go to Malawi (where the charity provides daily meals for one in ten primary school children) but they have also been given to children in Liberia, Uganda, and now Haiti.

Inside the bags

Sheena has already started collecting things to send in her old backpack. A few things (like a toothbrush, which cost her dad 10p from a supermarket) are new, but many (the T-shirt, for example) are second-hand or spares that she already had at home.

The checklist for the backpacks includes a notebook, pencils, pens, crayons, an eraser, a ruler, sharpener and a pencil case for use in school, as well as shorts, a T-shirt, flip-flops, a small ball, soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a towel for home. A spoon is useful too, so that the children have something to use to eat their daily portion of Likuni Phala (a vitamin-rich maize porridge that children in Malawi eat).

Last year, the children at Dalmally brought their backpacks into school on a snowy day just before Christmas. They made their own version of Likuni Phala and spent the morning writing letters to the children who, one day, would get their backpacks, describing a snowflake and explaining how to build a snowman.

Making a difference

When some of the backpacks from the charity were delivered to Njiri Primary School in Malawi a massive celebration took place. Parents gathered outside the school singing while, inside, the children had a countdown before they were allowed to open the bags.

Before the backpacks came, many children only had plastic bags to keep their things in. Boniface, a boy at the school, said: “I’ve got pens, clothes, a toothbrush, a ball and a bath towel. Before, I didn’t have books. I was carrying things in my hands. Now I have books and a bag to put them in.”

GETTING INVOLVED

Schools can find out more about the backpack project at

www.marysmeals.org

To request a leaflet or register to take part, email backpacks@marysmeals.org or call 0800 698 1212