Wonderful does not look back on her time at Chibavi Primary School in Mzuzu, northern Malawi, with happiness. Born and raised in rural Malawi, her family were subsistence farmers and struggled with poverty and hunger. Most days she had to go to school without having eaten. Unsurprisingly this impacted on her studies. 

“My childhood was really difficult because my parents were struggling financially. In the village [where they live] we depend on farming. Considering the high cost of living, when you’re farming you need to buy fertiliser, seeds and everything so it was so difficult for them. They were not in a stable condition where they could afford to buy a bag of fertiliser. 

“My primary school was really hard because I wasn’t passing class. I was always a failure. It was really difficult because going to class on an empty stomach, it is really hard to concentrate.” 

The intervention of daily school meals 

Her life changed in her final two years at primary school when she went to live with one of her aunts. The local primary received Mary’s Meals, so it meant Wonderful had a daily school meal. 

“In Malawi primary age is where you do your exams to go to secondary school so it is really important that you should pass. If you don’t pass that means you won’t go to secondary school. 

“I passed my Standard 8 and I went to Edinburgh Girls High School in Zuzu and luckily, I passed those as well and I was selected to go to Malawi College of Accountancy.”

Building a brighter future

Without the support from her aunt and Mary’s Meals, Wonderful, now 22, believes she would have left school early and married young like many girls in her community, including her younger sister. The path for Wonderful was different – one defined by her ambition and success. 

“I just completed my studies at Malawi College of Accountancy and about two years ago I started my business. It is called Wonder’s Kitchen. I do cakes, spring rolls, donuts and many more. It is my skill. I really enjoy it because I am passionate about it. 

“My dream for my business in five years’ time is I want to see Wonder’s Kitchen being the most [successful] baker in Blantyre, not only in Blantyre but the whole of Malawi.” 

As well as running her own business, she is also a proud Mary’s Meals Malawi Youth Ambassador – helping to fundraise and raise awareness for the charity that she says gave so much to her childhood. And her hope is that future generations of children in Malawi will be able to achieve their own education and dreams with the support of Mary’s Meals. 

“Education is like a new opportunity in life,” she says. “If there was no education I don’t think many of us can achieve the goals in life because without education there is no knowledge. 

“My dream for the children of Malawi is they should believe in their dreams, and they should believe in themselves.”

It costs just A$34.80 to feed a child in their place of education for an entire school year.