Gbarpolu County – In fulfillment of Mary’s Meals’ promise to provide daily meals to children in school, more than 3,000 children began receiving hot school meals at 22 new schools in Gbarma and Bopolu Districts, Gbarpolu County, on Monday, February 17, 2025, as part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to reach more children in need and ensure that education remains a priority, giving them energy to concentrate, participate in lessons, and make the most of their time in school.
The 22 new schools added to the 3 schools that have been serving Mary’s Meals to children in Gbarpolu County for more than 10 years mean Gbarpolu County now has 25 schools enrolled in Mary’s Meals School Feeding Program in Liberia.
In observance of the first day of feeding across the 22 expansion schools, the Mary’s Meals Liberia team was joined by the Gbarma District Commissioner, the PTA chair of the Gbarma Day Care Foundation, and the Administrative Assistant to the District Education Officer of Gbarma District to observe the preparation and children receiving the first bowls of hot meals at the Gbarma Central Elementary School and the Gbarma Day Care Foundation in Gbarma Town.
Making remarks, Quoi Kamara, Mary’s Meals Liberia program delivery lead, said the essence of Mary’s Meals at schools is to promote education, a way that Mary’s Meals helps children to stay in school while eating. Quoi Kamara encouraged citizens of Gbarma Town and Gbarpolu County at large to take full responsibility for making sure that the food is protected and prepared at all times.
“The better you take care of the school feeding program in your community, the more the program will be sustainable. The community and the school should fully support the program, gathering volunteers to cook the food and serve it to children every school day,” said Quoi Kamara.
Appreciating Mary’s Meals, the Gbarma District commissioner, Musa D. Kamara, called on citizens, including marketeers, to avoid engaging in the selling of stolen Mary’s Meals food, stating that anyone caught tampering with the children’s food will be arrested and prosecuted.
The Mary’s Meals School Feeding program also encourages young children to start their educational journey and helps to keep them in school, which can result in better opportunities in their future and increased potential to contribute positively to their families and communities.
For her part, the principal of the Gbarma Day Care Foundation, Felecia G. Gbarzon, thanked Mary’s Meals for its support to students of her school and other schools in Gbarpolu County and at the same time appealed to Mary’s Meals to expand its school feeding program in all parts of the county and Liberia at large to encourage more children to enroll in school while also improving their performances.
Felecia says, “The food will help to increase our enrollment, encouraging children to come to school and be able to learn their lessons well.”
Also making remarks was the PTA chair of the Gbarma Day Care Foundation, Brima S.N. Sheriff, who called on parents to see the Mary’s Meals School Feeding Program as a motivation to send their children to school, avoiding the excuse of not sending their children to school due to lack of lunch for their children in school. He cautions parents to be secure in the program and take ownership of it.
“There should be no excuse of not cooking due to lack of firewood; we should take responsibility for providing firewood for cooking the food at all times.” Brima stated.
Mary’s Meals is a global organization that provides nutritious school meals to children in some of the world’s poorest communities, helping to improve children’s education and reduce poverty, empowering children to achieve their potential.
The organization has been working in Liberia since 2006, serving nutritious school meals to more than 100,000 children in over 600 schools in five counties, including Bong, Gbarpolu, Bomi, Montserrado, and Grand Cape Mount.
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