By: Kassi Simmons – Owl Feed

Follow me on Twitter @OwlFeedKassi

While doing research for this article, I found myself on the website poverty.com. I was on this website for approximately an hour.

In that hour, 945 people died of starvation. Of these 945 people, the majority of the deaths were children. The amount of starvation related deaths in children is staggering. About 18,000 children, plus another 3,000 adults, die each day of starvation.

A group of Agua Fria math students is trying to change that through an organization called Mary’s Meals. This organization goes to underprivileged countries to feed children within those schools. Many of the students in these countries said they would not come to school if Mary’s Meals did not provide lunch.

I learned about this organization through Ms. Hill, a Geometry and Algebra Extensions teacher at Agua Fria. In her class, for every A a student receives on a test or quiz, 5 dollars is donated to Mary’s Meals. 5 dollars is also donated if a student shows growth of 15% or greater on a test or progress report.

Additionally, Ms. Hill’s classes are trying to feed every single student at C.H Primary School in Liberia, Africa for an entire year. This school has a total of 148 students and it will cost 2886 dollars.

So what can you do to help?

One option is to join Key Club which meets in B12  on Wednesdays at 2:15 pm. Part of the club will be devoted to helping in the community and the other part will be raising money for Mary’s Meals. You can also make cash donations at the bookstore and notify Mrs. Allpress how much was donated.

Additionally you can donate directly to the GoFundMe page set up by Ms. Hill. Any donation would be appreciated. You can also donate directly to Mary’s Meals.

Finally, you can google  “C H Dewey Primary School Mary’s Meals” and click on the first link called “Let’s Feed a School for a Year!”

In many of these poverty stricken countries, most children are the sole provider for their family. Instead of going to school, these children work or beg for money in order to survive.

Mary’s Meals believes that children are the future of our world, and they need education in order to be successful.

This organization runs on our donations and support. For $20, one student can be fed for an entire year.

To learn even more about this amazing cause and organization, watch the video entitled “Child 31” here.