Over 40,000 children receiving daily meals thanks to Celtic FC
To bring the 67 Kitchens project, in honour of the Lisbon Lions, to full fruition, Celtic FC Foundation is honoured to confirm that the final 20 school facilities in the project are now completed, this time in the southern African country of Zambia.
On the 51st anniversary of Celtic’s momentous achievement in Lisbon, the Celtic FC Foundation announced that, in partnership with Mary’s Meals, the first 47 kitchens in the project were in operation throughout Malawi. This vital work to provide safe cooking and storage facilities at each school is helping to ensure nutritious meals are being served to over 32,000 hungry children every day, across seven districts in Malawi.
With the final 20 kitchens in the project based at schools in the Chipata district of Zambia’s Eastern Province, the programme will now enable an additional 9,530 impoverished children to receive nutritious daily meals. Targeting extremely poor communities, the initiative is reaching the children in greatest need. In Zambia, 64% of the population live below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day and inequality across the country is particularly high. Children from poor households, particularly in rural areas, are least likely to enrol in school, with 47% not completing primary education.
By supporting Mary’s Meals to provide a daily meal in school, Celtic FC Foundation is giving children across Zambia and Malawi the chance of a brighter future, addressing the immediate need of hunger and enabling them to receive an education. Incredibly, a host of globally-based Celtic supporters’ clubs and individual donors have each sponsored one of the kitchens in Malawi, with each facility now proudly displaying the naming banner of its founding CSC or donor.
After a season of remarkable generosity from Celtic’s supporters, the banners of clubs from across Scotland, England, Ireland, the US, Canada and Australia are now in place, where thousands of children who may otherwise be forced to work or beg are in classrooms with full stomachs learning how to read and write. These children can now grow to be better-nourished and better-educated and to become adults who can lift their communities out of poverty. The club and its supporters want to continue with the support of the children in Zambia with food provisions.
Celtic FC Foundation Chief Executive, Tony Hamilton, said: “This is a great example of delivering change, and this partnership with Mary’s Meals has been supported by Celtic fans across the world. The longer-term aim here is to provide food through education for as many vulnerable children as we can, and with continued backing, we will be able to do more of that work. Thanks very much to every club and individual who have backed this initiative. This has not only changed lives, it has saved many too.”
Celtic FC – School of Football
