People in East Ayrshire are being asked to help out children in Ethiopia who are on the brink of starvation.

Mary's Meals, a charity set up to support hungry children across the world, has launched an emergency appeal to deliver urgent food aid.

According to the charity, millions of Ethiopians are facing emergency levels of food insecurity and hunger. 

The most recent assessment of food security needs from the Government of Ethiopia projected that 15.8 million people in the East African country will face hunger and need food assistance in 2024. 

According to the BBC, 200,000 children in Tigray have left school in the last three months alone2, with many of them working, begging or scavenging for food to survive. 

During the country's civil war, Mary's Meals provided community feeding programmes to 30,000 people while schools were closed and families were displaced. 

Matt Barlow, executive director of Mary’s Meals, says: “The stories we are hearing from our partner in Ethiopia are simply devastating. 

“The two-year civil war has caused widespread destruction and left physical and mental scars on people all over Tigray, including children – many of whom have missed years of schooling and who are now starving.

"The war has undone years of progress in Tigray’s education system and we know the impact of children missing years of learning is huge. 

“With your support, we can bring these hungry children back to the classroom and give them a nutritious meal which will allow them to focus on their lessons and give them an education. Ultimately this will help to lift them, their families and communities out of the extreme poverty they are living in.

“The situation is urgent. But there is something you can do. You can help to bring these desperate children back from the brink of starvation. 

“Throughout the UK, I have witnessed people respond with incredible acts of kindness in moments of crisis and when all hope may seem lost. Now, we need your support. 

“Please donate what you can today – even the smallest donation can help to save a life.” 

Mary’s Meals has been working in Ethiopia since 2017 and feeds 24,320 children every school day. 

To find out more about the Mary’s Meals Crisis in Ethiopia appeal, visit www.marysmeals.org.uk/campaigns/crisis-in-ethiopia