Mariot reported on our Cameron girls, the 45 girls who are being supported through their secondary education with the help of Scottish Government funding. We call them the Cameron girls because their funding was set up in recognition of the many years of service to Malawi by Colin and Alison Cameron.
On June 25th this year, Mariot Dallas, one of our Convenors, represented MMF at a roundtable meeting with Jenny Gilruth, MSP and Minister for Europe and International Development. The purpose of this meeting was to give the Minister a quick update on projects in Malawi which have received Scottish Government funding.
Mariot explained to the Minister how significant secondary education is to girls in Malawi and the impact on their future health and security. This discussion was well supported by findings of research conducted for MMF by Edinburgh University Masters student, Anna Freidenfeld.
Six other charities were at the meeting and it was interesting to note that challenging poverty and inequality through education was a common theme with many of them. The Minister herself has a teaching background and her questions and comments were encouraging and supportive.