Happy St Andrew’s Day! Here is a fantastic video of the talented children at Jacaranda School for Orphans in Malawi singing ‘I’m Gonna Be’ (500 Miles)’ – it’s great to see how much energy they get from a daily serving of Mary’s Meals. You can help @Mary’s Meals feed more hungry children at www.bigfamilychristmas.com

The Jacaranda School for Orphans, Malawi, is named after the jacaranda tree that blossomed outside the hospital window of father of the school’s founder, Marie da Silva, as she was dying in in 1997. The jacaranda tree symbolizes life, growth and hope, important symbols for her students, orphans and underprivileged children, for whom she aims to provide a future.

Marie founded the school in her family home, while working as a nanny in the US. She wanted to provide the most vulnerable children, children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, with a quality education and all the supportive services they need to thrive.

Many of the pupils live with the HIV virus themselves or come from families that have been affected. As well as providing a full curriculum, the school also focuses on art, drama and music.

The two girls in the video, Joyce and Vanessa, attend Jacaranda school and visited Scotland a few years ago, and the song 500 Miles made a big impact on them. They brought it back to Jacaranda and taught the other children and directed the video themselves.