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By the time Armando arrives at Blythswood’s after-school programme, he is starving. For this 12-year-old, the cooked mid-day meal provided by Talita Kum in Jimbolia, Romania, is a life-saver.

At home he lives with his dad and three older brothers. His mother walked out on the family two years ago and then his teenaged sister was married, leaving no-one in the house who knows how to cook a meal.

While Talita Kum has clear educational objectives, giving extra tuition to children from the poorest homes, it’s no secret that hunger is the main incentive for many of the children to attend. The menu at Talita Kum has a three-week cycle without repeats. The starter is a soup or a traditional Romanian ciorba, a substantial broth. The main course always includes meat – pork, chicken or beef. Pudding waits for teatime, before the children go home.

“These regular cooked meals keep the children healthy and in good shape,” says teacher Lidia Oltean. “Without them, Armando would probably rely on bread, crisps and soda drinks for sustenance.”