A schoolgirl blogger and charity fundraiser has met the president of Malawi as part of a week of celebrations marking 200 years since the birth of missionary David Livingstone.
Martha Payne, 10, a pupil at Lochgilphead Primary School in Argyll, has raised £129,000 for the Scotland-based charity Mary's Meals which provides food for children in Malawi.
Her NeverSeconds blog attracted millions of hits last year as she documented her school dinners, amid controversy from Argyll and Bute Council.
Martha met Malawi's president, Joyce Banda, southern Africa's first female head of state, at an event in Edinburgh organised by Scotland Malawi Partnership. The encounter came less than six months after Martha and her family visited the south-east African country to meet the children who benefited from the money she raised.
Speaking after the event, Martha said: "When I started my blog, I thought my own school food was the most important thing about it. I now know the most important thing is the friends it has brought together and the help we have given each other. I think about my friends in Malawi often. I am really pleased to be a part of today's celebration and very happy to meet President Banda."
The Scotland and Malawi: Livingstone's Living Legacy event in the capital celebrated the continued relationship between the two countries which was established by Dr Livingstone who travelled to Africa 150 years ago as a Christian missionary.
During the colourful event, pupils from the city's Stenhouse Primary School sang Malawian songs to welcome the president. The venue was also dressed in 850 Scottish and Malawian flags, representing the 85,000 people in Scotland said to be engaged in "active partnerships" with Malawi each year.
International Development and External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf was at the event. He said: "Scotland has a special relationship with Malawi, first established by Dr David Livingstone. The bicentenary of his birth is an opportunity to build on that legacy: the enduring and strong relationship between the peoples of Scotland and Malawi and our commitment to tackling poverty in that country.
"Today, the governments of Scotland and Malawi are working together to build a civic coalition in both our countries, a partnership of skills, expertise and humanitarianism that benefits Scots and Malawians every year."
First Minister Alex Salmond confirmed this week that 15 projects in Malawi, run by Scotland-based organisations, have been allocated almost £5 million over three years from the Scottish Government's International Development Fund.
