Mary’s Meals – Page 3 – The NEN

Mary’s Meals starts feeding hungry children in Yemen

Charity brings hope to 4,000 children amid ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen

Mary’s Meals has today (Thursday, 13 January) announced that it is now working in Yemen in the Middle East. The global charity is serving nutritious food at school to children affected by one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world, with conflict devastating the country for several years.

Mary’s Meals, which was founded in a shed in Argyll, provides school meals for children living in some of the world’s poorest countries – including Malawi, Haiti, Ethiopia, Syria and South Sudan. The promise of a daily meal attracts hungry children to the classroom, where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

Life is very difficult for people in Yemen, with ongoing conflict heavily impacting the country’s economy and causing high levels of poverty and food insecurity – approximately 21 million people (or 70% of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance. This includes more than 11 million children.

Millions of people have had to flee their homes in search of safety and many children are malnourished. Since the conflict began in 2015, the number of school-age children not in education has doubled and many have to work to survive.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals, says: “Mary’s Meals always has a desire to support those in the greatest need. Given that Yemen can be described as the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, and so many children are suffering, we are delighted to begin serving our daily school meals there – meeting the immediate need of the hungry child and, crucially, at the same time, enabling their education.”

In Yemen, Mary’s Meals is serving substantial and nutritious pitta bread sandwiches, filled with various ingredients to suit local tastes alongside fruit and vegetables, to more than 4,000 children at four schools every school day.

The charity is working in partnership with established international NGO, Yemen Aid, to reach children living in the Al Mansoora district of Aden. This district is particularly vulnerable as it is home to a large number of internally displaced people and other marginalised populations, who all experience high levels of hunger.

Mary’s Meals began in 2002 by feeding 200 children in Malawi. It now reaches more than two million children every school day in 20 countries around the world.

The charity is currently running a match funding campaign, Double The Love. Donations made to Mary’s Meals until 31 January 2022 will be doubled by a group of generous supporters, with up to £1.6 million available.

Magnus adds: “Feeding children in Yemen is an important moment in our mission but we are always thinking of the next child waiting for our nutritious meals.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that donations made to Mary’s Meals this winter are being doubled by a group of generous supporters – meaning we can reach even more hungry children around the world with a life-changing meal at school.”

For more information on the work of Mary’s Meals and to donate to Double The Love, please visit marysmeals.org.uk

Mary’s Meals: Mum’s the word for Christmas dinner in Scotland

School feeding charity Mary’s Meals asked 2,000 people across the UK who they would most like to cook Christmas dinner for them.
Almost half chose a family member over a celebrity chef, with the majority choosing their mum.
In the Scotland dads got the thumbs down in the festive kitchen!
Mary’s Meals is asking people to help feed hungry children by joining its virtual Christmas dinner.

A new survey by Mary’s Meals has revealed that people would rather have their Christmas dinner cooked by their mum than a celebrity chef.

The global school feeding charity asked 2,000 people who they would prefer to serve up their festive feast. It found that:

Almost half (46%) of respondents chose a family member rather than a famous chef – such as Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith, Gordon Ramsay and Nigella Lawson.
One in three people (36%) said they would prefer their mum to cook their Christmas dinner over other family members.
Just 1% of respondents in Scotland said they would like their dad to prepare the Christmas dinner!

Scotland’s National Chef Gary Maclean responds: “Despite being a professional chef myself, I’m not surprised most people chose their mum to make their Christmas dinner. Us chefs are all well and good but nothing beats a home-cooked festive feast.”

“I love the idea of Mary’s Meals Big Family Christmas – and I’m going to set a place for my late father-in-law Davie, who would love that their virtual seat at the table will feed a hungry child in school for an entire year.”

Mary’s Meals serves more than two million children with a nutritious meal every school day in 19 of the world’s poorest countries, including Malawi, South Sudan and Haiti. The promise of a good meal attracts children to the classroom, giving them the energy and opportunity to learn, and the chance of a brighter future.

Each December the charity holds a virtual Christmas dinner, Big Family Christmas, to raise funds to feed even more hungry children. Last year, nearly 9,000 people around the world took part in the fundraiser.

Emma Hutton, head of grassroots engagement at Mary’s Meals, says: “Tis the season to be jolly, and it seems nothing makes us jollier than a home-cooked Christmas meal. At Mary’s Meals, we want to spread that joy to as many of the world’s most impoverished children as possible.

“Setting a place at our virtual table is a great way to give a truly life-changing gift, especially as each place set this Christmas will feed two children for an entire year thanks to our Double The Love campaign. I look forward to seeing as many names at the table as possible as we celebrate our Big Family Christmas!”

In return for a donation of just £15.90, enough to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year, people can take part in the Big Family Christmas. Donors will receive a certificate to print at home and their name, or the name of a loved one, will appear on the charity’s virtual dinner table alongside names from across the world.

Donations made to Mary’s Meals before 31 January 2022 will be matched by a group of generous supporters, up to £1.6 million, thanks to the Double The Love campaign, meaning that each place set at the online Christmas table will feed two hungry children.

To find out more, please visit marysmeals.org.uk/Christmas

Reaching children in Malawi

Mary’s Meals typically serves a mug of porridge to more than one million children in Malawi every school day.

This includes children like 14-year-old Yasimini, who is one of five girls. Her two older sisters were married young, but Yasimini was able to continue with her studies because of Mary’s Meals.

She says: “I work very hard in class so I can fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse. I don’t want to end up getting married early like my sisters.

“Mary’s Meals is very important because when I am attending classes I am strong and attentive and I can pay attention to what the teacher is teaching. This will help me to do well in my studies.”

Charity reveals Christmas traditions Die Hard!

School feeding charity Mary’s Meals asked 2,000 people about their favourite Christmas traditions.
Of people in Scotland surveyed, 13% chose watching action film Die Hard.
Mary’s Meals is asking people to start a new tradition by joining its virtual Christmas dinner to feed hungry children in the world’s poorest countries.

A new survey by global school meals charity Mary’s Meals has reignited a debate which has rumbled on for years: is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?

Watching the Bruce Willis classic was named as a top Christmas tradition by 13% of those polled across Scotland – just ahead of attending their work Christmas night out (12%).

The survey also revealed that it is time-honoured traditions that people really cherish – with 67% of people in Scotland saying they enjoy eating their Christmas meal and just over half saying they love decorating their Christmas tree.

And, in a nod to it being the season of goodwill, more people preferred to give presents (67%) than to receive them (51%).

Morven Macgillivray, supporter engagement manager, at Mary’s Meals, says: “As our survey shows, Christmas is a time of giving. We are so thankful to everyone who helps us to spread the joy by making a gift to Mary’s Meals; letting the children we serve know there are people thinking of them at this time of year.

“Every year, I set a place at the Mary’s Meals virtual Christmas dinner for my mum, and she sets one for my brother and myself. It has become a family tradition. This year I’m extending that Christmas tradition to include a place at the table for the star of Die Hard, John McClane! As he famously says in the film, welcome to the party, pal!”

In return for a donation of £15.90, enough to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year, people can take part in the Big Family Christmas. They will receive a certificate to print at home and their name, or the name of a loved one, will appear on the charity’s virtual dinner table alongside names from across the world – and the Die Hard hero!

Donations made to Mary’s Meals before 31 January 2022 will be matched by a group of generous supporters, up to £1.6 million, thanks to the Double The Love campaign, meaning that each place set at the online Christmas table will feed two hungry children.

To find out more, please visit marysmeals.org.uk/Christmas

Box out: Christmas traditions in South Sudan

At midnight on Christmas Eve, young people in South Sudan joyfully run around with torches, shouting ‘Merry Christmas’ and drumming on jerry cans.

Moses Kopurot, who manages the Mary’s Meals programme in South Sudan, explains: “This tradition is known throughout South Sudan and so everybody knows the next day is the 25th of December and is the day that we have to celebrate Christmas.”

Mary’s Meals serves maize or sorghum (a local grain) and beans to more than 75,000 children in South Sudan every school day.

This includes children like nine-year-old Daniel who wakes at 6am every day to milk his family’s herd of cows before walking for more than an hour to reach his local school.

He says: “I like this school because we eat good food. If I wasn’t in school, I would be at home taking care of the cows.”

Letters: Mary’s Meals Christmas

Dear Editor,

The charm of the presents under our Christmas tree lies partly in their very different shapes and sizes. Perhaps the same could be said of our own families. None of them look the same.

Take 12-year-old Hawa – she lives with her granny, an aunt and four cousins in Liberia. Often there is not enough food for her family to eat.

Mary’s Meals serves nutritious food at school to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries, attracting them into the classroom where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

More than two million children receive our life-changing meals every school day – including Hawa.

I am pleased to tell you that, until 31 January 2022, donations made to our Double The Love campaign will be matched, up to £1.6 million, by a generous group of supporters.

Those children receiving Mary’s Meals might not have a pile of presents to unwrap on Christmas morning, but their dreams are alive and well, thanks to those who share our belief that every child should have enough to eat and go to school.

You can learn more about our work by visiting marysmeals.org.uk

Have a wonderful Christmas,

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals

Letters: Support Mary’s Meals and Make a Difference

Dear Editor,

I’d like to make your readers aware of a unique opportunity to make a big difference to the lives of hungry children in the world’s poorest countries this summer.

For anyone who becomes a monthly giver to global school feeding charity Mary’s Meals before the end of August, their first three donations will be tripled, meaning the impact of their regular gifts will go even further.

This is thanks to a group of generous supporters who are making funds available up to £100,000 for tripling donations from new regular givers for a limited period.

Your readers can help Mary’s Meals to access all the available funds by setting up a monthly Direct Debit by 31 August here. (marysmeals.org.uk/tripled).

Mary’s Meals feeds more than 1.8 million hungry children in 19 countries every school day.

This funding boost will bring fresh hope to families struggling amidst the continuing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit the world’s poorest countries especially hard, and will also help Mary’s Meals in its goal to reach two million children with a nutritious meal every school day.

I am proud to support Mary’s Meals and hope that this summer your readers can take advantage of this incredible opportunity to see their kindness go three times as far.

MARK BEAUMONT,

Long-distance cyclist, broadcaster and author.

Letters: Support Mary’s Meals this Mother’s Day

Dear Editor,

This Mother’s Day, school feeding charity Mary’s Meals would like to pay tribute to incredible women around the world.

From the mums in the UK whose food has nourished us throughout our childhoods, including those who volunteer and fundraise for Mary’s Meals, to the women who cook and serve our daily meals for children in some of the world’s poorest countries, we celebrate them all.

Mary’s Meals feeds more than 1.6 million hungry children in 19 countries every school day.

That’s why I am asking your readers to send a Mary’s Meals gift card to the special women in their lives this Mother’s Day. For just £15.90, it will feed a hungry child every day for an entire school year.

And because the childhood meals our mothers made often stay with us, reminding us of being nurtured and loved, we have included a favourite childhood recipe from TV presenter Lorraine Kelly with each gift card.

Please visit marysmeals.org.uk/mothersday to purchase your gift card or digital gift.

I know I’d love it if my three lovely children gave me this special present for Mother’s Day.

Gillian McMahon

Director of Supporter Engagement and Income, Mary’s Meals

Picture Copyright Chris Watt Tel – 07887 554 193 info@chriswatt.com www.chriswatt.com

Letters: Mary’s Meals offers last minute Christmas gift choice

Dear Editor

As we approach the end of a year that has been unlike any other, I’m sure some of your readers, like myself, will be thinking of those we hold dear who are unable to join the family Christmas meal this year.

I’d like to suggest a simple, last-minute gift that will help connect people in Edinburgh and Midlothian with their loved ones and feed hungry children around the world.

Mary’s Meals, a charity reaching more than 1.6 million children every day in some of the world’s poorest countries, is hosting a virtual Christmas dinner.  For just £15.90 – enough to feed a child every day for an entire school year – your readers can set a place at our table for their friends and family. Their name will appear online and we’ll provide a digital placemat to pass on as a present.

This year your gifts will go twice as far, with each place set now feeding two children with Mary’s Meals for an entire school year. Give until 31 January 2021 and public donations will be doubled by the UK government, up to £2 million – meaning we can reach even more hungry children in Liberia with life-changing school meals.

Please visit marysmeals.org.uk/Christmas to set your place. 

Wishing you a peaceful and happy Christmas,

Daniel Adams

Executive Director, Mary’s Meals UK.

Letters: Love Reaches Everywhere

*Gerard Butler in Liberia as part of a visit to Mary’s Meals projects.*

Dear Editor

A beautiful new film about the charity Mary’s Meals, featuring Gerard Butler, has just been released. Love Reaches Everywhere sees the Hollywood actor visiting schools in Liberia and Haiti in the 30-minute feature.

Mary’s Meals normally serves nutritious meals in schools, attracting impoverished children to the classroom where they can gain an education that will one day be their ladder out of poverty. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have developed safe methods of distribution which allow almost all the children who normally enjoy our meals to eat at home instead.

Love Reaches Everywhere shows Gerard, who has starred in films such as 300 and P.S. I Love You, immersing himself in community life – teaching a maths lesson, planting crops in a school garden, carrying water from a local well, and even sharing acting tips with some children.

It is available to watch for free now at marysmeals.org.uk/lovereacheseverywhere. I hope it will be a tonic for your readers at this uncertain time, showing the difference donations made here in the UK can make to little ones living in some of the world’s poorest countries – and proving that love really does reach everywhere.

Daniel Adams

UK Executive Director of Mary’s Meals

Picture: Chris Watt

Letters: Support Mary’s Meals on Mother’s Day

Dear Editor

This Mother’s Day, I am thinking about everything women do to give their children the best start in life.

Like the women in countries such as Malawi, Liberia and India, who rise early each day to cook and serve food to hungry children in their communities with the charity Mary’s Meals.

Their dedication epitomises powerful motherly love, and it is thanks to them that Mary’s Meals is able to feed 1.6 million hungry children around the world every school day. The food they lovingly serve attracts little ones into the classroom, giving them the energy to gain an education that can, one day, be their ladder out of poverty.

I am in awe of these incredible women. And that’s why I am asking your readers to send a Mary’s Meals gift card to the special women in their lives this Mother’s Day. For just £15.90, it will feed a hungry child every day for an entire school year.

Please visit marysmeals.org.uk/mothersday to purchase your gift card in honour of the mums who make Mary’s Meals. I have already told my boys this is a gift I would be delighted to receive!

Love,

Sophie Thompson (Actor)

Letters: Mary’s Meals appeal

Dear Editor,

Mary’s Meals has launched an urgent appeal to feed chronically hungry children in Turkana, one of the driest and most impoverished parts of Kenya.

We already serve nutritious meals to more than 23,000 children in nurseries in Turkana, but primary-aged pupils have not received meals since a programme run by another organisation stopped around a year ago.

Desperate pupils can often be found watching children at neighbouring nurseries being fed, and we have heard heartbreaking reports of children as young as three saving their food to take home for hungry siblings.

Mary’s Meals already feeds more than 1.5 million children in 18 of the world’s poorest countries every school day. We are determined to continue feeding these children while expanding, as funds allow, to reach primary school children in Turkana.

Your readers can support our appeal by visiting marysmeals.org.uk/turkana or phoning 0800 698 1212.

Best wishes,

Daniel Adams

UK Executive Director of Mary’s Meals