MAGAZINE - Mary`s Meals
Transcription
MAGAZINE - Mary`s Meals
MAGAZINE 2014 Gerard Butler meets children FEED A WHOLE SCHOOL receiving Mary’s Meals Child 31: FOCUS ON: KENYA & LIBERIA watch, love, share Giving girls a voice www.marysmeals.org.uk | 1 CONTACT US CONTENTS FEEDING THE FUTURE 4 FOCUS ON: KENYA 6 OUR SPENDING PROMISE 8 HELP US CUT COSTS 9 GIVING GIRLS A VOICE 10 CHILD 31 12 FEED A WHOLE SCHOOL 14 CHANGING LIVES, IN LOVING MEMORY 15 GIFT A BACKPACK 16 GERARD BUTLER VISITS MARY’S MEALS 18 FOCUS ON: LIBERIA 20 WALKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE 22 Mary’s Meals, Craig Lodge, Dalmally, Argyll, Scotland, UK PA33 1AR Freephone: 0800 698 1212 Tel: +44 (0) 1838 200 605 Email: info marymeals.org Charity Number: SC022140 Company Number: SC265941 Mary’s Meals Ireland, Room 82, Senior House, All Hallows College, Grace Park Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Tel: +353 (0) 1 857 2155 Email: ireland marysmeals.org Charity Number: CHY16897 Company Number: 420286 JOIN THE MARY’S MEALS FAMILY 24 GIVING TIME; GIVING HOPE 26 HOW WE WORK: MALAWI 28 facebook.com/marysmeals HELP US REACH THE NEXT CHILD 30 twitter.com/marysmeals youtube.com/marysmeals Mary’s Meals provides life-changing meals to some of the world’s poorest children every school day. We are a no frills charity with a simple idea that works—by providing one good meal in a place of learning, children are drawn into the classroom where they can receive an education that could one day free them from poverty. Mary’s Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, who brought up her own child in poverty. We consist of, we respect, and we reach out to people of all faiths and none. Our vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education. Working together, we believe that can be achieved in this world of plenty. For more information, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk Front cover picture: Esme Allen Photography: Chris Watt, Esme Allen, Chris Leslie, Fiona Murphy, Heathcliff O’Malley, Ian Tuttle, Laura Kane, Louise Henderson Special thanks: Harriet Alexander, The Daily Telegraph; Susan Anderson, My Weekly 2 | Little Acts of Love A message from founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow. changing for the hungry child than the gift of daily food and education? What gift could ever produce more profound and beautiful changes in a child’s life? The work of Mary’s Meals is beautifully simple. One meal every day for a hungry child in school—what could be more simple than that? But the stories told in this magazine show us that Mary’s Meals is also made beautiful by the variety and richness of all the lives involved; lives that change through this work. Hundreds of thousands of children now receive Mary’s Meals each day, thank God. And each of those children is unique, with their own story to tell, their own dreams, and their own gifts with which to make this world more beautiful. The cost to feed a child for a whole school year may seem like a very small amount to some of us—so small that we might even underestimate the significance of donating this amount. But what gift could ever be more enormous and more life £12.20 (€14.50) Perhaps most of us feel we only contribute ‘little acts of love’ to Mary’s Meals, but let us not ever make the mistake of thinking these ‘small acts’ produce ‘small results’. For every act of love that makes Mary’s Meals possible, I thank you with all my heart. Happy reading! Magnus www.marysmeals.org.uk | 3 FEEDING THE FUTURE BACK TO CONTENTS WE NOW FEED OVER 890,000* children every school day *Thanks to the hard work and determination of our supporters and volunteers, the number of children receiving Mary’s Meals frequently increases. Please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk for our latest feeding figures. BOSNIA HAITI BURMA BENIN THAILAND KENYA INDIA Ecuador South Sudan LIBERIA 4 | www.marysmeals.org.uk www.marysmeals.org.uk UGANDA MALAWI www.marysmeals.org.uk www.marysmeals.org.uk | 5 FOCUS ON: BACK TO CONTENTS KENYA Juliene, 16, lives with her father and younger siblings. She lost her mother in 2011. Kenya is home to some of Africa’s largest slums. Mary’s Meals is dedicated to reaching children in schools in the urban slums of Nairobi and Eldoret. “She got sick very suddenly,” Juliene explains. “She was taken into hospital but died during an operation. I was very sad and I still miss her very much. “My father got remarried to a lady who isn’t nice to me. She drinks a lot and doesn’t take care of us. I look after my brothers and sisters.” At the age of seven, Lucy was sent out onto the streets of Eldoret by her mother to find materials to sell. Each day, she would leave the house at 6am without breakfast, not returning until late when there would often still be nothing to eat. She spent her days foraging through rubbish dumps looking for plastics and scrap metal, trying to make a little money so her family could eat. While Lucy was walking home one evening, she was violently attacked at the hands of “bad police” who arrested her, beat her, and threw her in a cell along with murderers and drunks, before she was later released. At least half of Nairobi residents, about two million people, live in slums with limited access to water and sanitation. 6 | www.marysmeals.org.uk Juliene’s father lost his job so now there is not enough money to feed the family. She explains: “I like coming to school because we get to eat something every day. Thanks to Mary’s Meals, Lucy—who dreams of being a dancer—is now in school full-time, along with several of her brothers and sisters. Her headteacher explained: “The daily lunch means the children don’t have to leave the school to find food and can stay until the end of the day. For many, this is their only meal of the day. The food keeps them safe. “Now there is Mary’s Meals, they come to school every day. It is the first step to achieving what they hope for in their lives.” “I am very happy here—I feel safe and it’s a relief for me to leave my house. I come to school very early each morning.” Juliene is an intelligent girl with perfectly spoken English. When asked what she thinks her future will be like, she considers her answer carefully. “According to my background, I should not amount to much,” she says. “But I hope in the future I will be able to make my life stable and help my younger siblings. If I do well at school, I would like to train as a surgeon and save people’s lives.” Turkana As well as reaching almost 19,500 children in government schools throughout urban Kenya, Mary’s Meals also provides a daily meal to over 7,000 nursery-aged children at early childhood learning centres in the northern region of Turkana. Conditions are challenging in these remote tribal areas where drought is common. www.marysmeals.org.uk | 7 OUR SPENDING PROMISE BACK TO CONTENTS Mary’s Meals grew out of humble beginnings in a tin shed, which founder and CEO Magnus still uses as his office. Read the full story of how Mary’s Meals began on our website www.marysmeals.org.uk goes towards our charitable activities At most seven pence covers fundraising and governance costs. As an organisation reaching out to some of the world’s poorest communities, we are committed to keeping our running costs low to maximise the good we can do with the donations entrusted to us. £12.20 (€14.50) 8 | www.marysmeals.org.uk HELP US CUT COSTS You may have noticed this magazine is slightly taller and slimmer than in previous years, with a few extra pages. Recent changes to the way postage costs are calculated... ...mean it is significantly cheaper to send a magazine of this shape than the larger, square format you have come to know. By adding extra pages, we’ve made sure the Mary’s Meals magazine still contains everything you’d expect; from fundraising updates to stories of how your support is helping individual children around the world. If you’d like to help us reduce our running costs even further and, ultimately, feed more children, please consider signing up to receive our updates by email instead of post. Just get in touch and let us know: [email protected] www.marysmeals.org.uk | 9 Giving girls a voice BACK TO CONTENTS In many of the communities where Mary’s Meals works, girls face obstacles in getting an education. For example, in Malawi, half of girls are married before the age of 18 and many others have children of their own or siblings to care for; while in India huge numbers of young girls are expected to support their families by working and earning instead of going to school. Thanks to the incentive Mary’s Meals provides—a daily meal served in school— young girls and their parents are seeing what can be achieved when they no longer have to choose between being able to eat and having the chance to learn. Ever since 10-yearold Rubeen’s mother passed away, the little girl has had to look after her four younger siblings at her family home in the Sangam Vihar slum of Delhi while her father is at work. Rubeen can’t always make it along to the Mary’s Meals centre, but when she does, she enjoys her lessons and the hot meal she receives. She said: “There isn’t enough food for us all at home, so I like to come here and eat. I want to study and get a good job one day.” Social, economic, and political obstacles to education for girls are often very difficult to conquer, but Mary’s Meals is giving girls all over the world the opportunity to be empowered by learning. 10 | www.marysmeals.org.uk When 16-year-old Hawa fell pregnant, she dropped out of her school in Malawi. Initially, her boyfriend was supportive, buying clothes and soap for the baby during her pregnancy. However, after their son Chisomo was born, Hawa wanted to return to education and her boyfriend disagreed. He gave her an ultimatum. If she stayed out of school, he would marry her and support the child; if she went back to school, she’d have to raise Chisomo without his support. She enjoys learning Maths and English and would like to be a teacher one day. She says: “The food from Mary’s Meals helps me concentrate in class and having a meal in school makes it much easier for me to breastfeed Chisomo.” She decided the best way to give her baby a future was to receive an education. Hawa no longer has any contact with her son’s father. Her parents are farmers and look after her one-year-old son while she is at school. Now that she is studying again, Hawa feels confident about her exams and future. www.marysmeals.org.uk | 11 CHILD 31 WATCH, LOVE, SHARE Child 31 is a beautiful, moving film about our work, which can now be seen online. The short film follows Mary’s Meals founder, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, as he travels to Malawi, India, and Kenya, to see the difference a daily meal in a place of education is making to thousands of children living in poverty. Child 31 was made by Brooklyn-based Grassroots Films and the production costs were covered by a very kind supporter, to ensure we could continue to focus our funds on where they are most needed. The film was launched online free of charge last year with heartfelt messages of support from well-known figures, including actors, singers, TV personalities and politicians. You can help us bring Child 31 and our work to new hearts and minds by going online and sharing the film with others. www.child31film.com Watch, love, share … and help us reach the next child waiting for Mary’s Meals. STAGE A SCREENING If you would like to host a screening of Child 31—whether it’s in the comfort of your own home or somewhere a little larger—please contact [email protected] for a screening kit. We’d love to hear from you! 12 | www.marysmeals.org.uk BACK TO CONTENTS Magnus gives a copy of Child 31 to His Holiness Pope Francis during their meeting in June 2013 Celine Dion, singer/songwriter “Everyone needs to watch Child 31. It’s a heartbreaking film about some of the tragedies of hunger facing the children of our world. “Yet the film is filled with hope; the hope that together we can make a difference in the lives of all these precious children who are suffering.” Lorraine Kelly, breakfast TV host “When you see the faces of those little children whose lives are simply transformed because they get one good meal every day, it’s so heartening and uplifting.” Dermot O’Leary, TV personality “Child 31 shows us that if we help impoverished communities to provide a daily meal for their children in school, the rest will follow.” Dana Rosemary Scallon, Irish politician and singer “Child 31 shows that people with love in their hearts can offer hope to the world’s poorest children. “Hope of an education, hope of a better tomorrow, hope of a better life.” Nick Nairn, celebrity chef “You should watch it because we should realise how fortunate we are and you should watch it because you can help other people.” www.marysmeals.org.uk | 13 CHANGE THE FUTURE FOR A WHOLE SCHOOL BACK TO CONTENTS You can help us reach many more children and give your fundraising a focus by pledging to cover the cost of feeding a whole school. Individuals, families, and fundraising groups can be matched with a school in Malawi or Liberia where we have our largest projects. The fundraising target is set depending on the number of children enrolled at the school you are supporting, and the rest is up to you! It costs us an average of just £12.20 to feed a child for a whole school year so just think how many children you can reach with your fundraising efforts. Our supporters often tell us they find it helpful to have something to work towards—and, of course, receiving information about the school and the children who are benefiting is a great reward for their commitment. As well as receiving updates on how the pupils are progressing with their education, the fundraising group will have words of their choice painted on a sign on the kitchen wall, which the children will see every day when they receive their lifechanging meal. If you’d like to feed a whole school, we’d love to hear from you. [email protected] CHANGING LIVES, IN LOVING MEMORY Kathryn Lumb always wanted to teach her children to think of others and try to help, as her mother Eileen taught her. At the beginning of 2013, Kathryn introduced her eight and nine-year-old daughters to Mary’s Meals and the simple idea of feeding hungry children in a place of education. She says: “I loved the fact that the costs involved were amounts my girls could relate to. “To feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole year in school isn’t far off the price of a CD or DVD, and it made sense to start fundraising with manageable targets in mind. “The girls sorted through their toys and ran a stall, knowing that every small amount raised would help to feed children who really needed a chance.” When Eileen (above) passed away later that year, aged 86, the family felt it would be appropriate to send donations made in her memory to our project in Malawi. Kathryn said: “I called Mary’s Meals to discuss our options and we decided to cover the feeding costs at a small school in southern Blantyre called Namitalala Primary. “Now we have Mum’s name on the wall and we’re keeping up with the fundraising so we can feed the whole school again next year.” “I recently opened an auction house in Mytholmroyd and serve tea and coffee at our fortnightly auctions in return for donations. “We’ve made £255 in the last four months, so I’m sure we’ll be able to reach our target again this year. “It’s lovely to be able to involve my girls in such a fitting tribute to their wonderful nana and they really enjoy having something to aim for too.” 14 | www.marysmeals.org.uk www.marysmeals.org.uk | 15 Gift a backpack Many children receiving Mary’s Meals don’t have basic learning tools such as pencils and notebooks. For many of the children, the backpack they receive from our supporters is the only gift they have ever been given. The ideal donated backpack should include: • backpack • notepad • pencils • pens • crayons • eraser • • ruler • sharpener • pencil case • towel • shorts or skirt • • t-shirt or dress • flip-flops or sandals • • small ball e.g. tennis ball • soap • toothbrush • • toothpaste • spoon • Our Backpack Project allows supporters to help those children realise their full potential by donating a backpack filled with educational items. The project complements our main school feeding focus by offering an added incentive to keep children in school and rewarding the ones who attend. BACK TO CONTENTS HANDY HINTS “I wish everyone could have a backpack like mine.” Sosa Saidi, 7, Malawi • Clothing for children aged between four and 12 is suitable and second-hand items are fine as long as they are in good condition. • You can label your backpack to show whether it is suitable for a boy or a girl and suggest what age. • Please don’t include any liquids (including liquid soap) or be tempted to add any other gifts such as toys or sweets as this can cause problems with Customs during delivery. • For more information about donating backpacks, please call 0141 336 7094. to collect useful items to donate, knowing where they will end up and how much these simple gifts will help the children on their journey out of poverty.” Over the years, The Inner Wheel of Llangefni, which has around 20 members from across the Isle of Anglesey, has donated 115 filled backpacks to be gifted to children receiving Mary’s Meals. The Inner Wheel of Llangefni in Wales has been supporting the Backpack Project for the last four years. Overseas Organiser Joan Langrill said: “Mary’s Meals is so appealing because it’s so focused on education. Our members love 16 16 || www.marysmeals.org.uk www.marysmeals.org.uk Joan continued: “It’s a lovely project to be involved in and we’re encouraging other groups to take part too.” www.marysmeals.org.uk | 17 BACK TO CONTENTS “Mary’s Meals is helping kids get a great education, and in turn, a better education system can help lift a nation out of poverty.” Movie star Gerard Butler put Hollywood on hold to visit Liberia and see Mary’s Meals in action for the first time. Gerard visited several schools where Mary’s Meals is already established and witnessed the difference a daily meal can make to the health and energy levels of children and its impact on their ability to learn. Among the highlights of the visit, the actor pitched in to help volunteer cooks prepare and serve up meals, taught a class of orphans, played football with kids, loaded a truck with sacks of rice, planted pepper seeds and pineapples at a school garden, and danced with villagers. “I’ve seen a lot of these communities becoming more energised and alive, and what Mary’s Meals does is to help create a sense of community that goes way beyond the feeding programme itself.” Gerard described every meal as a ‘piece of charity and a little piece of love’, which goes into the hearts of the children. He added: “I see communities full of resilience, integrity, warmth, love, and hope. All of that is already here but Mary’s Meals is like a little switch that helps flick it on. He said: “Since 2010, I have come to know Mary’s Meals but I had no idea of what that really meant until I saw what is possible with this organisation and the effect it can have on the lives of so many children. Gerard meets children receiving Mary’s Meals 18 | www.marysmeals.org.uk “One of the things that I have been struck by during this visit is the strength of people’s dignity and what I love about Mary’s Meals is that it is all about retaining this. They don’t operate a free system where people are just taking; instead it is all about respecting and promoting the lives of people, their culture, and what they are capable of. “There is such a direct link between a donation and a nutritious meal for a kid and so much more than that. Donors can have a great deal of comfort in knowing their money is going straight towards helping the children.” To watch a short film clip of Gerard’s visit to Liberia, please visit our website. www.marysmeals.org.uk | 19 FOCUS ON: LIBERIA Mary’s Meals began its Liberian school feeding programme in 2006 and currently reaches over 115,000 children with a daily meal in school. Meloshe and Charles Roberts—who are not related—were among the first children to benefit. Ten years ago, Meloshe’s life was in tatters. Driven from his home by rebel forces, he found shelter in a refugee camp before eventually daring to return to Tubmanburg in western Liberia. After the civil war, his parents were unable to help him and his life looked set to take a depressing downwards spiral from there on. But now 24-year-old Meloshe is one of Liberia’s rising stars. As director of news for Bomi Radio, a large regional station, he manages a team of 22 people. The independent radio service is fearlessly holding the government to account, with lively political phoneins and active debates. Speaking about Mary’s Meals, he said: “It helped me to get where I am now.” he said. “Receiving food at school encouraged me to stick with my studies, and be focused.” 20 | www.marysmeals.org.uk BACK TO CONTENTS Charles was 13 when rebels entered his hometown during Liberia’s vicious civil war. “I saw people being killed,” said Charles. “There was gunfire all around. I left halfnaked—I didn’t want to carry anything, because it might have slowed me down.” He was bundled into a friend’s car and driven away from his village. With rebels everywhere and surrounded by chaos, Charles’s family feared the worst, but they finally found him in a refugee camp. Charles, 24, now a teacher, believes that receiving food from Mary’s Meals in school every day played a large part in helping him get his life back together. “Before Mary’s Meals started, I was always thinking about food,” he said. “I wanted to learn but it was hard … I’d stop school in the middle of the day to try and find some food. I would have carried on boycotting school, were it not for Mary’s Meals. “Mary’s Meals has helped me to succeed and become a teacher. It has given me the strength.” Inspiring the future With her strong independence and dazzling smile, 23-year-old Henriattor Singbeh has helped to change perceptions in western Liberia. Miss Singbeh, who is finance and HR assistant at the Mary’s Meals headquarters in Tubmanburg and studies Economics part time at university, has become a role model to children and adults alike. Her work with Mary’s Meals has made her home village proud, and whenever she returns, she is given an emotional welcome. Her example has inspired many in the village, especially the women. “My mother used to say that I should have lots of children, and start young,” she said. “But I would say ‘No Ma, it’s better to have a career first. My mother has had her eyes opened to a different way of thinking, and that has passed onto other mothers.” www.marysmeals.org.uk | 21 WALKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE BACK TO CONTENTS FUNDR SPOTL AISER IGHT We love hearing from supporters and we never stop being amazed by the ways people find to help Mary’s Meals— we hope you enjoy this handful of examples! STEP BY STEP People from all corners of Ireland took part in a walk from their hometowns to Knock in County Mayo to raise awareness of our work. The Mary’s Meals Letterkenny supporter group led the walk from Malin with others joining along the way. The event raised over €69,000 and the mastermind behind it—Mary Higgins from Cork—is planning a follow-up fundraiser for 2014. Anyone interested in taking part in any stage of this year’s walk should contact ireland marysmeals.org A WHOLE GROTTO LOVE 22 | www.marysmeals.org.uk STUDENT SOLIDARITY Eleven undergraduates from Aberdeen University helped raise awareness and funds for the work of Mary’s Meals by pledging to live on £1 a day for a whole week. pennies in the slots as they pass by and John’s beautiful display has raised over £2,800 already. The Church of Scotland Guild has selected Mary’s Meals as the focus for a threeyear project (2012-2015). Over 24,000 members across nearly 1,000 church guilds have so far raised over £65,000 to support our school feeding project in Liberia. MANY HAPPY RETURNS CARING CIARA Seven-year-old Ciara Donaghy learned about Mary’s Meals at school. She asked her parents if she could clear out all the savings in her bank account to donate, and it was enough to provide over 20 children with Mary’s Meals for a whole year. She’s been encouraging others to help too—asking her family to follow her lead and dig deep to give children in the developing world a chance. SSSSSSHHH HHH KEEPING SCHTUM TO SEND KIDS TO SCHOOL CHURCH SUPPORT As Andrew Buchan approached his 90th birthday, he told his family he’d like to dedicate his milestone celebration to Mary’s Meals. Donations poured in instead of presents and Andrew’s sacrifice raised enough to feed over 50 children for a year. When John McLaughlin suffered a heart attack aged 54, he decided his life needed a change of pace. He began carving wooden chairs and figures and, later, using his skills as a carver and inventor, created a grotto dedicated to Mary’s Meals in his front garden in Bishopton, Scotland. Children and adults love to drop DE-CLUTTER AND DONATE Daisy from Southgate, North London, raised money for Mary’s Meals by selling her unwanted books and toys in her front garden before her family moved house. CHARLIE AND MARTHA Inverness Beaver Colony held their tongues for a sponsored silence and raised enough to feed 30 children with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year. Two of our youngest fundraisers—Charlie Doherty, 14, and Martha Payne, 11— continue to raise huge amounts of money for Mary’s Meals. Martha’s blog and public speaking engagements have prompted over £131,000 of donations from the public so far. Charlie’s latest fundraising event saw him cycle across Europe with family and friends, bringing his total above £42,500. “Mary’s Meals is about people all over the world walking together with the same very simple goal: that the hungry child receives a meal every day in a place of education.” Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals www.marysmeals.org.uk | 23 Join the Mary’s Meals family and start changing the future BACK TO CONTENTS Every penny raised makes such a difference to the lives of desperately hungry children, so it really doesn’t matter how you decide to help. You’ll probably have lots of brilliant fundraising ideas, but here are some of our favourites to get you started… GET SPONSORED Need a challenge to get you more active? Whether you’re taking on a fun run or walk, swimming the channel, or pledging to tap dance for 10 straight hours, we’d love to hear from you. Whatever challenge you’ve always wanted to set yourself, make this your opportunity to go for it. GIVE IT UP FOR MARY’S MEALS Why not use Mary’s Meals as your inspiration to kick a habit for a month, or even longer if you can? Whatever you would usually spend on your vice can quickly add up, so whatever it is, give it up for Mary’s Meals. 10 OCT WORLD PORRIDGE DAY Don’t forget! 24 | www.marysmeals.org.uk Does your workplace select a charity to support each year? Talking to your employer about Mary’s Meals could be the first step towards a fun and rewarding project that will turn things around for some of the world’s poorest children. If you need any more information or you’d like to speak to someone about corporate support options, please contact the Mary’s Meals fundraising team. CLUBS AND SOCIETIES Mary’s Meals often benefits from fundraising work undertaken by generous organisations such as Rotary International, Inner Wheel, Soroptimist International, The Knights of St Columba, and many others. GREAT NEWS! Mary’s Meals now has small offices in Dublin and London. Your local contact in Dublin is Aoife Martin, who can be reached on +353 (0) 1 857 2155 or [email protected] In London, please contact Gerrard McMahon on +44 (0) 207 253 9572 or [email protected] If you are a member of a club or society that would like to help support our work, please contact the fundraising team. [email protected] You’ve Got A Friend One of the best ways to help us to reach more children is to tell a friend about Mary’s Meals. PORRIDGE BREAKFAST Invite friends, family, or colleagues round for a hearty bowl of porridge with a choice of toppings, or offer samples of likuni phala, as served in our school feeding programme in Malawi. To request some likuni phala mix, just contact the fundraising team. CHARITY OF THE YEAR So, why not arrange a catch up with a pal and pass on a copy of this magazine while you’re at it? OFFICE TEA PARTY How about bringing all your colleagues together for an office tea party to raise funds for Mary’s Meals? Invite everyone to bake a sweet treat and bring in their favourite teapot—before you know it, you’ll have an office tea party worth charging entry for! www.marysmeals.org.uk 25 www.marysmeals.org.uk || 25 GIVING TIME; GIVING HOPE BACK TO CONTENTS Mary’s Meals is able to reach so many children at such a low cost because of the dedication of thousands of volunteers, based all around the world. VOLUNTEER PROFILE: SHABNAM SABUR Shabnam first heard about Mary’s Meals from a BBC documentary about 11-year-old Martha Payne’s fundraising success. She has been an official volunteer speaker for more than a year, giving talks about Mary’s Meals in and around her hometown of Leicester. Shabnam, who is a full-time pharmacist, said: “Raising awareness for Mary’s Meals gives me a great sense of purpose. I am still so struck by the simple way the charity is not only changing lives daily but also making a real investment into education and the future of several nations. “One day I could be discussing the basics of the school feeding programme with a group of school children, and a few weeks later, be presenting to established professionals from all walks of life at a Rotary club. “I would never have thought I’d be comfortable standing up and talking in front of so many people, but I’m just so passionate about Mary’s Meals—I can’t keep it to myself!” 26 | www.marysmeals.org.uk VOLUNTEER TRAINING: MALAWI Eight schools in Malawi’s Mangochi District were recently added to the Mary’s Meals family, prompting an early morning training session for over 300 volunteers who had signed up to do their bit. The area is home to both Christians and Muslims and volunteers of both religions came together at 5am to learn about the Mary’s Meals programme. Each volunteer was asked to bring a little firewood and the overall yield was enough to last around two months, thanks to the efficiency of the stoves. Mary’s Meals school feeding programmes are essentially owned and run by community volunteers who prepare, cook, and serve the daily meal in each school. Our expansion manager in Malawi, Florian Suwedi, led the session, explaining the responsibilities of a volunteer; demonstrating how to use the stoves and the best ways to prepare the likuni phala; as well as covering health and safety. He also made sure, as always, to emphasise that the job of a volunteer is to prepare and cook the meals, while children are in school to eat and learn. Florian said: “The sense of excitement at the arrival of the programme is so infectious. “I am volunteering as I am serving my own children and also the orphans.” Jennifer Saliwa, volunteer It always feels like a party when there is a training session in a new area. Everyone is singing and dancing because the community can now feed their children and they are so happy.” www.marysmeals.org.uk | 27 HOW WE WORK: MALAWI BACK TO CONTENTS The Mary’s Meals model is community-led, cost effective, and efficient. School feeding committees—made up of parents, teachers, and volunteers—are absolutely essential, and always one of the first things to be established in any new area receiving Mary’s Meals. So, with Mary’s Meals, Malawian communities are growing and cooking the food that their children are eating in school. PUPILS RECEIVING MARY'S MEALS enrol in school, attend school, study, complete education, reach potential and change the world MARY’S MEALS community engagement and training, supplying food, monitoring, providing best practice model SCHOOL managing feeding, record keeping, secure storage and stock rotation, education MALAWIAN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS grow maize, soya, sugar the ingredients for the likuni phala mix COMMUNITY set up and run school feeding committee, organise volunteer cooks, encourage pupils MALAWIAN-BASED FOOD PRODUCER purchase local ingredients, develop recipe, process and distribute likuni phala - the porridge-like meal served to children in Malawi IMPORTS vitamin fortification The ingredients for the daily meal are provided by Mary’s Meals using donations from supporters. 28 | www.marysmeals.org.uk Regular giving allows us to make plans for the future, so we can reach more children with a life-changing, daily meal. Please fill in this form using a ball point pen and send to: Mary’s Meals, FREEPOST NATN 448, Dalmally, PA33 1BR BACK TO CONTENTS MY DETAILS ARE: Full name: Home address: Postcode: Tel no: donated goes towards our charitable activities Email address: (To receive regular updates) If you are a UK taxpayer, we can reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 you donate under the Gift Aid scheme at no extra cost to you. This will be used to help us feed more children. HELP US REACH THE NEXT CHILD When supporters set up a regular gift through direct debit or standing order, this means we can plan ahead and select more schools to receive Mary’s Meals. I would like Mary’s Meals to treat this donation, all donations that I have made over the past four years and all future donations, until I notify you otherwise, as Gift Aid donations. I have paid enough income tax and / or capital gains tax to cover the amount of tax that all charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs I donate to will reclaim for that tax year. I understand other taxes such as Council Tax and VAT do not count, and Mary’s Meals will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give. MAKE A DONATION OTHER WAYS TO DONATE I would like to make a single donation of By cheque / postal order. Please make payable to Mary’s Meals and send to the address at the top of this page. £ Please debit my MasterCard / Visa / Maestro / CAF charity card (Delete as appropriate) Make a bank transfer to our account using the following details. Mary’s Meals Account Number: 00609134 Sort Code: 83 26 24 Card number: Signature: Start date: Expiry date: Issue No: Date: (if appropriate) Chronically hungry children are often unable to attend school, and those who can will struggle to concentrate without a meal. I want to donate on a regular basis Whenever Mary’s Meals is welcomed into a new area, the news is met with elation, enthusiasm, and a collective effort from the local area to support our work. With your help, we can make this a reality for more children and their communities. £ Monthly Annually Please fill in the Direct Debit Instruction below. INSTRUCTION TO YOUR BANK OR BUILDING SOCIETY TO PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to: Mary’s Meals, FREEPOST NATN 448, Dalmally, PA33 1BR Service user number Name and full postal address of your bank/ building society To: The Manager Andrew, 16, attends Cheesemanburg Public School in Liberia. Each morning, despite having no breakfast, Andrew walks almost six miles to school, knowing that he will receive Mary’s Meals at break time. Being one of the older students at Cheesemanburg, he remembers a time before Mary’s Meals came to the school and how he and his classmates struggled without their daily meal: “At break time everybody would sit; no-one had energy and everyone was quiet.” 30 | www.marysmeals.org.uk Things are different now. The daily meal provided by community volunteers through our Liberia project gives the children at Cheesemanburg Public School enough energy to learn as well as play. “I eat the food to get strength,” says Andrew. “Now I can concentrate, I’m not thinking about my hunger.” To all those who support the work of Mary’s Meals, Andrew says: “Thank you, and please continue. When there is no food, learning is very challenging.” Bank/Building Society 6 7 4 6 9 3 Reference Address: Postcode: Name(s) of account holder(s) Bank/building society account number Instruction to your Bank or Building Society Please pay Mary’s Meals Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Mary’s Meals and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society. Signature(s): Branch sort code Banks and building societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account. Date: The Direct Debit Guarantee (This Guarantee should be detached and retained by the payer). ∞ This guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits. ∞ If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit, Mary’s Meals will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Mary’s Meals to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request. ∞ If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by Mary’s Meals or your Bank or Building Society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your Bank or Building Society. If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Mary’s Meals asks you to. ∞ You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your Bank or Building Society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us. Mary’s Meals, Craig Lodge, Dalmally, Argyll, PA33 1AR. Registered Charity: SC022140 Limited Company: SC265941 ARE YOU IN? GRACE IS 10 YEARS OLD GRACE LIVES IN MALAWI GRACE IS WAITING FOR MARY’S MEALS Find out how her story ends at www.marysmeals.org.uk/savinggrace Share our animation and help us reach more hungry kids #SavingGrace