‘I believe the children are our future…..’

We all know that famous line much warbled on a drunken karaoke night out.

But what happens when those children of the future – lawyers, doctors, teachers and just generally good people – never reach their full potential for the simple want of that basic human need – food.

That’s where Mary’s Meals comes in.

I wrote so many different versions of an introduction to Mary’s Meals to explain a little of what they do, but couldn’t put it as succinctly as they do themselves.

‘We have confidence in the innate goodness of people’

‘We are united by our shared vision of providing a daily meal in a place of education to every child who needs it.

Ours is not a movement that divides rich from poor, or giver from receiver. Every contribution is equally valued, from cash donations that buy the food, to the time given to cook and serve the meals within impoverished communities.

Nearly every part of our work depends on unpaid volunteers and it is through them that our movement grows.

Mary’s Meals affiliates and informal groups of supporters are forming around the world in order to raise funds and awareness of our work. Such groups already exist in Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the USA.

Despite our various backgrounds, races, religions, languages and situations, we consider ourselves one big family working towards a common goal.’

In our own family, we have had the opportunity to sponsor one such school and decided as as a team that it would be an honour to do all we could to help a tiny fraction of the needy in the most desperate areas of the globe.

Our school we chose is in Liberia.  They were in need, we could help.

To feed ONE child for ONE ENTIRE YEAR, it costs £12.20.  That’s four Starbucks caramel lattes without a skinny muffin on the side. Or less than one adult main course in Prezzo.

AN ENTIRE YEAR!!!!!!

When we look at our own children and their full tummies, their blessed lifestyles in a decidedly average working family providing them with opportunites beyond these other kids’ comprehension…it is something we NEEDED to do. My husband has long been the biggest fan of the work that Mary’s Meals does. Having travelled to Malawi and seen the miraculous work they do first hand, he sees that the money raised DOES NOT go to governments or to line the back pockets of corrupt authorities. It goes to the mouths of the people it is intended for, keeping real children from the brink of death and malnutrition day in, day out. 93p in EVERY pound goes directly to feeding the children. I am not usually quite so good at charity which isn’t on my home turf – I see the need here is great also – but I am also only too aware that we already have a structure in place in this country to attempt to break that cycle which IS working. These kids in our school in Liberia, don’t have that luxury either.

So how can we call it ‘our school’? We sponsor it. We cover the cost of feeding these kids annually by donations and fundraising and this is a speckle on the map of success stories dotted across the world. We had to think of a name for our school.  It HAD to be Ginger Towers! Proudly displayed on the wall of our school, these beautiful faces proudly got their picture taken under the sign so we could see it in action. See those cups they are holding up? That’s for their daily meal. Their breakfast, lunch and dinner all rolled into one little plastic cup. But they aren’t complaining! They are thriving and happy. They have their dignity.

You don’t need to sponsor a school, feed for a year or any of those things. Just do it for a day. Feed a child their meal for today – keep a child alive.

To donate, go to https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/gifts-and-cards to see what you can do to make a difference…..

Have you heard of Mary’s Meals before? Are you able to show a simple act of love?