COMMUNITY


T


HE REPUTATION of Dalmally-based char-


Staff at Mary’s Meals’ office at Creag Lodge, Dalmally. 08_t51marys01


ity Mary’s Meals is grow- ing with each child it feeds in developing na- tions around the world. The project was formed under the charity’s registered name of Scottish International Relief (SIR) in 2002. However, the runaway suc- cess of the school feeding programme meant its name became more familiar than SIR and the decision was made to change the charity’s name. Mary’s Meals also be- came the primary project of the charity, which still has an orphanage project in Romania and other causes to support. Now feeding 400,000 children in 16 countries around the world, the astronomical rise of Mary’s Meals in only eight years has shocked even the founder Magnus MacFarlane- Barrow. Magnus said: ‘Our own pas- sion seemed to be matched by the public and our support base began growing faster than ever. It is something I did not expect. ‘Since we began Mary’s Meals the support base has become more international. ‘We are completely reliant on volunteers and that underpins everything we do.’ These volunteers are respon- sible for the frontline service the charity provides – feeding schoolchildren in developing nations around the world. However, there are countless volunteers in the UK, who


host talks about the charity’s work and collect donations. Magnus, who was inspired by Live Aid, said: ‘We don’t ad- vertise and our fundraising is not pushy – we tell the stories of the people we help. We’re not going to twist arms or make people feel guilty. ‘We have a massive network of people around the country, including speakers who give talks in churches, schools and at Rotary clubs and that is how this movement devel- ops.’ However, there was never a plan to develop this move- ment beyond a Land Rover journey to Bosnia in 1992, when Magnus and his brother Fergus took a week off work to deliver aid parcels. Magnus explained: ‘When people heard about what we were doing, clothes and dona- tions started flooding in from around Argyll, so I thought I would take a few months off. But the support kept growing. ‘I didn’t think I would be doing this for the rest of my life but I feel great gratitude and privi- lege that I get to do this work, which constantly restores my faith in human nature. Mary’s Meals says it costs only £6.15 to feed a child for an entire school year in Ma- lawi and the charity’s 10,000 volunteers in the country are feeding 14 per cent of the na- tion’s children. Magnus said: ‘The more I do this the more I think it is insane that children are still dying of starvation.’


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