Lenten Project 2016 Mary's Meals
Thank You
Many congratulations to all of you who contributed so generously to our parish Lenten project: MARY’S MEALS …
Your kindness has raised a total of £3,234 - which will feed over 215 children for a year in the developing world !
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This year, our Parish Lenten Exercise was to support the
Catholic Charity: MARY’S MEALS.
A little history: Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow (Founder & CEO of Mary’s Meals) arranges an aid trip to Bosnia to deliver essential supplies to those affected by the war. What was meant to be a one-off delivery grew into an operation called Scottish International Relief (SIR) that went on to provide millions of pounds worth of emergency aid and fund many other projects to help the poorest of the poor around the world !
2002 … Mary’s Meals provides meals for 200 children in one Malawian Primary school !
2010 … 400,000 children are fed every school day !
2012 … 700,000 children fed every school day !
2014 … 900,000 children fed every school day !
2015 … thanks to the love, dedication and kindness of supporters worldwide,
ONE MILLION children are now receiving Mary’s Meals every day they attend school !
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150 households in our parish have taken home, this weekend, a special Mary’s Meals blue collecting mug, and promise to fill it with at least
£15.00 during the next 6 weeks of Lent - this is what it costs to feed
ONE CHILD FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR !
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The challenge for our parish was this - when we come to celebrate the
Resurrection of Our Lord on Easter Sunday, our Parish will have raised enough to feed 150 children for the next 12 months !
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All we asked you was to contribute at least £15.00 as part of your Lenten sacrifices, to help Mary’s Meals provide meals for ANOTHER 150 children in the developing world, for the next 12 months !
Did YOU help ?
Yes YOU did.
Your kindness has raised a total of £3,234 - which will feed over 215 children for a year in the developing world !
MESSAGE OF THANKS FROM MARY’S MEALS
Dear Fr Miranda
On behalf of everyone at Mary’s Meals, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for your recent donation of £3,500.00. We are so grateful for your support.
Every donation to Mary’s Meals, large or small, goes a long way to helping us reach more children with a nutritious daily meal in their place of education. We are delighted to be able to say we are now feeding over 1,101,000 children – a figure which is a true testament to the many, many acts of kindness from donors all over the world. Together we are making child hunger a thing of the past.
Every individual child has their own unique story to tell about the difference Mary’s Meals has made to them. One of those children is Gilbert, from Malawi, who has benefitted massively from the generosity of supporters like you.
Gilbert is an orphan. His mother died after suffering from an illness and his father died in an accident while working as a fisherman. Gilbert doesn’t know what age he is.
Until recently, Gilbert often missed school, being forced instead to take whatever work he could find in order to earn just enough to survive.
However, since Mary's Meals started feeding at Gilbert’s local school, Lirangwe Primary near Blantyre, his life has changed and he goes to school every day, where he is guaranteed a nutritious meal and is able to learn. Gilbert tells us that Mary’s Meals motivates him to stay at school and realise his huge ambitions. He says, “I want to study hard and become the President of Malawi, so I can develop this country and give food to my people, so that they will no longer suffer.”
Thank you for the vital part you are playing in being able to offer hope to children just like Gilbert who often find themselves in very difficult circumstances. You are not only filling up empty stomachs, but also providing an escape route from poverty, giving children and their communities a lasting hope for the future.
Thank you for giving this precious gift.
Yours sincerely,
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow
Founder & Chief Executive,
Mary’s Meals