July, 2011



East Africa food crisis

Mary's Meals supporting 6,000 more children at risk from malnutrition
Posted Wednesday July 27 2011 by in Latest News

Six thousand children who have been affected by the drought in east Africa are receiving a daily meal from Mary’s Meals.

The charity, which provides school meals in some of the world’s poorest communities, has been working in the region for several years, and already feeds thousands of children in South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

Now its work in the Diocese of Lodwar, in drought-hit northern Kenya, is reaching more of those in need.

Asssistance is being targeted at nursery-aged children, the age-group at the most at risk from hunger-related diseases, ensuring that they receive crucial nutrition during the six week summer holiday, when other sources of food are not available.

The new programme brings the total number of children that Mary’s Meals is feeding in Kenya to more than 24,000. The six thousand reached by the new programme are in addition to 3,100 already supported in Lodwar and 15,000 elsewhere in Kenya.

Magnus MacFarlane Barrow, Mary’s Meals chief executive, said: “The situation in Turkana has become increasingly desperate, with failed rains leading to dire food and water shortages. What was already a crisis has become an emergency, so when our partners asked for help to feed more hungry children, we felt compelled to give it.”

Click here to make a donation.

The new programme will provide a daily meal of maize and beans for 6,000 children aged from three to six over the next six weeks, with a review at the end of that period. In addition to the children attending the nurseries, it is expected that other older and younger children will be drawn to the centres by the prospect of food.

The children who will benefit come from pastoralist families who normally depend on goats and cattle for their livelihoods. As more animals die, many are subsisting on wild fruits such as doum palm seeds, and, where they have survived, the blood and milk of their live animals.

A young child is tested for malnutrition. Picture courtesy of Eoghan Rice / Trocaire

Tim Flynn, administrator for the Diocese of Lodwar, which delivers Mary’s Meals in the region, reports that the situation is worsening “Hunger is widespread and animals have started to die,” he said. “We know that things are going to get worse because there is no expectation of any rain, if it comes at all, before October.”

 

More than a third of children under-five in Turkana are severely underweight, an indication of the urgency of a situation that is causing families to take increasing risks in search of food. While some camp by the road-side in the hope of donations from passers-by, others are venturing into hostile territory to trade beads for food. Last month a group of travellers that included women and children were massacred by militia as they returned from a trip to find food in Ethiopia.

Against this background, the nutritious school meal of beans and maize mash, provided by Mary’s Meals, is a source of reassurance and hope.

“The drought has meant that more children come to school in order to secure at least a meal,” says Roseline Aite Onakuta, development co-ordinator for the Diocese of Lodwar. “During incidences of raids, parents and their children move to safer areas in fear of their lives. This increases the number of children enrolled in the nurseries around the secure places.”

“We are considering how we can respond to further urgent requests for more help from our friends and partners in Northern Kenya,” says Magnus.

“Chronic hunger is one of the main reasons that children miss out on education. Wherever possible, the meals that Mary’s Meals provides are delivered in schools, because we know that an education provides children with the tools they need to escape poverty. Mary’s Meals’ vision is that every child in the world should receive a daily meal in their place of education. Alongside this emergency response, our commitment to that vision continues.”

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Students cause a stir

Ryan Cassidy, a student at Strathclyde University, writes about his visit to Mary's Meals projects in Malawi
Posted Wednesday July 20 2011 by in Mary's Meals blog

After a short visit to the Mary’s Meals Malawi HQ and a meet and greet with the ground staff, we visited a local girls school just outside Limbe, in Blantyre. Meeting with the principal gave us a better understanding of how essential Mary’s Meals is.

“It’s Monday, so we have full attendance today. Some of the girls will not have eaten since their bowl on Friday,” the Principal explained. Coming to school now has an added  incentive!

The school itself is semi residential with half the girls coming from surrounding areas, just behind the hostels is the feeding centre. A small shelter with a few charcoal stoves, that’s so full of smoke it’s hard to stand over the boiling cookers for too long.

The volunteers serving up the Likuni Phala are wonderful, giving up a day’s work to make sure the girls get a proper meal. One lady is particularly amazing and still attends even through her granddaughter has long since left the school.

We had a go at stirring the pots of porridge – giving the cooking a go really makes you appreciate how hard it is to stand over the stove for hours on end and serve the kids.

At twelve a stampede of kids flow from their classrooms, eager to get their porridge. The average class size here is 200. It’s truly amazing to see Mary’s Meals in action and to hear first hand from the teachers and girls how a daily meal has changed school life.

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Volunteering to make a difference

Posted Monday July 18 2011 by in Volunteer Vacancies

We love volunteers! The success of Mary’s Meals is mainly down to its army of volunteers.

Volunteers are involved in every bit of Mary’s Meals from filling envelopes with the latest appeal letter, to helping in our warehouse and shops, to advising us on organisational development.

“Without passionate, motivated volunteers, Mary’s Meals cannot function. When you volunteer for Mary’s Meals, you have the opportunity to work in a way that best uses your talents and skills. In this way we will allow your potential as a volunteer to be realised and will help to ensure that you have an enriching and rewarding experience.” (Mary’s Meals volunteer statement)

Because of volunteers’ dedication and hard work freely given, money donated to Mary’s Meals goes a long way and that means we can feed even more of the world’s poorest children.  Time to spare – even a few hours a week to fundraise or raise awareness on our behalf – can be a valuable contribution to Mary’s Meals especially when time is so precious.

Volunteering also gives you a chance to share specialist skills and can be a good way of plumping up your CV and make you stand out from the crowd in job interviews.

In the countries where we work, we have over 65,000 volunteers from the community who own and run Mary’s Meals.

The seeds of our work continue to grow across the globe thanks to the dedication and commitment of people who share our vision and form Mary’s Meals groups in their country to support our work. We have support groups in Abu Dhabi, Australia, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Malawi, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and the USA.

 Please note, at present, we don’t have a structure in place to offer volunteer placements overseas.

 Get in touch

We are on the look out for volunteers across the UK to help us in the following areas – if you are able to spare the time, we would love to hear from you! If you would be interested please email: volunteer@marysmeals.org

Media volunteers– Fancy using your media skills to help make a difference? Why not consider volunteering for Mary’s Meals and help us spread further awareness of our work?

We are looking for media volunteers to support our small media team based in Scotland. You would ideally have strong writing skills, experience or interest in working in the media, great communication skills, and bags of enthusiasm! In return, we offer you a rewarding opportunity to support a wide range of projects that matches your skills. We are also keen to hear from people who have graphic design, photography, website and social media skills.

So whether you have an hour to spare working from home, or would like to dedicate more time working alongside our team, please get in touch. Location isn’t a barrier, and as a global organisation, we would be happy to consider media volunteers from around the world!

Translators – As our international support grows so does our need for translators. We currently have some gaps and are looking for volunteers to translate, on an occasional basis, the following:

German to English/English to German
Spanish to English/English to Spanish
French to English/English to French
Italian to English/English to Italian

The suitable volunteer would need to be fluent in both English and the other language mentioned and have business language in both. They would be expected to keep the contents of any documents confidential.

Can collectors – We rely on street can collectors to raise both funds and awareness around the work of Mary’s Meals.  While our fundraising team will organise the administration side of things, we require can collectors to be the face and presence of Mary’s Meals on the streets.

Backpack co-ordinators – The Backpack Project is a simple way of helping children from poor families in countries like Malawi and Liberia get to school. We are looking for volunteers who can help us promote, encourage and organise the backpack project in their community.

Community Ambassadors – Be an ambassador for Mary’s Meals and help us spread the word about what we do! We are looking for volunteers to inform and inspire others to support Mary’s Meals and raise awareness of third world poverty. Mary’s Meals realises that many people may want to volunteer but are unable to spare too much time.  This role gives the flexibility necessary while being a great benefit to the charity.

Click here to find out in which areas of the UK we urgently require speakers >>

Speakers – Mary’s Meals requires volunteers to visit schools and other organisations such as Rotary Clubs and Guilds to give presentations on our work and to generate further support.  The role can also include helping with local fundraising events or representing the charity at conferences and other gatherings. Full training and support is provided.

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved in the above volunteer vacancies, please contact Hannah Weddell on hannah.weddell@marysmeals.org or call 0141 336 7094.

London / South-East England - We are currently on the lookout for volunteers to help us in and around the London area, where we now have an office. If you are interested in helping, please contact colin.macintyre@marysmeals.org

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East Africa food crisis

Partners report:
Posted Monday July 18 2011 by in Archive News

Mary’s Meals is providing school meals for thousands of children affected by the food crisis.

The charity, which runs feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, supports schools in Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, providing a daily meal that ensures children receive crucial nutrition and are encouraged to attend class.

Click here to make a donation

Failed rains across eastern Africa have led to a dramatic increase in food prices. This insecurity contributes to regional conflict, which prevents crops from being planted and has adds to the challenge of delivering aid to remote areas.

In Lodwar, near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, Mary’s Meals supports more than 3,000 children in nursery schools, at an age where they are especially vulnerable to hunger-related illness. They come from pastoralist families now surviving on a diet of gathered ‘engole’ berries and blood and milk taken from their live animals. The rock dams on which they depend for water are almost all dry.

Tim Flynn, administrator for the Diocese of Lodwar, which delivers Mary’s Meals in the region, reports that the situation is worsening “We had a meeting yesterday with the priests of the diocese who described the situation in their parishes. Hunger is widespread, animals have started to die and we know that things are going to get worse because there is no expectation of any rain, if it comes at all, before October.”

More than a quarter of children under-five in Turkana are at risk of malnutrition, an indication of the desperate situation that is causing families to take increasing risks in search of food. While some camp by the road-side in the hope of donations from passers-by, others are venturing into hostile territory to trade beads for food. Last month a group of travellers that included women and children were massacred by militia as they returned from a trip to find food in Ethiopia.

Against this background, the nutritious school meal of beans and maize mash, provided by Mary’s Meals, is a source of reassurance and hope.

“The drought has meant that more children come to school in order to secure at least a meal,” says Roseline Aite Onakuta, development co-ordinator for Mary’s Meals partner, the Diocese of Lodwar. “During incidences of raids, parents and their children move to safer areas in fear of their lives. This increases the number of children enrolled in the nurseries around the secure places.”

Mary’s Meals in Turkana is prepared by local parent volunteers who give their time to help ensure that their children benefit from education and nutrition. In an area with a literacy rate of just 70 per cent, their support for the programme is a welcome recognition of the value of education.

Johnson Ekalale is a teacher at Kangatosa Nursery, where his own children receive Mary’s Meals: “I took care of my father’s goats from childhood and would not like the same to happen to my children,” he said. “It was cruel that I was denied the right to education – I have seen the fruits of going to school and want to ensure that they are passed on to future generations.”

In southern Sudan, which became an independent country earlier this month, the food shortage has brought different challenges for Amsudan, Mary’s Meals partner in the Yirol area. With no food available and a local fuel shortage, they have been forced to travel to Uganda to buy stocks and fuel so that they can provide for the 3,200 children who receive meals at 13 rural schools.

13-year-old Peter lives near Yirol with his elderly father. Since his mother died last year he has helped to care for his four younger brothers, but thanks to the guarantee of a nutritious meal, he continues to make the two hour journey to school each day. He says: “I do not like to be hungry. Because of Mary’s Meals, I have the strength to remain in lessons during school hours.”

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Joining Oban’s Big Strip

by Thomas Black, volunteer
Posted Monday July 18 2011 by in Archive News

The record for the most people taking part in the Scottish country dance Strip the Willow was broken in Oban on Saturday night, as part of the town’s bi-centennial celebrations.

Mary’s Meals volunteers played a key role in the event, raising awareness, collecting donations, and helping in practical ways as well – they were present in every swinging, spinning step of the dance.

Volunteers in their dancing costumes

The 1,928 dancers who spun and whirled along the town’s esplanade narrowly broke the previous record of 1,917 dancers set 11 years ago in Edinburgh.

World Record Rules for the dance dictate that every male participant must wear some form of tartan on their lower half. Volunteers from the Mary’s Meals Oban shop were able to provide would-be dancers with tartan flashes (for suspending kilt stockings) thanks to contributions of cut-off tartan from the Geoffrey Tailor Kilt shop in Oban.

The traditional Scottish outfits the volunteers wore on the night were made almost entirely from donations to the shop (the ladies dresses were made from old sheets and tartan curtains and washers were used for the shirt ties) The team also worked with event organisers from the Oban Times, the local newspaper, to help raise awareness and recruit volunteers.

“It was an absolutely fantastic night,” said Marie Rowan, manager of Mary’s Meals Oban shop, the atmosphere was electric.”   

The money donated will be spent providing school meals at Chisombezi School in Malawi, which is sponsored by the Oban Mary’s Meals shop.

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East Africa food crisis report

Mary's Meals helps hungry children across east Africa
Posted Sunday July 10 2011 by in Archive News

Mary’s Meals is providing school meals for thousands of children affected by the food crisis in east Africa.

The charity, which runs feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, supports schools in Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, providing a daily meal that ensures children receive crucial nutrition and are encouraged to attend class.

For many children, Mary's Meals is the only meal they receive

Failed rains across eastern Africa have led to a dramatic increase in food prices. This insecurity contributes to regional conflict, which has added to the challenge of delivering aid to remote areas.

In Lodwar, near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, Mary’s Meals supports more than 3,000 children in nursery schools, at an age where they are especially vulnerable to hunger-related illness. They come from pastoralist families now surviving on a diet of gathered ‘engole’ berries and blood and milk taken from their live animals.

More than a quarter of children under-five in Turkana are at risk of malnutrition, an indication of the desperate situation that is causing families to take increasing risks in search of food. While some camp by the road-side in the hope of donations from passers-by, others are venturing into hostile territory to trade beads for food. Last month a group of travellers that included women and children were massacred by militia as they returned from a trip to find food in Ethiopia.

Against this background, the nutritious school meal of beans and maize mash, provided by Mary’s Meals, is a source of reassurance and hope.

“The drought has meant that more children come to school in order to secure at least a meal,” says Roseline Aite Onakuta, development co-ordinator for Mary’s Meals partner, the Diocese of Lodwar. “During incidences of raids, parents and their children move to safer areas in fear of their lives. This increases the number of children enrolled in the nurseries around the secure places.”

Mary’s Meals in Turkana is prepared by local parent volunteers who give their time to help ensure that their children benefit from education and nutrition. In an area with a literacy rate of just 70 per cent, their support for the programme is a welcome recognition of the value of education.

Johnson Ekalale is a teacher at Kangatosa Nursery, where his own children receive Mary’s Meals: “I took care of my father’s goats from childhood and would not like the same to happen to my children,” he said. “It was cruel that I was denied the right to education – I have seen the fruits of going to school and want to ensure that they are passed on to future generations.”

In southern Sudan, which is about to become an independent country, the food shortage has brought different challenges for Amsudan, Mary’s Meals partner in the Yirol area. With no food available and a local fuel shortage, they have been forced to travel to Uganda to buy stocks and fuel so that they can provide for the 3,200 children who receive meals at 13 rural schools.

13-year-old Peter lives near Yirol with his elderly father. Since his mother died last year he has helped to care for his four younger brothers, but thanks to the guarantee of a nutritious meal, he continues to make the two hour journey to school each day. He says: “I do not like to be hungry. Because of Mary’s Meals, I have the strength to remain in lessons during school hours.”

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Magnus collects OBE from the Queen

Posted Tuesday July 5 2011 by in Archive News

The founder of Mary’s Meals, which provides the poorest school children in the world with a meal every day, collected his OBE from the Queen today.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow started Mary’s Meals in 2002 following an encounter with a child of a woman who was dying from Aids in Malawi.

Since then, the charity has gone on to feed over 532,000 children a day across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.

The 43-year-old said: “This honour is in recognition of the hard work of everyone who has been involved in the Mary’s Meals journey – all those people whose acts of kindness and faith in our work enable us to feed over half a million school children every day across the world.

Magnus with Mary's Meals volunteers in Haiti

“Mary’s Meals is only made possible through this support and the innate goodness of people who share our vision that every child in the world should receive at least one good meal in a place of education.”

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Backpack delivery diary

Posted Monday July 4 2011 by in Mary's Meals blog

Gillian Boyle, Logistics Manager in Malawi, organised Mary’s Meals first delivery of backpacks to schools on Likoma and Chizumulu, remote islands on Lake Malawi. This is her report.

Monday

Having loaded our truck with backpacks, footballs, crayons, notepads, paper and pencil cases, the distribution team made an early start. We were full of excitement, as it was the first time that any of us had travelled to the islands.

After a drive of over 690 km from Blantyre to Nkata Bay, we went to explore the metal boat we would be travelling on, the Ilala. Hundreds of people were moving on and off it, bringing shopping with them for the trip to their homes on the islands. I had never seen so many bananas in my life! 

Finally, the time for departure was heralded by the loud blast of the ships horn.

Tuesday

We arrived in Chizumulu island at 0400. There is no dock so everything had to be unloaded by boat and brought to shore. It was mayhem as people tried to unload their goods with sleep filled eyes.

As we neared the beach we heard singing, shouting and clapping. We could hear the people but not see them in the darkness. When we got onto the beach it was full of women and children there to help and welcome us.

We walked the 1km to Chiteko school on foot and heard the cries of joy and excitement from the children as we got closer to the school. They were looking forward to seeing what was in the sacks and what Mary’s Meals had brought them.

We went from class to class giving the children the bags. When each child had one, they returned to their seats and waited until everyone in their class had received theirs. We then counted “1-2-3… Open” and they opened their bags together.

The cries of joy were deafening as the children discovered what goodies were inside.  Some of them were on their hands praising God for their good fortune. The children were released from class early to go home and show their family what they received in their backpacks. 

Once we had finished giving the bags to the children, we headed down the path to the shore line to head to the next school by boat. We met excited parents, clapping their hands and thanking us for the gifts we had brought. It lifted our tiredness to see so many happy families.

At Same, the next school, some of the children were waiting for us on the shore as they had heard the sound of the engine around the bay. The school was on a steep hill, so it was hard bringing the sacks to the school, but we persevered as the excitement of the waiting children kept us motivated.

Once again we gave each child a backpack. The sound from the children was deafening. As we were finishing up, children from the first school we had visited were arriving to show their friends what they received. Some of them were bouncing tennis balls and others had their new clothing put on over their uniforms. It was humbling to see such simple things bring such pleasure to so many children.

At about 11 o’clock, we returned to the boat to head to the third school, a junior school whose pupils were aged from five to seven. We thought the children would have left for the day, but they were still waiting for us.

The children saw the boat coming and as we approached were singing songs and dancing on the shore. Glory and William started to join in and there was a real festival mood. As we reached the shore, adults appeared from the bushes and houses to help us unload. The children’s faces lit up as they received their bags and promptly sat down with wide twinkling eyes and smiles that went from ear to ear.  

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

We were up early to start distributions to the seven schools in Likoma island, the bigger of the two islands. Here there was one pick-up truck available to assist us.

Each evening we would meet people and they would tell us that their children were playing with their tennis balls or wearing their new clothes. We could hear the happy laughter as they played with each other in the evenings with their new things.

Saturday

We headed back to meet the Ilala just as the sun was setting and we could see its silhouette on the water. Several of the local people who had helped us through the week met us at the shore to bid us farewell and thank us for the gifts Mary’s Meals had given to the youngsters on the island. We left these lovely, kind people with heavy hearts.

Just as we hauled anchor a storm broke and we got drenched. It was a frightening experience, seeing flashes of lightning hit the water and feeling the boat rock as the waves hit.

We finally reached Nkata Bay early in the morning, an exhausted but happy bunch. We realised that as a result of our work with Mary’s Meals and the contributions of its supporters, we had given a special gift to 3,546 children on the islands. This was the first trip of its kind for the Mary’s Meals logistics team. It was a tough challenge, but worth every bit of effort to see the joy on people’s faces.

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Andy Murray masks are a hit

Posted Friday July 1 2011 by in Archive News

Andy Murray fever has hit the small Scottish town of Dunblane where volunteers at a Mary’s Meals shop are rooting for the Scot to win.

Shop volunteers have been selling Andy Murray masks for a pound each to raise money for Mary’s Meals, and are preparing to make a lot more if the tennis ace makes it through to the Wimbledon final.

Andy Murray will be taking to the court for one of the biggest matches of his life later today.

Andy Murray masks raise money for Mary's Meals

Mary’s Meals volunteer Alex Keay, 67, who has been busy making the masks, said: “I have been printing off the masks on photographic paper at home and putting it on a stick.

“The sticks are actually slats from old wooden blinds which had been donated to the shop and came to us without any fittings.

 “If Andy Murray gets through to the finals, I’ll certainly be busy making more masks!”

Volunteers at the Mary’s Meals shop in Dunblane have also been busy decorating the shop window with Andy Murray and tennis related displays.

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Calum’s shed gets a make-over

Posted Friday July 1 2011 by in Archive News
Children from a small community in Argyll picked up their paintbrushes this week to help prepare Mary’s Meals’ tin shed for the final of a national competition. 

Staff and supporters of Mary’s Meals are waiting to find out whether their head office, a finalist in the Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition, has won the overall title.

Children from the village of Dalmally visited Mary’s Meals to celebrate the shed winning the ‘garden office’ category of the competition, and to help paint and decorate, so that it is looking its best ready for ‘National Shed Week’ next week.

Calum’s shed, which has already beaten over a hundred other entries to win its category and reach the final of the competition, is the base for the charity, which provides a daily meal for over 530,000 chronically hungry children in sixteen countries around the world.

The National Shed of the Year award, sponsored by Cuprinol, comes with a £1,000 prize that would allow Mary’s Meals to change the lives of many children. It costs the charity a global average of £9.40 to provide a child with a daily meal in school for a year – so winning could enable 106 hungry children to be fed next year.

Calum’s shed has been at the heart of Mary’s Meals’ work since it began. During the Balkan conflict, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the charity’s founder, borrowed it from his father (Calum) and used it to store donations of blankets and medicines before he delivered them to victims in Bosnia.

“Our shed has reached this stage of the competition thanks to online votes from both long-term supporters and those who had found out about us for the first time,” said Magnus. “We’re very grateful for their help.”  
“Mary’s Meals has always had fantastic support from the local community, and we were very grateful that a team of young painters and decorators came along to help us today – especially as it was the last day of term.” said Magnus. ”The shed has been part of our work, feeding hungry children, for a long time, and it certainly deserves a fresh coat of paint for the summer.”

Calum’s shed won the ‘garden office’ category in the first round of the competition, which was decided by an online vote. The final will be judged by a panel of experts including TV presenter Sarah Beeny. There are nine sheds in the running, including a pub shed, a museum and a shed shaped like a tardis. The winner will be announced next week.

“Our shed has reached this stage of the competition thanks to online votes from both long-term supporters and those who had found out about us for the first time,” said Magnus. “We’re very grateful for their help.”

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© 2013 Mary's Meals. Registered at Craig Lodge, Dalmally, Argyll, Scotland, UK, PA33 1AR. Charity Number: SC022140 Company Number: SC265941