Scottish Catholic Observer

Members of the UK Parliament have chosen Mary’s Meals founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow as the winner of an award which recognises the right to life and dignity.

The All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group and charity Right To Life announced Mr MacFarlane-Barrow as the winner of the Westminster Award for Human Life.

A ceremony will be held on February 7 at the Palace of Westminster for the presentation of the award which recognises ‘extraordinary and notable work and achievements that safeguard the dignity and right to life of human beings.’

The chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group and the trustees of Right To Life decided the award winner after taking advise from parliamentarians in both Houses of Parliament.

“Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow exemplifies what the Westminster Award aims to celebrate: the valuing and active safeguarding of human life,” Fiona Bruce MP, chair of the parliamentary pro-life group, said. “By his efforts, and those of Mary’s Meals, many people have been delivered from hunger and malnutrition. The basic right of every human person to the essential elements of life is part-and-parcel of their right to life itself, and fundamental in respecting their human dignity.”

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow started his charity efforts in 1992 during the conflict in the Balkans after the break-up of the state of Yugoslavia. Their relief charity, renamed Mary’s Meals after Our Lady, aims to educate and provide for the poor by providing them meals in schools, and has fed more than a million children worldwide.

“I am deeply honoured and moved to receive this award and so very grateful for this recognition of Mary’s Meals as a mission focused on the right of each child to life—and life to the full,” Mr MacFarlane-Barrow said. “Without enough food to eat or the chance of at least a basic education, a child is denied the chance to grow and become the person they are meant to be. Our daily meal in a place of education helps meet those most basic needs of every child and helps set them free that they might live with dignity. I thank sincerely those who decided to recognise our work in this special way.”

The Westminster Award was previously given to the blind Chinese human rights lawyer and campaigner Chen Guangcheng, for work defending the rights of Chinese women and children victimised by population control policies.