Scottish Catholic Observer

The message of feeding children at school in the developing world as a way into education and out of poverty was heard loud and clearly at the Scottish Parliament this week at the special showing of the Mary’s Meals film Child 31.

Alex Fergusson MSP, the presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, hosted a reception for Mary’s Meals at Holyrood on Wednesday.

MSPs and invited guests heard Mr Fergusson, Humza Yousaf, Minister for External Affairs and International Development, and Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow of Mary’s Meals speak of the extraordinary results the Scottish-based charity is having throughout the world providing over 792,000 children with a nutrious daily meal.

Mr Yousaf said his recent fasting during Ramadan reminded him just how difficult it is to go about daily tasks hungry and he said that ‘every penny’ the Scottish Government spent on aid for and visits to countries such as Malawi was worth it to get that message across.

Child 31 is a powerful testament as to how what  Mr MacFarlane-Barrow called hundreds of thousands of ‘little acts of love’ can make a difference to children, families and communities trapped in hunger and poverty.

He spoke of the project’s origins from 2002 when a meeting with a widow dying of Aids in Africa leaving six young children behind sparked Mary’s Meals.

“There is nothing left for me but to pray someone is going to look after my children when I am gone,” she told him, afraid that everyone in her village was already looking after other orphaned children.

Mr MacFarlane-Barrow told those gathered that the film, ‘a gift,’ and the charity is all about a child, ‘and the next child to come.’

“To this day the work of Mary’s Meals is owned first and foremost by the local communities it helps,” he added, speaking of the locally sourced foodstuffs and volunteers and that fact that 93 per cent of funds raised goes to feed hungry children.

“This is not about the West rushing in to save people, this is about us walking side by side with them.

“The majority of our support still comes from here in Scotland.”

After the film showing, Mr Fergusson said he was sure that the audience would agree that it was ‘one of the most powerful things’ they had ever seen.

—For more of Mary’s Meals, visit www.marysmeals.org.uk

Pic: Minister Humza Yousaf, with the Mary’s Meals Child 31 DVD at this week’s event at the the Scottish Parliament. Stuart Nicol Photography 2013.