The following is the text of a letter received from "Mary's Meals"
THANK YOU FROM “MARY’S MEALS”.
Thank you so much for your donation of £223.90 to Mary’s Meals raised during advent, which will be used to provide life-changing meals for children in their place of education.
Supporting our school feeding programmes is a great way of helping hungry children to learn and giving them the best chance of a future free from poverty.
The daily meals we provide are enabling thousands of children to attend school and work towards their dreams. Children such as 14-year-old Chimza Harry, who attends Mwalamba Primary School in Malawi.
Chimza – whose full name, Chimwemwe, means joy – lives at home with his mother Lucia and three siblings. The family ran out of food stores soon after last year’s harvest, having only managed to grow one bag of maize.
He said: “I feel weak in the mornings when I walk to school. I feel lethargic, but I am excited to go to school because I will eat here, and learn.”
Chimza is top of his class and has been every year since he started school.
However, as the eldest male living in the household, he feels duty-bound to help support the family and is adamant that he would not be at school if it weren’t for the phala (porridge).
"When I eat the phala I get the strength to eat, study, walk home, and work.
“If there was no phala, I would have left school, because I know when I am hungry I cannot listen properly, I cannot learn. I would like to finish my education and become a doctor. I would like to help my people - the people around my village - to see a doctor in hospital faster."
Chimza’s academic achievements show he is right to be ambitious. Thanks to your generosity, he and thousands more children have the chance to realise their dreams. On behalf of the 1,230,171 children who currently receive Mary’s Meals, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
THANK YOU FROM “MARY’S MEALS”.
Thank you so much for your donation of £223.90 to Mary’s Meals raised during advent, which will be used to provide life-changing meals for children in their place of education.
Supporting our school feeding programmes is a great way of helping hungry children to learn and giving them the best chance of a future free from poverty.
The daily meals we provide are enabling thousands of children to attend school and work towards their dreams. Children such as 14-year-old Chimza Harry, who attends Mwalamba Primary School in Malawi.
Chimza – whose full name, Chimwemwe, means joy – lives at home with his mother Lucia and three siblings. The family ran out of food stores soon after last year’s harvest, having only managed to grow one bag of maize.
He said: “I feel weak in the mornings when I walk to school. I feel lethargic, but I am excited to go to school because I will eat here, and learn.”
Chimza is top of his class and has been every year since he started school.
However, as the eldest male living in the household, he feels duty-bound to help support the family and is adamant that he would not be at school if it weren’t for the phala (porridge).
"When I eat the phala I get the strength to eat, study, walk home, and work.
“If there was no phala, I would have left school, because I know when I am hungry I cannot listen properly, I cannot learn. I would like to finish my education and become a doctor. I would like to help my people - the people around my village - to see a doctor in hospital faster."
Chimza’s academic achievements show he is right to be ambitious. Thanks to your generosity, he and thousands more children have the chance to realise their dreams. On behalf of the 1,230,171 children who currently receive Mary’s Meals, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Mary’s Meals
During Advent, we would like our parish to support the work of a charity called Mary’s Meals.
Mary’s Meals believes that every child deserves an education and enough to eat. It sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world’s poorest communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from accessing school. Their vision is for every child to receive a nutritious meal every day in a place of learning so that, by receiving an education, they will one day be freed from poverty. This will be achieved by asking those who have more than they need to share with those who lack even the most basic things.
Mary’s Meals currently feeds more than 1.2 million children every school day in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. It reaches out to people of all faiths and none. It costs 7p to provide one meal for a child in school, using locally produced food (which supports local farmers and the local economy) and involving volunteers from the local community who prepare and serve the food. This means that all it costs to feed a child for a whole school year is £13.90.
However, between now and 31st December 2017, a ‘Double the Love’ campaign means that every donation to Mary’s Meals will be match-funded by 3 amazing donors to the total of £1.9 million. So, for every £13.90 we raise as a parish, not 1 but 2 children will receive a daily meal in school for a year.
There is still much to do. Around 59 million children do not attend school and many more are chronically hungry. In order to survive, they have to work and beg.
Mary’s Meals also provides care for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children and provides relief for those suffering as a result of humanitarian crises or poverty. For example, it has provided emergency food and financial aid in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, India, Haiti and the Philippines.
This Advent, there are 2 ways in which we can support the work of Mary’s Meals.
Firstly, we will have a collection box for donations. Gift Aid forms are available for those who pay tax.
The second way in which we can contribute is through ‘The Backpack Project’. This will particularly involve our children, young people and families. Many children receiving Mary’s Meals don’t have basic learning equipment so the charity sends recycled school bags, uniform and PE kits and new notebooks, pencils and toiletries to them. We aim to fill at least 5 backpacks and will be collecting the following items:
Mary’s Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, who brought up her own child in poverty. The charity is founded upon “lots of little acts of love” which help to transform the lives of impoverished children around the world.
Let us give with love this Advent as we prepare for the gift of Jesus at Christmas.
More information about Mary’s Meals is available on their website: www.marysmeals.org.uk
We also have a copy of short films produced by Mary’s Meals to raise awareness of their work, entitled Child 31 and Generation Hope. Please ask if you’d like to borrow these dvds. The films are also on the website.
Mary’s Meals is committed to maximising the good that can be achieved through the donations entrusted to them and has consistently exceeded their commitment to spend at least 93 pence of every pound on charitable activities and keep running costs low. In 2016, 96% of donations was spent on charitable activities.
Mary’s Meals believes that every child deserves an education and enough to eat. It sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world’s poorest communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from accessing school. Their vision is for every child to receive a nutritious meal every day in a place of learning so that, by receiving an education, they will one day be freed from poverty. This will be achieved by asking those who have more than they need to share with those who lack even the most basic things.
Mary’s Meals currently feeds more than 1.2 million children every school day in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. It reaches out to people of all faiths and none. It costs 7p to provide one meal for a child in school, using locally produced food (which supports local farmers and the local economy) and involving volunteers from the local community who prepare and serve the food. This means that all it costs to feed a child for a whole school year is £13.90.
However, between now and 31st December 2017, a ‘Double the Love’ campaign means that every donation to Mary’s Meals will be match-funded by 3 amazing donors to the total of £1.9 million. So, for every £13.90 we raise as a parish, not 1 but 2 children will receive a daily meal in school for a year.
There is still much to do. Around 59 million children do not attend school and many more are chronically hungry. In order to survive, they have to work and beg.
Mary’s Meals also provides care for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children and provides relief for those suffering as a result of humanitarian crises or poverty. For example, it has provided emergency food and financial aid in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, India, Haiti and the Philippines.
This Advent, there are 2 ways in which we can support the work of Mary’s Meals.
Firstly, we will have a collection box for donations. Gift Aid forms are available for those who pay tax.
The second way in which we can contribute is through ‘The Backpack Project’. This will particularly involve our children, young people and families. Many children receiving Mary’s Meals don’t have basic learning equipment so the charity sends recycled school bags, uniform and PE kits and new notebooks, pencils and toiletries to them. We aim to fill at least 5 backpacks and will be collecting the following items:
- backpacks
- polo shirts or t-shirts
- school shorts or skirts
- school dresses
- flip flops or sandals
- notepads
- pencils, pens and crayons
- pencil sharpeners
- erasers
- rulers
- pencil cases
- tennis balls (or similar small ball)
- soap
- flannels and towels
- toothbrushes and toothpaste
- spoons
Mary’s Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, who brought up her own child in poverty. The charity is founded upon “lots of little acts of love” which help to transform the lives of impoverished children around the world.
Let us give with love this Advent as we prepare for the gift of Jesus at Christmas.
More information about Mary’s Meals is available on their website: www.marysmeals.org.uk
We also have a copy of short films produced by Mary’s Meals to raise awareness of their work, entitled Child 31 and Generation Hope. Please ask if you’d like to borrow these dvds. The films are also on the website.
Mary’s Meals is committed to maximising the good that can be achieved through the donations entrusted to them and has consistently exceeded their commitment to spend at least 93 pence of every pound on charitable activities and keep running costs low. In 2016, 96% of donations was spent on charitable activities.
