While currently operating in more than forty countries, global charity Mary’s Meals was established in Ireland in 2005 and since then has built strong support across the country, with generous donations from individuals, businesses, and more than twenty supporter groups. These supporter groups are made up of hard-working, fun-loving volunteers who raise awareness and drive fundraising in their local area. Supporter groups bring in just under half of Mary’s Meals Ireland’s funds annually.
One of Mary’s Meals Ireland’s key fundraising events – ‘Step-by-Step to Feed the Next Child’ – takes place in August. Every year, walkers set off from seven starting points across the country and make their way to Knock Shrine between 7 and 15 August, to coincide with the National Novena to Our Lady of Knock. The annual walk to the village of Knock is an opportunity to experience prayer as well as simple yet inspirational acts of kindness from locals and supporters along the way. During this, the 20th anniversary of Mary’s Meals Ireland, the charity will continue to raises awareness, and funds, for Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programmes globally.
The following report by Mary’s Meals relates to its current work in Haiti which the charity continues to address the consequences of the devastating earthquake that hit the country in 2010:
On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti killing 300,000 people. Fifteen years on, the key threat the country faces is not from nature but from extreme instability caused by lawless gangs. Daily shootings and killings dominate life, with entire areas under gang rule, leaving residents powerless to ensure their safety. Schools suffer closures, businesses are paralysed, and many essential services are inaccessible.
The territorial dominance of gangs has disrupted food imports and distribution. Ports are closed, roads are blocked, and alternative transport methods like boats or helicopters are both costly and risky. Precious locally grown produce rots because farmers can’t access markets, leaving both producers and consumers struggling to afford food. Meanwhile, the price of basic items such as rice has soared, exacerbating hunger among a population already devastated by unemployment and the frequent destruction of homes, which often contain families’ life savings.
Relief agencies working in the country face immense logistical challenges. Storing food is risky because of looting and importing it is costly and dangerous, with deliveries being vulnerable to hijacking. Despite efforts to provide aid, the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Haitians are still endangered by extreme food insecurity, escalating violence and a failed economy. “Food is the biggest incentive. To prevent children joining a gang, we need to focus on the poverty. It is the poverty that is killing them. They are living a nightmare. Mary’s Meals is needed now more than ever. We are doing our best to make sure that the children are eating every day because if we don’t have the school feeding programme, the children won’t have anything”, says Emmline Toussaint, one of the coordinators of Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programme in Haiti.
Global charity Mary’s Meals provides meals to more than 2.4 million children every day in partnership with some of the world’s poorest communities, and first started working in Haiti in 2006. Since then, the promise of a nutritious meal at school has drawn hundreds of thousands of Haitian children into the classroom, where they can focus on their education and find stability and hope of a brighter future.
Mary’s Meals is currently on the ground in 500 Haitian places of education feeding 175,000 children every school day with support from local volunteers – we can set up interviews to provide context on the current situation and explain why aid is still needed 15 years on from the major earthquake. There’s still hope for Haiti and there’s a way to help today. The charity’s low-cost approach means that it costs just €22 (US$25.20 / UK£19.15) to feed a child with Mary’s Meals every day for a school year. This is only possible because of many thousands of dedicated volunteers across the globe – in more than forty countries – playing their part in a variety of ways, from those who raise awareness and carry out fundraising to those in partner communities who rise early to cook nutritious meals for their children.
Photo caption: Mary’s Meals Volunteers, Samama School, Malawi
Thanks to Paloma Ovejero, International Media Manager at Mary’s Meals, who provided this story to CatholicNews.ie. To read more and support the work of Mary Meals, please visit Marysmeals.org or email [email protected]
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