Katie Nelson |
Some people say that 1 person can’t change the world. But I believe that 1 person can change the world. In fact I know of a man who has. His name is Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, and he has changed the world for thousands of children in many different countries across the globe by feeding them if they come to school.
Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, 47, was born in Aberdeen in 1968. He was raised as a Catholic, saying the rosary every day. He started his career at age nine as a fish farmer. At the age of 16 he and the rest of his siblings took a trip to medjugorje. This is where Magnus’ devotion to Our Lady came from and this is why his charity is called ‘Mary’s Meals.’
The mission of Mary’s Meals is to make sure that children from very poor and vulnerable backgrounds are able to have the chance to get a daily meal as well as an education. This means that they will have the opportunity to do something great with their lives that they would never have been able to do before. Mary’s Meals feeds over 1 million children every day in places such as: Africa, Asia, Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, India and Haiti.
Magnus decided to start Mary’s Meals because of a simple wish of a 14 year old boy from Malawi called Edward. Edward was one of 5 children whose mum was dying of Aids. Edward told Magnus that his ambitions were to both to be able to have enough to eat and to be able to go to school. From that day Magnus thought of an idea to build a school, and tell the children that if they come to school they will get a daily meal as well as an education for a better opportunity in life.
It only costs £12.20 to feed a child for a whole school year. £12.20 can be so easily wasted here. When we go to the cinema for example, it can cost us about £5 just to see the film for a start. Then we usually buy popcorn which could potentially cost us about £3 or £4. Then we would maybe buy some other treats, and in the end, we would probably have spent about £12.20 altogether, or even more! This is how easy we can waste money, and all that money that we have spent on absolute junk, could’ve fed a poor children for a whole school year.
So I think we should all make an effort to help Magnus. If we pray and we work hard then we could maybe be out there in the future, helping him do all of his good deeds. You just never know. So I think that we should all make a big effort in trying to help Magnus to feed these children a daily meal. And remember one person can change the world, and it could be you!
