Mary’s Meals

Mary's Meals now provides school meals every day for 375,000 children throughout the world. Many are in Malawi, and around 650 of these children go to Dole (pronounced "Dolay") Primary School, where local volunteers cook their meals in a kitchen provided by our congregation. Amazingly it only cost £6,000 to build a kitchen and supply the cooking equipment, and costs £6.15 to provide meals for a child in Malawi for a whole year. We are able to pay for most of the meals for the children of Dole Primary School with the help of our families and friends. A large proportion of the money is in small change collected in demijohns in the church and in the church hall.

We include prayers for the staff, children and volunteers at Dole Primary School as well as for Mary's Meals in general in our intercessions each Sunday. We understand that the children in Malawi pray for us too.
 
Giving a meal at school frees children from the need to spend their days scavenging for food. Mary's Meals also organises the distribution of back packs containing basic school materials, clothes and other items. In 2008 the congregation and friends put together 185 backpacks which were sent off to Malawi.

Deryck Collingwood went to Glasgow in June 2009 to bless a container of backpacks before they set off on their way to Malawi. He was the first member of the clergy to be asked to do this. Clergy from all denominations have blessed all the containers sent out since then. A group from the church are going to visit the warehouse on 29th October 2009 to see what happens to the backpacks and other goods when they leave us.

Further information on the work of Mary’s Meals can be found on their website

Information on the backpack project

Edinburgh Area Co-ordinators:
John and Jane Helliwell |  email: helliwell@rossfell.co.uk

Article in Edinburgh Evening News 24/11/2008