Fr Scalabrini, MM Croatia and The Scattering of the Seeds.

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Firstly, apologies for failing to blog yesterday. I was once again drawn into a heinous game of Articulate with the remainder of the Family Gathering who had met up for a farewell drink. In what will be my last post, I want to speak mainly about yesterday’s talks. They were  important I felt to the overall message of the week.

Fr Scalabrini arrived late thursday night from Uganda with his lifelong companion Mario. Apparently, during their childhood, Mario’s favourite past time was celebrating pretend masses whilst Scalabrini was rather wild. In a twist of fate, it was the latter that became a priest. He has spent the last 25 years in Northern Uganda trying to help the population’s 2 Million orphans. Often compared to Liberia’s Fr Gary, this man too has his share of stories. He first tells us of his arrest and brief deportation under the brutal tyranny of Idi Amin. Amin targeted the Italian priest because it was claimed that in one of his non-denominational schools, Scalabrini was training an army of rebels to overthrow him. In reality, he was teaching, feeding and caring for hundreds of Ugandan children the government had neglected.

Fr Scalabrini addresses the Family Gathering

60 % of the population of Ugandans are under 17. This is due to war, disease and malnutrition. He remembers one girl called Peace, a girl who had dropped out of one of his schools. ‘I saw this girl carrying this tiny child and I said “Peace, why you not come back for S4? Why you have child already?”‘ He said this to us all with true sadness and frustration. She replied that this was not her child – it was her brother. She was the eldest of seven, forced to become their guardian after her parents died within weeks of each other. She was 17. She said they were starving, kicked out of their flat. He managed to feed them that day. What was truly hard for Fr Scalabrini though was that she had lost her oppurtunity to be educated, lost her future, lost any chance of breaking the cycle of poverty for her and her family. Mary’s Meals feeds 6000 children in primary and secondary children in Uganda through the work of the 76 year old priest. These children have ambitions. They are Uganda’s best hope for the future.

After lamenting his own grey hair amongst Uganda’s 2 million orphaned children, one member of the Mary’s Meals family stood up saying, awestruck, that ‘We thank God that Africa’s orphans have grey-haired priests like you looking after them.’

Father John Scalabrini pictured with pupils at the Bishop Cipriano Kihangire school in Kampala, Uganda.

Next we had an inspiring talk from Zeljka, daughter of Dr Mario Zivkovic, one of SIR’s most essential supporters in Zagreb during the war. She stood up and explained who she was. She described her first meeting with Magnus and his then fiance Julie. ‘At first i thought they were professional Scottish lorry drivers. Then i thought, “Wow, in Scotland, even women can be lorry drivers.”‘ Dr Mario was invaluable in the early days of the deliveries of aid Magnus and others drove to disputed Yugoslavia. She remembers the aid Magnus managed to deliver through the generosity of the Scottish public that amounted to around £8 Million worth.

Zeljka, describing her decision to get involved with the work of Mary’s Meals  said that it is wonderful to give back to the charity that once helped her.

‘I was so excited to help the people that once helped me. Now things are better in Croatia. Now it is our turn to help. One day it will be Africa’s turn to help you. I did not want to help a big charity which, in my experience, are less effective. I wanted to help because I trusted Magnus and SIR.’

Mary's Meals Croatia

Mary’s Meals Croatia is the newest edition to the family. They are just beginning to set up the necessary fundraising infrastructure. She said

‘My husband, he stands up and says to people Mary’s Meals feeds this many people, in this many countries. I say to people, these are the same people who sent us diapers during the war! People here remember SIR and want to give back.’

Perhaps this more than anything reminded us all not to be complacent about Mary’s Meals. We have a reputation to protect as we get bigger and bigger. We have a duty to always be honest and transparent in order to continue earning the trust of people like Zeljka. The Mary’s Meals Family Gathering 2009 reminded us all of our roots. The spirit of the charity was born on those original trips to Bosnia in an old landrover; those initial tiny acts of generosity from early supporters. This spirit must be protected and enshrined in the hearts of every volunteer, every paid worker and every supporter of Mary’s Meals – just like it is enshrined in the hearts of people like Zeljka, and the hundreds of thousands of people Mary’s Meals feeds daily. Remembering our core values:

we believe in the innate goodness of people all over the world. We believe that through Mary’s Meals we can feed every hungry child in the world in a place of education.

Over the weekend, the Mary’s Meals family who managed to make it to our gathering in Medjugorje, Bosnia, will be returning to their homes across the world: Virginia to the Philippines, Liesbeth to Liberia, Magnus, Ruth and many others to Scotland, Augusto to Italy, Ursula to Germany, Geoff and Anne to Wales, John Pridmore to Ireland, Fr Scalabrini to Uganda, Zeljka to Croatia. Those who managed to attend the conference have all been touched, inspired and reaffirmed in their faith in this wonderful charity. Mary’s Meals’ supporters are growing around the world through the work of everyone involved. Julie MacFarlane-Barrow reminded us as the conference closed that

‘None of us are necessary, but all of us are useful.’

The Family of Mary’s Meals scatter themselves all over the world today and tomorrow, replanting themselves in their country’s soil, renewed, refreshed and feeling useful. For those of you who have been reading this blog, I hope that you too have a sense of your own usefulness and that you too can continue to support Mary’s Meals’ message of hope in your own unique way.

Best

Joe.

Group Photo Mary's Meals 2009, by Djani

www.marysmeals.org

Lola

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As the series of wonderful talks has wore on, the Mary’s Meals faithful, crowded into the yellow building behind St James’ church, have retained the spirit of hope and joy the charity tries to spread. Today, 200 people tried and mainly failed not to cry as our last speaker, Virginia from the Philippines stood up to tell us of her work. This wonderful old woman has never been outside of her home country and has wanted to visit Medjugorje for decades.  She first outlined how she got involved with Mary’s Meals. She would walk on the boulevard in Manila with her husband, and look at the street children. She remembers saying to her husband

‘I am sure these children are hungry. They have not eaten.’

Street children are a problem in the Phillipines as kids take to the streets to find food, often missing out on an education that could lift them out of poverty.

 

After some initial research she realized the extent of the problem, that it was rooted in lack of food in places of education. Her high voice cracks, and she looks as if she might not be able to keep speaking.

 

‘There are so many children living in the Philippines who go to school hungry. Malnourished children.  I prayed for these children. I said God, may I win the lotto. But I did not win. But when I met Milona, the Mary’s Meals ambassador, I won the lotto. Now you see no more children eating from the garbage heap. You just do not know what Mary’s Meals has done for these children.’

Street Children in the Philippines receiving Mary's Meals

 

The hundreds of street children she works with call her ‘Lola’ meaning ‘Grandmother’. In this small, humble, passionate woman, is the beating heart of the work of Mary’s Meals. The project leaders who have spoken to us this week are not rich, adventurous NGO glory-hunters. They are people who embody the simplicity of Mary’s Meals’ tin HQ in Dalmally, that deliver education, food and hope with a personal touch rooted in compassion. There are now three schools in the Philippines. She despairs that some of the work she can do is only to distribute much-needed food.

‘These children need more. They need an education. Only a complete Mary’s Meals project can help these children escape poverty.’

 

Fr Josun again embodies the way Mary’s Meals works on the ground. He met Magnus in a church in Glasgow and on his return to his native India he began a feeding programme in certain impoverished areas which now feeds and educates thousands.

Mary's Meals India

This Family Gathering has been a lesson in humility for those of us who work for Mary’s Meals in the developed world.

Joe.

Misc. Mary's Meals. Virginia is front-centre.

Malawi and Haiti: The Necessity of Mary’s Meals

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Medjugorje is an emotional place in itself. Many pilgrims come with specific intentions they faithfully devote their time to. When Mary’s Meals is in town it becomes even more so. At the English Mass everyday at 10am, before the Italians bustle loudly in for theirs at 11, Fr Kevin the English MC directs the congregation to the Family Gathering. At first he seemed to be doing it out of a sense of duty; since his first announcement however he has renewed his calls on the Medjugorje faithful to attend what he called today

‘The tremendous workshops of Mary’s Meals; I urge you all to attend the gathering of the charity which began here in Medjugorje and has since spread throughout the world.’

Mary's Meals Family outside the Yellow Hall, Medjugorje, Bosnia

Fr Josun has been asked instead to say English Mass tomorrow morning and he has been asked specifically by Fr Kevin to preach on the wonders of Mary’s Meals. After that, Fr Josun will talk to the conference, filled with those of all faiths and none about his work for Mary’s Meals in India. The power of Mary’s Meals is in its simplicity. This chimes so well with the simple message of Peace originating from this little town. Emotions are running high in the conference as speakers from across the globe outline how Mary’s Meals has touched their live and how they have managed to achieve the fantastic growth and success of their charity across 15 different countries. Many of these speakers have never been to Medjugorje and have never met the Dalmally staff they coordinate with daily to continue their great work of Mary’s Meals.

First up today was Andrea, our new project leader in Malawi who coordinates the education and feeding of the majority of the 364 000 children that Mary’s Meals feeds. She holds up a photo of a beautiful girl with a bright blue school dress sent through the backpacks, holding a Mary’s Meals bowl with a solemn, hopeful look on her face. Her voice cracks slightly as she says

‘I want every child in Malawi to look like this. To have clean clothes, food and education – that they’re skin might glow with that resonance, that their eyes may have this hope.’

Mary's Meals Malawi

Mary’s Meals is achieving this in Malawi. In a country with a population similar to Scotland, Mary’s Meals feeds and educates over 300 000 of the children every day. Mary’s Meals is transforming the country. A whole generation of children who received an education and avoided the diseases and malnutrition associated with children who are forced to search for food, will drastically reshape the political and socio-economic landscape of the country. Mary’s Meals children will have a massive part to play in bringing their country out of poverty: these are children are the new police, the new lawyers, the new government of Malawi.

Next, in the unhappy pre-lunch slot, Ruth MacFarlane-Barrow focused all our attention on one of Mary’s Meals most daring project, Citie Soleil, Haiti – the town not even the UN, in its globetrotting majesty, can get into. While they shell the notorious drug haven, Mary’s Meals has slipped in by the back door – Mary’s Meals workers are among the handful of white people allowed to walk in the city’s streets with the permission of the brutal local gang lords who have a deep respect for the charity. Ruth first spoke about Haiti itself.

‘Myself and the few other Mary’s Meals workers who have visited our project in Haiti know that this is not a place you easily forget. I read a brief account of the place before my initial visit which described Haiti’s history as ‘an agony. I know that all slave colonies must have been diabolical, but few were ever like Haiti.’

Citie Soleil, Haiti

Initially a drop off point used by French slave traders, in the mid 19^th Century, Haiti’s massive slave population seized their chance to overthrow their few white guards and took over the country, forming the first black Republic in a brutal uprising. However, though they had overcome physical slavery when Britain, America and France recognised their independence, they were immediately crippled by the Western powers’ insistence that they pay back the price of each slave they freed. This bill re-enslaved the population, destroyed the majority of Haiti’s natural resources and knee-capped the country’s future. Martial law reigns in what is a living memorial to the absolute barbarity of those countries which deem themselves most civilised.

Fr Tom Hagan, Mary's Meals partner in Haiti, with children

Ruth then played a video compiled by Fr Tom, Mary’s Meals incredible project leader in this most desolate of regions, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. His message to us and to all Mary’s Meals supporters is simple:

‘Thank you Mary’s Meals. You have saved thousands of lives. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.’

 You can watch the whole of his message

Joe.

 

Backpacks, Articulate and The Welsh Assembly

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I didn’t post last night because on my way to the cafe I was sadly diverted to the brand spanking new Colombo’s opposite St James’ church. It was late after the hottest day so far. My body told me it was 35 degrees though that may be an exaggeration. As a rule, Scottish people don’t tan, they stroke. I hid in a darkened room for much of the day, only to emerge when night had fallen and that terrifying armada of Yugoslavian bugs had scrambled. Cruelly diverted into Medjugorje’s most memorable pub, I was forced into a heated game of Articulate with around half of the conference. We gringos drew disapproving looks from all sides as two previously upstanding members of the SIR office team almost came to blows over the proper way of operating a small egg-timer.

This followed a long day in the cool conference hall. After Liesbeth, Imogen Walsh delivered a fantastic talk about the Backpack appeal – a companion project to Mary’s Meals which asks children in the developed world to send backpacks filled with pencils, paper and other stationary to Mary’s Meals schools around the world:

‘In order for these children to get the most of the education Mary’s Meals provides, these backpacks are essential as the majorirty of the children cannot affored pencils.’

 

A Malawian girl named Mary sporting a new backpack

 

After Lunch we had a talk from Geoff Edge, founder of Mary’s Meals Wales. His talk more than anything we have heard really touched me. His speech was a direct demonstration of how to set up national fundraising groups. Full of encouragement, he spoke of how his initial efforts have blossomed through patience and hard work into raising over half a million pounds for the charity. He organised the launch of the fundraising group in the Welsh Assembly. At one point he held up a large photo of a lorry packed full of goods on its way out of Wales. This photo struck home with me as it reminded me so much of the early days of SIR, where with great faith that we were doing something right, we would load up bags of goods in Dalmally donated by locals in Scotland, to head off to those in need.

The message ‘With Love From Wales’ was inscribed on the side of Geoff’s lorry.

Perhaps this more than anything is a sign of how far the chairty as a whole has come. He truly is an inspitration to all those who wish to get involved with Mary’s Meals.

Geoff Edge, Mary's Meals Wales

Our project leader in India is celebrating mass today in St James, then we will hear talks on our main project in Malawi.

Thanks for your time,

Joe.

Liberia: Mary’s Meals in The Aftermath of War

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I’m sitting now in the Mary’s Meals cafe in Medjugorje –  a small building devoted to preserving a Mary’s Meals presence in Bosnia all year round. The hospitality of these people is astounding. I barely have a moment to type as i have to continually turn down their offers of cake and tea . Last night i slept throgh the dreaded rooster’s yowls after a rather late night with the majority of Scottish International Relief’s office staff. I woke up late for breakfast – served at 8.30am sharp by Mario our Medjugorian host – and walked out into the hottest day yet. Even Laurence, the Cafe’s Belgian proprietor admits it is warm.

This morning Liesbeth, our project leader in Liberia, outlined some aspects of her fascinating programme. She began with a rather bleak description of the country that had been her home for the last few years. In the last 20 years, Liberia underwent a brutal civil war propagated by such infamous names as Charles Taylor, the self-imposed ruler who fled the country in 2003. Liesbeth told first of all how SIR had come to Liberia before the end of the conflict in the form of a medical centre and St Benedict’s Technical School. These projects were largely the result of a man named Fr Gary, a spirited missionary who has lived in Liberia for the last 30 years. I once had the privilege of having dinner with this man in my house in Dalmally. He told me of his kidnap by child soldiers which was reported around the world five years ago. He was taken into the bush for his own protection by some of the child militia he had helped during his years as a missionary. He remembers them firing Rocket Propelled Grenades into the water to kill fish for him to eat. He got in contact with Magnus and began a close relationship with the charity, beginning what became one of SIR’s first major projects after the Bosnian War.

Former Child soldiers pictured in Bomi Hills, Bomi county, Liberia, West Africa. Photo by Colin Mearns. 16 April 2004

The war in Liberia has left the country devastated. Liesbeth told us that over 60% of the population are under 24 and that most of these have young children. This is partly due to the hideous number of rapes during the conflict – she estimates that half the female population have been raped. This dire episode in Liberia’s history has left what remains of the 3.5 million population traumatized. The war affected everyone personally. In the aftermath, school enrollment was diabolically low due to hunger and unemployment (which currently stands at 85%). Here, Liesbeth became even more passionate in her speech. She declared to us all that ‘Mary’s Meals is the only solution to Liberia’s problems.’ Through the school feeding programmes she runs, which began at 3,500 children and has now reached over 16,00, Mary’s Meals supports the tortured older generations of Liberians by feeding and educating their vulnerable children. Only through Mary’s Meals, Liesbeth claims, can the cycle of brutality that civil wars create be stopped short.

Liesbeth speaking

Movingly, Liesbeth went on to discuss the management of the schools. She visits her many schools twice a month, delivering the food. She claims though that

‘We bring more than just food. We bring attention, care and hope and love. Food just dropped off is not enough. We ask the children, do you know where this food comes from? It doesn’t come from the UN or the EU. It comes from a small group of people who care about you. It is very important for these children to hear that someone cares for them.’

Mary's Meals Volunteers in Liberia

Before she drew her talk to a close, she repeated her main message to Mary’s Meals supporters and staff all over the world:

‘If Mary’s Meals was not in these schools, these children would not be fed and would remain uneducated. Mary’s Meals is the solution to Liberia’s problems.’

I’m  going to run over to the other side of town to hear from some more of our fundraisers and Mary’s Meals companion project, The Backpack Appeal.

Joe.

The Mary’s Meals Method

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I had thought that perhaps on this, my fourth visit to Medjugorje, I would finally get off the hook. Our flight from Edinburgh to Zadar was a little unnervingly direct.  Even so I knew that the journey between Zadar and Medj was far longer than the other routes i had taken so I prepared for the worst. Amazingly however, since I last visited, a brand new road has sprung up and our journey of 300 km or so down the Dalmatian Coast before turning inland to the Balkan highlands took no time at all. I arrived with my youngest sister Emily at the very reasonable hour of 2am. We bunked down ready for an 8am start – not exactly the lap of luxury but a great improvement on 2007’s Odyssey. However, our six coveted hours were not to be: at 3.45am the most tremendous crowing from two roosters below our window, in competition no doubt to compensate for other inadequacies, ensured that today we all feel that special kind of knackered I’ve began to equate with the first days of a Herzegovina pilgrimage.

After a packed out Mass in St James’, I made my way down to the yellow conference hall with the rest of the Dalmally contingent. Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, standing up in the cool, darkened room to applause from the 200 strong crowd, began Mary’s Meals Family Gathering 2009 with a long list of thank-yous and tributes to our more exotic visitors – most notably perhaps is Virginia, a truly amazing woman flown from the Phillipines who has wanted to visit Medjugorje for decades. He began to tell the now mythologized tale of the birth of Mary’s Meals: the initial pilgrimage to Medjugorje, the organisation of SIR in response to the Balkan War in ’92.

In this emotional talk, Magnus emphasised certain points it will be important to relate now. Firstly, though it seems unrelated, he examined the effect the MacFarlane-Barrows’ original pilgrimage had on raising the profile of Medjugorje in Britain. A tiny bulletin in a Catholic newspaper alerted them to the reports of the Yugoslavian children’s visions of Our Lady, and on their return, Magnus’ older sister Ruth wrote what is thought to be the first article on Medjugorje to reach Britain. This article was published in several national newspapers. The McF-B children unwittingly inserted their own address for any further enquiries. The result was astonishing. People from around the world wrote to ask for more information and it was Mary-Anne and Calum MacFarlane-Barrrow, Magnus’ parents and founders of Craig Lodge, who began the task of replying to the hundreds of letters they recieved. Among these initial correspondents was a woman named Gaye Russell, an English Lady living in Malawi. After one or two letters Gaye fell out of correspondence with the Craig Lodge family like so many other early acquaintances. It was the unexpected renewal of this correspondence in 2002 which sparked the creation of the Mary’s Meals project.

After hearing Senator George McGovern speak to the US Congress, claiming that if the US was to feed every hungry child at school, that it would ‘transform life on this planet’, SIR were inspired to start Mary’s Meals Malawi. With the help of Gaye and her many contacts, SIR built the first Mary’s Meals school in 2002 to feed and educate around 200 pupils.

Fr Garry, Mary's Meals partner in Liberia with a shipment of aid from Scotland

The second point Magnus was careful to relate was just how Mary’s Meals operates. Millions of children live in poverty because they are forced to work to survive. This means they do not go to school.

It has been rigorously proven that the only way to break the cycle of poverty is through education.

Mary’s Meals exists in an agreement with local volunteers to build schools and prepare one free meal a day for the pupils . Using money raised in the West through the organisation of SIR, food is bought locally in order to stimulate the local economy. This allows Mary’s Meals to be incredibly effective at feeding and educating children whilst keeping costs to an absolute minimum.

Amazingly, in this time of crisis where only billions seem to count, it costs Mary’s Meals 6 pounds and 15 pence to feed and educate a child for a whole year.

Like everything in the story of SIR, what started out as a simple project began by a tiny number of individuals was then fueled by thousands of supporters worldwide. As a result Mary’s Meals now feeds and educates 364,000 children every day all over the world. The ramifications of this project are colossal. What is happening in Malawi, Mary’s Meals biggest project is truly having the kind transformation Senator McGovern predicted. Mary’s Meals ambition is to feed and educate every hungry child that way.

Mary’s Meals Conference 2009

Perhaps the most important thing Magnus emphasized was the Charity’s belief that it is as effective as it is because it works through the motive of compassion and love. It is not a business. No dispassionate Chief Executive exists at the top of SIR. This is a charity committed to keeping admin and governance costs combined below 7 %.

This means that whatever the growth of the charity, at least 93 pence out of every pound donated goes straight to the projects in the developing world.

At the moment, SIR functions well below this cap. It achieves this by keeping paid staff to a minimum, relying on the humbling generosity of over 9000 volunteers worldwide.

Magnus concluded saying that ‘Everyone in the world has something to contribute to Mary’s Meals’, whether it is financial, physical or vocal support.

Tomorrow, I will speak about a talk by Liesbeth, our project leader in Liberia.

With love from Bosnia,

Joe

http://www.marysmeals.org

Mary’s Meals Family Gathering 2009

Two years ago I was lucky enough to be among the 200 or so people who made it to the Bosnian village of Medjugorje for the first Mary’s Meals conference outside the Charity’s home – a similarly sized Highland village in Scotland. At the time, some pondered the Charity’s decision to go so far afield for their bi-annual meet. For a number of Mary’s Meals supporters and volunteers, Scotland is remote enough. I have heard it said that no matter how you travel to Medjugorje, whether by bus, car, land or sea, the experience is always inexplicably long and tiring.

For me however, there was nothing so inexplicable. My journey to Medjugorje began with a two week trek to Santiago de Compostela, then a three day train, plane, ferry and bus journey through Spain, Italy and Croatia. When I finally arrived, I sank down on a pew in the village church.  I looked up to see a statue of St James behind the altar complete with walking staff and Scallop shell, the symbols of the pilgrim. I realised then that everyone who was coming to Medjugorje for the Mary’s Meals conference had gone on pilgrimage to this place, whether they flew direct or like me took the more scenic route. Perhaps this pilgrim journey, the act of travelling as one community from all over the world was the most valuable part of the conference.

St James Church, Medjugorje

Medjugorje has drawn pilgrims since 1981 when, in the centre of Tito’s atheist Yugoslavia, a group of children reported a vision of Mary the Mother of God calling herself the Queen of Peace. Among the earliest of these pilgrims were the MacFarlane-Barrow children from Craig Lodge, Scotland, the oldest of which was only nineteen at the time. It was this initial trip that made the brutal Balkan war a decade later spark SIR – a Charity founded by Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow which drove lorry loads of relief into Bosnia. Slowly but surely SIR grew and is now known internationally through the name of Mary’s Meals, the school feeding programme it administers which feeds over a quarter of a million children everyday in the poorest parts of the world.

By the end of 2007’s conference, no-one questioned the decision to hold the event in Bosnia. Representatives from Mary’s Meals projects all over the world heard time and again from Magnus and early supporters of SIR how the seeds of the Charity had been sown all those years ago in that arid Bosnian earth. In some ways it felt like the Charity had come home.

Returning again this year, I have been asked to keep those supporters of Mary’s Meals who can’t join us next week abridged of events. The conference is essentially a time where everyone involved with Mary’s Meals – from those who work in the head office in Craig Lodge, to the thousands who give and fundraise for the Charity all over the world – can come together and feel part of a whole. I hope this blog will be able to make Mary’s Meals supporters who can’t make it feel involved with what is going on so that we can all enter into the spirit of the pilgrimage together. We expect some fantastic talks from project leaders from India, Africa, Eastern Europe and Indonesia and I will post everyday during the conference to keep people up to date with what is said.

Take Care,

Joe.