At the first Summit on the Rights of the Child, held in Rome on 3 February, Mary’s Meals founder and CEO Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow addressed world leaders to tell them that it would cost just over US$3 billion a year to provide a daily school meal to the neediest children in the world’s lowest-income countries.
“There is no good reason why we cannot deliver – and keep – this promise to the world’s poorest children… Hope should be a right for all children,” he stressed.
The summit attracted important world leaders, including Queen Rania of Jordan; Megawati Sukarnoputri, former president of Indonesia; Al Gore, former US vice president; and Mario Draghi, Italian economist and EU advisor.
MacFarlane-Barrow opened her address at the summit by telling Edward’s story: Twenty-four years ago, I had a conversation with a very hungry boy. He was 14 years old and, together with his five younger siblings, he was sitting next to his mother Emma, who was dying. He looked at me and said, “I wish I had enough food to eat and go to school one day.”
That meeting took place in Malawi in 2002 and was the starting point for the Mary’s Meals school feeding programmes. Today, the global organisation serves school meals to more than 2.5 million children every day in 16 of the world’s poorest countries.
After a full day of presentations and debate, political leaders and representatives of countries and religions from around the world signed a Final Declaration stating, among other things, that: children’s rights continue to be widely violated; indifference must not become the norm; nations must take greater responsibility; global commitment is needed; and peace begins with children and their protection. Mary’s Meals founder said children should also have a ‘Right to Hope’
“I feel enormous gratitude for being invited to take part in this event and to Pope Francis and the organizers for including Mary’s Meals. It is a privilege to represent the Mary’s Meals family and to be the voice of the children we feed every day at school. It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to present the idea of the ‘Right to Hope’ alongside other important children’s rights that have been discussed,” said MacFarlane-Barrow after the conclusion of the Vatican Summit.
“This summit has opened many doors for Mary’s Meals; many new people are expressing a huge interest in our work. It is a very important step for Mary’s Meals.”
“It has been amazing to spend a couple of days in the company of so many world leaders and to spend time in this wonderful city of Rome, and I am now looking forward to returning to my shed and my family in Scotland.”
After listening to the founder of Mary’s Meals and the other participants, Pope Francis announced that he will continue this commitment and promote it. He will prepare an Apostolic Exhortation dedicated to the rights of children.
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About Mary’s Meals Foundation, Spain:
The Mary’s Meals Foundation Spain is one of the 15 subsidiaries of the Scottish organization Mary’s Meals International. Mary’s Meals has been awarded the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Concord. More information: www.marysmeals.es
