Our April speaker, Jason Brooks, is a community volunteer with the charity ‘Mary’s Meals’. The charity was started in 1992 by two brothers, Magnus and Fergus, over a drink in a pub! Reacting to the plight of children during the troubles in Bosnia they raised funds from their local community and took a gap year in order to accompany an aid convoy providing relief to the war zone. The ‘gap year’ turned into a complete change of career. Their work became Scottish International Relief in 1992 and was renamed Mary’s Meals following the brothers meeting a young woman dying of Aids in Malawi. When asked what his ambitions were, her son Edward said:

‘’ I would like to have enough to eat and I would like to go to school one day’’.

By providing tools and support, the charity funded 200 dinners in Malawi in 2002 and today the work continues and the number of children they have helped has risen to 2.4 million in 16 countries. The charity supports local communities where the food is locally sourced and cooked by local volunteers.  By providing healthy meals in schools, there is now a new generation of children who have been helped. They have gone on to further education enabling them to give back to their communities.

Many celebrities support the charity including Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den, who sponsors a school. If you are interested and would like to know more you can access more details at: https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/