Mary’s Meals founder challenges students to find their passion-- Do one small thing every day

The power of “kid ingenuity” was ignited Thursday, as Clear Lake Middle and High School students were challenged to consider their passions and think about what they can do.

Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, one of the co-founders of Mary’s Meals, a program that has fed nearly a million children in some of the world’s poorest countries, said he never expected to do the work he has or devoted his life to. The former fish farmer started Mary’s Meals in 2002 during a severe famine in southern Africa.  Today, the program feeds about 920,000 students in 12 countries. 

“I have this enormous sense of gratitude,” McFarlane-Barrow told the students when asked how Mary’s Meals has impacted his life.  “I can’t think of anything to do that would make me so fulfilled and happy.  I see how kind people respond to a need.  I love this work.”

Mary’s Meals not only feeds the hungry in the world, but also helps to get children into school, he explained.

Mary’s Meals volunteers typically gather children on a safe place, like a school, to serve the meals. The availability of the food encourages parents to send their child to school and introduces them to education, McFarlane-Barrow explained. 

It costs as little as $19.50 to feed one child for a year, he said, adding that still 18,000 children die of hunger every day in the world.

“It’s not just some mad dream to think we can help.  It’s possible,” he said.

Helping can happen in many forms.  Organize fundraisers, spread the word and pray that the work grows and more can be fed, he told students.

“I am motivated by my Christian faith, but you don’t have to be to help,” he said, noting that the program is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus.  “She was a refuge in her own life.  She knew poverty.  She is the perfect patron for this work-- the most famous mother.”

McFarlane-Barrow said Mary’s Meals was his response to a need he identified, but said students may have their own passions.

“I wanted to respond to a need I saw,” he said.  “Just do one small thing everyday.  We all think there are others more clever and more talented, but we’re all called to make this world better.  Take that first step and just do something.”