Mary’s Meals Hong Kong – feeding the next hungry child
Geaspar Byrne, founding director of Mary’s Meals Hong Kong, talks about his ambitions and aspirations for growing the charity in the region.
Published onFrom humble beginnings in Scotland to a global family of fundraisers and volunteers, the Mary’s Meals family can be found in countries around the world.
In this interview, Geaspar Byrne, founding director of Mary’s Meals Hong Kong, talks about how you can get involved with the charity and help to raise awareness and vital funds for Mary’s Meals vision and mission – providing daily school meals to vulnerable children in their place of education.
Mary’s Meals: Firstly, could you talk about how Mary’s Meals Hong Kong came into existence?
Mary’s Meals Hong Kong was founded by myself and my wife, Kelly Chung Byrne, with the support of the Mary’s Meals international organisation in 2021. We are one of the most recent additions to the Mary’s Meals family and are officially recognised as a charity by the government of Hong Kong.
Our purpose is to raise awareness of Mary’s Meals vision and mission in Hong Kong and increase donations from people and organisations to fund Mary’s Meals’ work around the globe. And because the charity is officially recognised by the Hong Kong government, any donations made directly by people or organisations in Hong Kong to Mary’s Meals Hong Kong benefit from tax relief in Hong Kong.
We first met Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the founder of Mary’s Meals who now sits on our board, on a visit to Scotland in 2019 and talked to him about establishing a Mary’s Meals fundraising charity in the region. It took us more than two years to successfully navigate the complicated and rigorous charity approval process in Hong Kong.
Why did you decide to start Mary’s Meals Hong Kong?
Kelly and I have supported Mary’s Meals for many years. My brother and I climbed the Matterhorn in 2011 to raise money for the charity, and when Kelly and I got married in 2017, we asked our friends and family to donate to Mary’s Meals instead of buying us a wedding gift. As a family, we’ve sponsored the daily meal budget of a Mary’s Meals feeding school in Malawi since 2017.
There are no school feeding activities in Hong Kong. All funds raised by Mary’s Meals Hong Kong are used to fund school feeding projects run by Mary’s Meals outside of Hong Kong in the countries in which they feed.
How can people and organisations get involved with Mary’s Meals Hong Kong?
There are four main ways you can help and support Mary’s Meals in Hong Kong:
- Make a donation – and also encourage your friends, families and colleagues to donate via the Mary’s Meals Hong Kong website
- Start fundraising – some of our donors have dedicated special events and asked guests to donate, while others have organised sponsored walks, runs and swims.
- Volunteer with us – currently we only have two volunteers – myself and my wife Kelly! We desperately need motivated individuals in Hong Kong who could commit to a few hours each month to help us in PR, social media and community outreach. Please get in touch with me to learn more.
- Raise awareness – by spreading the word and sharing our content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
What are your aspirations for Mary’s Meals Hong Kong?
Kelly and I have ambitions to grow Mary’s Meals Hong Kong to become one of the largest donor charities to the Mary’s Meals family globally. The people of Hong Kong are extremely charitable and there is a strong inclination and appetite for Christian charitable causes in Hong Kong due to the strength of the Christian faith in the region.
With the help and support of local volunteers who can raise funds and awareness in Hong Kong, I believe this ambition can be achieved in the next few years.
Finally. how can people donate to Mary’s Meals Hong Kong and support the charities work?
It costs just 190 HKD to feed a child in their place of education for a whole school year – so even the smallest amounts can have a huge impact.
It is very easy for people to donate via the official Mary’s Meals Hong Kong website. Donation methods include direct bank transfer, credit/debit card payment, HSBC PayMe and cheques. All donors who request a tax receipt will receive one via email.
It costs just 190 HKD, £19.15, €22, $25.20 USD or $31.70 CAD to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year. There are many ways you can help us to reach the next hungry child waiting for Mary’s Meals.
Allan Poot is Head of National Affiliate Growth at Mary’s Meals. He is responsible for supporting the National Affiliate base and onboarding new affiliates.