The right to hope for every child
Our founder, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, delivers a passionate speech at the Vatican about eradicating child hunger.
On Monday, 3 February, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow – our founder and CEO – gave a speech about the challenge of eradicating child hunger at the prestigious World Leaders Summit at the Vatican.
Addressing His Holiness Pope Francis and a select group of world and humanitarian leaders, Magnus said: “We in this room could make it happen.” Watch his full speech below.
A simple solution to world hunger
The gathering was attended by world and humanitarian leaders, including former US Vice President Al Gore, the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Rania Al-Abdullah, Queen of Jordan.
Magnus spent the day at the Vatican discussing a child’s right to education, healthcare, food, nutrition and play, with fellow attendees, and how Mary’s Meals offers a simple solution to world hunger. He said: “Child hunger is on the rise in too many places across the world – driven by conflict, extreme weather, economic shocks and the fact that many of the wealthiest nations in the world are reducing their aid budgets.”
Last year, UNICEF reported one in four children globally live in severe child food poverty due to inequity, conflict and climate crises. Magnus also said that teachers are witnessing empty playgrounds because children are too hungry to come to class.
Every child has a right to a daily meal in their place of education
Stressing that those in attendance at the Vatican summit have the power to affect change, Magnus went on to says: “Last year I visited Tigray, Ethiopia, where all these factors have combined to cause a terrible hunger crisis which has taken the lives of many children and forced hundreds of thousands to drop out of school. I spoke to a teacher in an empty school who told me that when there are no children left in the playground there can be no hope left either. Maybe 'hope' should be another 'right' for every child?”
“I believe that every child has a right to a daily meal in their place of education. And I believe that there is no good reason why we cannot make – and keep – this promise to the world’s poorest children. We have in the human family more than enough resources to do this. We in this room could make it happen.”
After the summit, Magnus said: “I feel huge gratitude for the invitation to take part in this event and to Pope Francis and the organisers for including Mary’s Meals. It’s a privilege to represent the Mary’s Meals family and to be the voice of the children we serve every school day. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to introduce the idea of the ‘Right to Hope’ alongside the other important rights of the child discussed."
“This summit has opened so many new doors for Mary’s Meals – so many new people are expressing huge interest in our work. It’s a very important step for Mary’s Meals.”
The Vatican Summit concluded with an announcement by Pope Francis that he will prepare an Apostolic Exhortation dedicated to children’s rights.
It costs just £19.15, €22, $25.20 USD or $31.70 CAD to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year. Learn how the promise of a daily meal at school enables the children we serve to receive an education.