Mary's Meals Fort McMurray Ambassadors

This Mother’s Day, celebrate the special women in your life with virtual gifts that feed children! Find the gifts and a free borscht recipe at https://www.marysmeals.ca/mothersday #mothersday

Jennica (right) and Guervendiat Jennica from Haiti has the most incredible smile. It’s hard to believe that this happy little eight-year-old lives in a part of the world where basic necessities that many of us take for granted like clean running water and electricity are a luxury. Despite the daily challenges she faces, Jennica has plenty to smile about because she is one of 36,097 children in Haiti who eat Mary’s Meals each day at school.... The food makes me healthy, she says. Before Mary’s Meals it wasn’t good because the children didn’t go to school, [Jennica’s aunt, Emilia] says. I see a big difference now. The children aren’t hungry, so it’s easier for the family. My hope for Jennica’s future is that she will go further in her education. The plate of rice and beans that Jennica and her friends enjoy for lunch each school day helps to fill their empty tummies, giving them energy to concentrate on their studies and play with their friends. Writing is my favourite subject because I like it, Jennica says. Guervendiat is my best friend. We play together a lot and we live very close to each other. Mary’s Meals isn’t just helping Jennica to make the most of her education, it may also have influenced her choice of future career. I want to be a chef when I finish school, she says. I want to work in a restaurant. To donate and help provide meals for other children like Jennica go to https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-pa/marys-meals-ymm-1

Topos (left) with his schoolfriends Topos was under-nourished and in poor health when he first started attending his nursery school in northern Kenya. At home, his family struggles to find food for them to eat and Topos, aged four, often goes to bed hungry. When these problems were identified, Topo’s mother was encouraged to bring the young boy to school every day to receive Mary’s Meals so his health could improve. When Topo was eating every day, he started regaining his he...alth and now he’s much better, explained Mr Eloto [Topo’s teacher]. Some children walk for over an hour on foot to get to the school. Mary’s Meals is bringing food to the school. That food is helping the children to have a meal and it’s attracting them to come to this school, added Mr Eloto. When they come in the morning you can tell that they have not eaten the previous evening. They look very weak. But when they get the porridge, you see them start playing. The food is helping them continue with their normal school activities. To donate and help provide meals for other children like Topos go to https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-pa/marys-meals-ymm-1

Topos (left) with his schoolfriends Topos was under-nourished and in poor health when he first started attending his nursery school in northern Kenya. At home, his family struggles to find food for them to eat and Topos, aged four, often goes to bed hungry. When these problems were identified, Topo’s mother was encouraged to bring the young boy to school every day to receive Mary’s Meals so his health could improve. When Topo was eating every day, he started regaining his he...alth and now he’s much better, explained Mr Eloto [Topo’s teacher]. Some children walk for over an hour on foot to get to the school. Mary’s Meals is bringing food to the school. That food is helping the children to have a meal and it’s attracting them to come to this school, added Mr Eloto. When they come in the morning you can tell that they have not eaten the previous evening. They look very weak. But when they get the porridge, you see them start playing. The food is helping them continue with their normal school activities. To donate and help provide meals for other children like Topos go to https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-pa/marys-meals-ymm-1

It costs just $26.40 to feed a child for a whole school year. Send us a message if you would like to donate your recycling, or donate directly at https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-pa/marys-meals-ymm-1

Pictured: Karim and Fadi(right) In Lebanon, Mary’s Meals offers refugee children like Fadi an escape from hunger and the chance of a brighter future. Fadi hopes to become a hairdresser and move to Canada when he finishes school. It’s a nice job, he explains. I want to learn this profession. I would like to go to Canada, I don’t know a lot about it, but I hear lots of people saying that living there is very good.... Fadi’s dream of a career in a salon is a far cry from the horrors he left behind when his family fled the civil war in Syria for the safety of neighbouring Lebanon. Mary’s Meals offers Fadi and his friends an escape from hunger with the promise of a nutritious daily meal at the education centre within the refugee settlement. For children like Fadi, who have faced so much upheaval at such a young age, school offers a safe space where they can enjoy their childhood. I am happy to play with my friends in the centre, he says. Karim is my best friend, we come to school together and we play together. I like to play football. Thank you for giving Fadi and his friends the hope of a brighter future. To donate and help provide meals for other children like Fadi go to: https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-p/marys-meals-ymm-1

Pictured: Karim and Fadi(right) In Lebanon, Mary’s Meals offers refugee children like Fadi an escape from hunger and the chance of a brighter future. Fadi hopes to become a hairdresser and move to Canada when he finishes school. It’s a nice job, he explains. I want to learn this profession. I would like to go to Canada, I don’t know a lot about it, but I hear lots of people saying that living there is very good.... Fadi’s dream of a career in a salon is a far cry from the horrors he left behind when his family fled the civil war in Syria for the safety of neighbouring Lebanon. Mary’s Meals offers Fadi and his friends an escape from hunger with the promise of a nutritious daily meal at the education centre within the refugee settlement. For children like Fadi, who have faced so much upheaval at such a young age, school offers a safe space where they can enjoy their childhood. I am happy to play with my friends in the centre, he says. Karim is my best friend, we come to school together and we play together. I like to play football. Thank you for giving Fadi and his friends the hope of a brighter future. To donate and help provide meals for other children like Fadi go to: https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-p/marys-meals-ymm-1

Discover how school meals are helping one aptly-named girl in Zimbabwe to shine. 11-year-old Happiness is one of 18,435 children in the rural Tsholotsho District of Zimbabwe that enjoy Mary’s Meals every school day. We normally don’t eat during the day at home because we’re reserving it for the evening meal, Happiness explains. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate [in class] when we are hungry. The Mary’s Meals food gives us energy and nutrients. It is so helpful to us as p...upils. The school meal helps Happiness make the most of her education. It also gives her energy to help out with the household chores and, most importantly, to play! To donate and help provide meals for other children like Happiness go to: https://www.marysmeals.ca//dakshkumar-p/marys-meals-ymm-1

Our next recycling drive will be happening at the end of this week. Send us a message if you would like to donate your recycling and we can set up a time to pick it up!

The Mary’s Meals Canada team will be fundraising and running 100km with a goal to raise $1000. Show your support to our Fort McMurray volunteers who will be participating in the run at the end of September and donate! Facebook fundraising page: https://www.facebook.com/donate/2892438817529165/... Mary’s Meals website fundraising page: https://www.marysmeals.ca//jessica-/kilometers-of-kindness

Welcome to the Mary’s Meals - Fort McMurray Events page! We are a group of volunteers who support the Mary’s Meals’ vision that every child should receive one daily meal in their place of education, and that all those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things. Stay tuned for upcoming events and ways to donate and support the cause!