Award-winning charity film to screen in Lancaster

Lancaster residents will have the chance to see an award-winning short film about the work of school feeding charity Mary's Meals at the Gregson Community and Arts Centre on Wednesday August 31.
Volunteer cooks being filmed for Generation Hope.Volunteer cooks being filmed for Generation Hope.
Volunteer cooks being filmed for Generation Hope.

The free screening of the film, Generation Hope, will be introduced by Mary’s Meals Community Ambassador Bill Higginson, who will give a short presentation about the charity, which currently feeds more than 1.1 million impoverished children with daily meals in school.

Generation Hope is an uplifting and compelling documentary highlighting the extraordinary difference that receiving a daily meal in school can make to children growing up in some of the world’s most impoverished communities.

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Mary’s Meals is a grassroots movement with strong support across Lancaster and a large audience is expected at the event in the Gregson Centre in Moorgate. Following the event, supporters and audience members will be encouraged to host their own screenings of the film to raise awareness of the impact of Mary’s Meals.

Founded in 2002, Mary’s Meals began feeding 200 children in one school in Malawi. Today, the charity reaches more than 1.1 million children with daily meals in their place of education in 12 different countries around the world.

By serving a daily meal in a place of education, Mary’s Meals attracts impoverished children into the classroom, where they can gain skills that will help them escape poverty in the future. The school feeding programmes are community-owned, with local volunteers working in rotation to prepare the meals for the children.

Filmed on location at Mary’s Meals projects in Malawi, Haiti, and India, the documentary film introduces audiences to individuals from what Mary’s Meals describes as Generation Hope – the group of young people who, having received the organisation’s daily meals in school, are now engaged in further education or paid employment, something they insist would simply not have been possible without the support provided by supporters of Mary’s Meals.

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Audiences will meet Veronica from Blantyre in Malawi – one of the first children to ever receive Mary’s Meals – who is now studying Business and Education Studies at college, and Jimmy, a talented musician from Cité Soleil, Haiti’s most notorious slum.

Jimmy admits that, had he not received a daily meal from Mary’s Meals growing up, he would never have been able to stay in school. He addresses Mary’s Meals supporters directly through the camera, frankly stating: ‘If you didn’t feed me, I would not have [the] chance to become what I am today. If Mary’s Meals can do impossible things, I can do some impossible things too.”

Generation Hope is a follow-up to Mary’s Meals’ award-winning short film Child 31, which explored how the charity’s work meets the immediate needs of vulnerable children, providing them with a consistent, nutritious source of food as well as enabling them to go to school.

Alan Brown, Executive Director of Mary’s Meals United Kingdom and Ireland, said: “We are very excited to be introducing this incredible film to the world.”

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“Generation Hope will allow our current supporters to engage with Mary’s Meals in a brand new way and will be a beautiful introduction to our work for those who have not yet heard about this important mission of ours.”

With its powerful score and stunning cinematography, Generation Hope is set to inspire audiences and give a captivating insight into Mary’s Meals life-changing work.

Generation Hope will screen at the Gregson Community and Arts Centre on Wednesday 31st August at 6:30pm. To secure a seat for the screening, please [email protected].