Woman who walked to Rome and met Pope calls on people to clock up miles to Malawi for Mary’s Meals

A woman who took on an epic walking challenge in 2023 is urging people in the UK to join school feeding charity Mary’s Meals’ active challenge, From Dalmally To Malawi, this June.

Last year, Geraldine McFaul, 55, walked all the way from her home in Glasgow to Rome, travelling 2,000 miles on foot in six months. During her amazing adventure, she raised more than £7,500 for Mary’s Meals. To top off Geraldine’s extraordinary journey, she even met The Pope on her arrival to Rome!

Mary’s Meals feeds more than 2.4 million children in 17 countries across the world. The promise of a daily school meal encourages desperately poor children into the classroom where an education is the key to their dreams of a brighter future.

Geraldine says: “Last summer I walked to Rome and met The Pope, now I’m ‘walking’ to Malawi for charity! I’ll really be walking around my local area, but our cumulative miles will equal the 7,000 miles from Dalmally to Malawi. Mary’s Meals is an incredible charity and I’m so pleased to support them again this year. I’d love for you to join me in June because you can easily turn your miles into meals for hungry little ones!

Geraldine McFaul, who last year walked from Glasgow to Rome, is encouraging people to join Mary’s Meals’ From Dalmally To Malawi active challenge.

“The key thing to an active challenge is not to worry about how fast or far you’re going because every step adds up. It’s an amazing sense of achievement when you reach your goal and I can’t wait to share that feeling with you all!”

By signing up to the challenge, participants will take part in a virtual journey from Dalmally, the village in the Highlands of Scotland where Mary’s Meals was founded, to Malawi, where the charity served its first life-changing school meals.

Taking part in From Dalmally To Malawi will help children like Lapukeni from Malawi.

Participants can take part in From Dalmally To Malawi in any way they choose, whether walking, running, swimming or cycling. The money raised through sponsorship from family and friends will help to feed hungry children living in the world’s poorest countries.

Dan McNally, Head of Grassroots Engagement at Mary’s Meals, says: “We were all so inspired by Geraldine’s walk to Rome last summer and I hope that she can inspire you to take on From Dalmally To Malawi this June. It only costs £19.15 to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a school year – that’s 10p a meal – so any amount of money you can raise makes a real difference to the children we feed!”

By taking part, people can change the lives of children like Lapukeni from Malawi.

She says: “I like eating phala (porridge) here at school because it gives me freedom from hunger and worries. I am confident that I will work extra hard in class because of the peace of mind that I get from Mary’s Meals.”

To sign up for From Dalmally To Malawi, please visit: www.marysmeals.org.uk/dalmally-to-malawi