Scottish movie star Gerard Butler starring in new film to highlight work of Mary's Meals

Scottish movie star Gerard Butler is taking on a new role with a difference, as he features in a new short film highlighting the work of Mary’s Meals.

The charity, founded in Dalmally, serves life-changing meals to hungry children living in 19 of the world’s poorest countries.

Love Reaches Everywhere is a 30-minute film released on the charity’s website on Thursday. It follows the actor as he travels to Liberia and Haiti with the founder of Mary’s Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow.

Paisley-born Hollywood star Gerard says: “Going on this journey hit me from so many different angles – emotional, spiritual and physical. I make movies about heroes, but often they’re in big, over-the-top settings… and then you go to Liberia and Haiti and you see that the teachers in the schools are heroes, and the kids are all heroes that come here on empty stomachs every day to get an education.

“Every meal served by Mary’s Meals is a piece of charity and a little piece of love. And that all passes down into the families and communities and gives that sense of hope. It’s the difference between a kid saying, ‘I want to survive tomorrow’ and ‘I want to be a doctor.’”

Mary’s Meals usually serves its nutritious meals in schools, attracting impoverished children to the classroom where they can gain an education that will one day be their ladder out of poverty.

Love Reaches Everywhere was filmed before the Covid-19 pandemic caused schools across the globe to close. The charity has been quick to adapt, working with governments and local communities to ensure families can continue to feed their children at home. Despite the significant challenges caused by the pandemic, Mary’s Meals is still reaching almost all the children who rely on its meals – sometimes the only food they receive in a day.

This includes children in the Mirebalais area of Haiti, which Gerard visits in the film. As part of Mary’s Meals’ response, parents have been invited to collect emergency food parcels from schools, maintaining social distancing and hand washing as part of the collection process. A carefully constructed plan to provide food for the children the charity usually feeds in Liberia is also in place.

Magnus explains: “We are in a time of unprecedented global crisis that is impacting the way people around the world are living, working and being educated. Children are especially vulnerable and at risk in this situation and there is a significant danger that they are forgotten amid the fear and confusion of this new world.

“As a charity that is committed to feeding children in some of the world’s poorest communities, it is more important than ever for Mary’s Meals to keep its promise and support those children by delivering food to them in their communities and homes, which are their new places of education.

“By sharing his experiences with Mary’s Meals through this film, Gerry is helping us to shine a spotlight on the children we feed and ensure their voices aren’t lost. It was a great joy to travel with him to Haiti and Liberia and we are profoundly grateful to him for his invaluable support.”

Love Reaches Everywhere shows Gerard, who has starred in films such as 300, Angel Has Fallen and P.S. I Love You, immersing himself in community life – teaching a maths lesson, dancing, planting crops in a school garden, preparing food, carrying water from a local well, and even sharing acting tips with some children.

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