Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow named alongside the pope and Obama as one of the world's most influential people
A former salmon farmer who created a charity to provide school meals to African children is the only Scot to appear in this year’s influential Times 100 List.
It means Mary’s Meals founder and chief executive Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow is now regarded as one of the most influential people in the world alongside luminaries such as President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, Malala Yousafzai and Hillary Clinton.
Originally from Argyll, MacFarlane-Barrow has been recognised for his charity’s work in setting up school feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities.
He said: “It’s wonderful to be able to accept this honour on behalf of the thousands of people all around the world, who together are working to realise the Mary’s Meals vision – that every child should be able to receive at least one meal every day in their place of education.”
Now in its 12th year, the list recognises the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.
The impact has been breathtaking - Gordon Brown
Time’s managing editor Nancy Gibbs said: “This is a list of the world's most influential men and women, not its most powerful, though those are not mutually exclusive terms.
“While power is certain, influence is subtle. As much as this exercise chronicles the achievements of the past year, we also focus on figures whose influence is likely to grow, so we can look around the corner to see what is coming.”
Mary’s Meals sets up and runs school feeding programmes in communities where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education.
By providing one daily meal in a place of learning, children are attracted to the classroom where they can gain an education – which can be their ladder out of poverty in the future.
Gordon Brown, former prime minister and now UN special envoy for global education, has written the tribute to MacFarlane-Barrow for Time, saying: “His work began in Bosnia, but a visit to Malawi, where a child told him his dream was having enough to eat, cemented his mission: to get thousands of girls and boys to come to school by providing a meal.
“The impact has been breathtaking. [School] attendance figures have risen, by as much as 50% in some areas.”
A book written by MacFarlane-Barrow about the origins of the charity The Shed That Fed A Million Children is set to be released by HarperCollins on 21 May.
