Scottish Catholic Observer

A young supporter of Mary’s Meals is set to embark on a mammoth journey to raise funds for the charity this weekend.

Beginning today Seonaidh Morrison, accompanied by his uncle Chris, will cycle from the headquarters of Mary’s Meals in Dalmally to Oban, where they will camp for the night.

Crossing the Minch by ferry the next morning and docking in Lochboisdale, South Uist, Seonaidh, 10, will then cycle to the foot of Beinn Mhor, where the next day, after camping there overnight, he will climb the 2000ft to the summit. Once there he will play two tunes of his own composition, created especially for Mary’s Meals for his fundraising effort.

Inspiration

Seonaidh was inspired to undertake the challenge by the work done by his uncle, who serves as the Mary’s Meals country cirector in Liberia, and quickly enlisted the support of his family, friends and classmates turning an adventure into a fundraising effort which has almost reached his target of £1000.

“I was inspired to do something because my uncle works for Mary’s Meals and he tells me a lot about the brilliant work they do,” Seonaidh said. “I do a lot of camping, rock climbing, mountain biking and other stuff like that so I decided to do a sponsored event because I thought it would be great if I could do something to raise money for Mary’s Meals.”

Coming from generations of South Uist pipers, and being taught by his father, musician Fred Morrison, Seonaidh’s hard work and practice on the pipes led him to compose two new tunes for Mary’ Meals, which he will play at the peak of Beinn Mhor. However, it is not just Seonaidh’s father and uncle who have a part to play in his fundraising, with his mother and younger sister Eliane joining other family members supporting him by car to assist him during training.

Support

Speaking of the family effort and the support received from friends and sponsors, Seonaidh’s mum Deirdre Morrison told The Scottish Catholic Observer: “This is a real adventure for Seonaidh, but we feel it is a very appropriate way to raise funds. With his uncle in Liberia it has been a great way for them to keep in touch and share their work for Mary’s Meals and he has been very supportive.

“The sponsorship he has received has been great, and even from the first day we’ve seen the great effect things like Facebook have had in spreading the word about what Seonaidh is doing. We’ve had fantastic local support, especially from his school friends and our neighbours.

“Mary’s Meals is a great charity. It’s a very basic approach—simply feeding hungry children—and we have really seen the great affection people have for Mary’s Meals.”

— Support Seonaidh at http://www.justgiving.com/Seonaidh-Morrison

— [email protected]