TV programme of the festive season
I am sure that many people, certainly including members of my own family, have had or will have a lot of pleasure from many of the blockbusters and common favourites on the box this season, from Doctor Who and the Strictly Come Dancing christmas special to the Queen's Christmas broadcast.
However, the most extraordinary and uplifting programme of the season for me was a half hour documentary broadcast on Christmas Eve by BBC One called Martha, meals and Malawi. (Available via this link until New Year's day 2013.)
This told the extraordinary story of Martha Payne, who as a nine year old girl in Scotland set up a blog called http://neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk/ on which she posted photographs of her school meals with her comments about them. After an ill-advised attempt by officials at Argyll and Bute council to crack down on this, (rescinded after the blog went viral and attracted millions of hits) she decided to try to raise money to help kids in a poor country, Malawi, to have better food.
The programme followed Martha and her family as they went to Malawi to see some of the thousands of children people helped by Martha's Justgiving page to raise money for the "Mary's Meals" charity. She set a target to raise £7000 for this charity but at the time of posting she had raised 1812% of this target - nearly £127,000.
By setting up her blog and then including a link to raise money for that charity, one girl in Scotland funded the building of kitchens in Africa which if I understood the programme correctly mean that literally thousands of children in one of the poorest countries in Africa will be better fed and probably also better educated (as some will only be able to attend school because they get fed there.
I cannot think of a more powerful or moving example of the principle that any human being, no matter what their age or station, can make a difference to the world for the better.
However, the most extraordinary and uplifting programme of the season for me was a half hour documentary broadcast on Christmas Eve by BBC One called Martha, meals and Malawi. (Available via this link until New Year's day 2013.)
This told the extraordinary story of Martha Payne, who as a nine year old girl in Scotland set up a blog called http://neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk/ on which she posted photographs of her school meals with her comments about them. After an ill-advised attempt by officials at Argyll and Bute council to crack down on this, (rescinded after the blog went viral and attracted millions of hits) she decided to try to raise money to help kids in a poor country, Malawi, to have better food.
The programme followed Martha and her family as they went to Malawi to see some of the thousands of children people helped by Martha's Justgiving page to raise money for the "Mary's Meals" charity. She set a target to raise £7000 for this charity but at the time of posting she had raised 1812% of this target - nearly £127,000.
By setting up her blog and then including a link to raise money for that charity, one girl in Scotland funded the building of kitchens in Africa which if I understood the programme correctly mean that literally thousands of children in one of the poorest countries in Africa will be better fed and probably also better educated (as some will only be able to attend school because they get fed there.
I cannot think of a more powerful or moving example of the principle that any human being, no matter what their age or station, can make a difference to the world for the better.
Comments
But yes, I fully agree with you, a very moving programme. I found it so, even though I had seen it before.
What a pity BBC is only keeping on-line for seven days.
Thanks for providing the link. When I tried, I could not find.
There is something seriously wrong with the BBC. They produce an excellent documentary, for once spend licence fee money wisely, then throw that spend down the drain when the programme is not kept on-line.
Let us hope some kind soul uploads the programme to youtube.
Here is a link to the previous broadcast.
- Martha, Meals and Malawi
The programme begged the question, why is the excellent book NeverSeconds not on display in our bookshops?
- NeverSeconds in Lincoln
Some programmes really do deserve to be kept up for more than a week.
Jim, yes, I missed them, but never mind.