Dear sir,

This Father’s Day (June 18), I’m thinking about the happiness that being a dad brings me.

One of my favourite things about having two little ones is seeing the joy they get from the simplest of things. Two-year-old Thomas and eight-month-old Mary Anne love a trip to the local park, and they can’t get enough of peek-a-boo!

Thomas was given a toy kitchen around the same time I was doing some DIY in my own kitchen, and now he loves to play at ‘fixing’ his kitchen. Another amazing part of being their dad is watching how much joy they get from learning from what’s going on around them.

Sadly, for little ones in some of the world’s poorest countries, there isn’t the same opportunity to experience these simple joys of childhood and learning.

But, through my work at Mary’s Meals, I know the difference a daily school meal can make to change the story for these children.

Mary’s Meals feeds more than 2.4 million hungry children every school day in 18 countries around the world. The promise of a nutritious meal attracts these children into the classroom, giving them energy to learn and laugh and play with their friends – and hope for a brighter future.

This month, the charity is offering a range of beautiful gift cards for Father’s Day that will feed a child for a whole school year for just £19.15. 

These gift cards are a special way to put a smile on dad’s face, while helping to give a hungry child the chance at joy that every little one deserves. To order yours, please visit marysmeals.org.uk/shop.

James Farrell,

data analyst, Mary’s Meals