Longford-based dairy farmer Mike Magan (left)
Photo: Irish Farmers Journal Longford-based dairy farmer Mike Magan has expressed his gratitude to his fellow farmers after raising just under €200,000 for people suffering in Yemen.
“It’s now close to €200,000. All of the co-ops got involved and they have collected, by one means or another, the equivalent of €10 from every one of 16,000 dairy farmers. Some did it out of central funds and some did it directly from the farmers but, anyway, the bottom line is that we have €10 from every one of the 16,000 dairy farmers in Ireland collected,” Mr Magan told The Irish Catholic.
Contributions
“And then there’s been further, very generous contributions from individuals. A range of amounts, up into very, very substantial amounts so we’ll be close to €200,000 if not above it when we finish up which is around now.”
He’s leaving the allocation of the money to the experts in the Red Cross, but expects that the money will go towards immediate food-aid, or longer-term projects such as wells for clean water. However, he also hopes that the effort made will go towards raising awareness of humanitarian issues around the world.
Willingness
“I’m hugely encouraged by the generosity of my fellow farmers and their willingness to make things happen, because a lot of people have to make reasonably awkward decisions to make this happen…I’m just so grateful that people did take tough decisions to make this happen,” he said.