Hurrah for Marcus Rashford

It has been a week full of memorable news. We said goodbye to Dame Vera Lynn. She was 103, but somehow we thought she might be one of those who would always be with us. The US Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) programme to remain in place, so that immigrants who arrived as children may continue living and working in the USA, for now at least. An inexpensive drug - Dexamethosone - has been discovered to reduce deaths from Covid-19 by a third in the most severely ill patients. And a young footballer's campaign to support hungry children persuaded the UK government to make a U-turn in their current policy.

If you can get beyond the paywall, Marcus Rashford's open letter in the Times this week is here. He writes:

"I know what it feels like to be hungry. I'm well aware that at times my friends only invited me to eat at their houses for their parents' reassurance that I was eating that evening. That was my community, the community that made the Marcus Rashford you see before you today asking for your help:  an England international footballer. As I passed through Manchester city centre on the bus as a child and witnessed homelessness on every street corner, I swore that if one day I got in a position to help those people most in need then that is what I would do.

I recognise that I have a valuable platform that allows my voice to be heard and I'm asking you to listen to the stories of these vulnerable families. People are hurting and we continue to ignore their cries for help."

What impresses me so much is that Mr. Rashford is part of a group that has been highlighted during the lockdown for its lack of social responsibility, i.e., professional footballers. The media has reported those who have flouted the government's restrictions in order to party and get their hair cut. However, his behaviour this week, and as we now discover, throughout his career, knocks all the stereotypes on their heads, and presents us with the most admirable role model (I know he isn't the only one, q.v., Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane). This BBC article shows how he has always been willing to lend a hand:

"As a child at school Rashford had helped fill gift boxes to give to those in need. He remembered this. At Xmas 2018 he personally delivered items including thermal underwear, gloves, toothbrushes and toothpaste to homeless people in Manchester. Twelve months on he partnered with Selfridges for a similar campaign."

As a result of Marcus Rashford's campaign, the UK Government decided to continue the programme for meal vouchers during the summer for all children eligible for free school meals during term-time. Upon hearing this news, Rashford told the BBC:

"I don't want this to be the end of it because there are more steps that need to be taken. People are struggling all year round, so we need to learn more about the situation they are in and how we can help them best."

He is going back to work now, as the English Premier League starts up again, but I hope we will continue to be inspired by his teaching, as he wrote last Monday:

"It can be funny where your career takes you sometimes. If someone had said ten years ago that I would one day be writing for The Times I would have laughed, and yet here I am on Monday evening opening this with a question that has been playing on my mind all day:  have I done enough?"

I must keep asking myself, have I done enough? Have we done enough?

UPDATE:  In the most recent issue of the Guardian, David Squires devotes a whole cartoon to the continuing advocacy of Marcus Rashford. Have a look here.