• Other Global Locations
  • Search
Host an Event
Donate

Creating a Network of Hope and a Collective Heartbeat of Compassion

on  July 17, 2019

Saturday morning, the sun rose over South Africa where 3.1 million children suffer from hunger on a daily basis. Over 8,000 miles away and six hours later, volunteers from the Network of Hope, a Pittsburgh-based service organization, made their way to Allison Park Church to address the hunger problem with a mighty force.As Rise Against Hunger Founder Ray Buchanan addressed the crowd, he reminded us that “it is all of our responsibility to end hunger for two reasons: (1) because it is the right thing to do and (2) because it is possible.” In a world where the lack of food production is not the problem, we are called to a passionate purpose of ending hunger; a social justice issue that is truly solvable.“What I love most about a meal packaging event with Rise Against Hunger is the collective pulse in the room,” Network of Hope’s Regional Program Director, Julie Mikus shared. “There’s a heart that beats with compassion to help people across the globe. It’s amazing when the community comes together to make a difference; alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much! It can feel overwhelming to envision a world without hunger, but with organizations like Rise Against Hunger, I believe it’s possible.”Allison Park Church and the Network of Hope have partnered-up with Rise Against Hunger since 2016 to package rice-fortified, protein-enriched meals for those in need around the world. Their impact now totals 452,304 meals with distribution in Uganda, Malawi, Swaziland and South Africa.Lead Pastor of Allison Park Church, Jeff Leake, expressed his excitement for the community’s service-minded event. “Our people absolutely love being able to give their time and energy to packing the meals,” he said. “The plan, approach, and atmosphere are amazing. We are hooked.”Network of Hope’s Serve Day has become a bright light to the people of Pittsburgh. Not only are they packaging meals to go abroad, but they are serving the needs of their local community through beautification projects, building playgrounds, picking up trash, honoring U.S. Veterans, and serving in other areas around the city. Roughly 1,400 volunteers served approximately 319,000 people through 30 different Serve Day activities across six regions of Pittsburgh. The Rise Against Hunger component came about because a 7-year-old-girl shared the event with her grandfather five years ago. You can read her story here.

“We love partnering with Rise Against Hunger, because a meal packaging event like this is so much more than just an event to our people. It brings families and communities together to serve one collective vision, and it makes a lasting and powerful impression on those who serve. Our people love it. And we can’t wait to partner together again in the future!” – Kyler Sederwall, Network of Hope Site Coordinator
Saturday evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon in South Africa, the Network of Hope volunteers had just finished packaging the final meals that would complete the 8′ x 20′ shipping container bound for Johannesburg. The question we must ask is, “How many more sunsets will countries around the world have to experience where hunger still exists?”In just a few months, Rise Against Hunger South Africa will unload the meals packaged by the faithful Pittsburgh community and distribute them around the country to Early Childhood Development programs where children will have a chance to experience hope for a prosperous future; a beautiful example of a Network for Hope.To find out how you can engage your faith community, contact Rev. Kevin Magee at faith@ivory-dragonfly-995953.hostingersite.com or visit our Faith-Based Partnerships page.Network of Hope: Network of Hope promotes lasting change for our communities and those experiencing hardship by Enriching and Equipping individuals and families in crisis and then Empowering them to give back to others in need.Allison Park Church: Allison Park Church is a family-friendly church where you can belong. They are committed to creating an environment where God meets you where you are and strive to help you discover how you can make a difference in the world.

About the Author

Rev. Kevin Magee serves as the Manager of Faith-Based Global Partnerships to connect faith communities with the mission to end hunger by 2030. Kevin joined the Rise Against Hunger team in 2015.

More Posts by Kevin Magee

Strength, Stability And Hope

The gift that filled Nelly’s table.

“We were yielding very little, and the crops could not sustain us the whole year,” Nelly remembers. As a mother of seven and a farmer with two decades of experience, the stress of inconsistent yields was all-consuming. A poor harvest not only strained her family financially, but also limited their own meals to just two a day. Their story reflects that of many in their fishing and farming village near a lake in the Karonga district of northern Malawi. Here, heavy rainfall makes conventional farming methods nearly impossible. The entire village is, quite literally, saturated in food insecurity — a reality that leaves families struggling to survive season after season without a dependable source of nourishment.

In 2019, Nelly began participating in Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience, a sustainable agriculture project implemented by Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS). The project works with 3,100 smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Karonga and Mzimba districts to strengthen food and nutrition security by improving production methods, nutrition practices and household income.

Just one year later, Nelly was ready to expand the variety of crops on her farm. What land once only produced maize began to flourish with sesame, cowpeas, rice and groundnuts during the rainy season (summer), as well as maize and vegetables during the dry season (winter). Through climate-smart agriculture training, she learned new techniques like manure making, pit planting and mulching, crop rotation and intercropping. Equipped with these tools, Nelly’s farm began to thrive.

After the 2023–2024 growing season, she sold enough produce to purchase an ox cart. Her harvests in 2024-2025 season yielded over 500 pounds of crops, including 22 bags of groundnuts, seven bags of maize, 12 tins of sesame and three bags of rice. With this surplus, she was able to invest in a motorbike, which she now uses to transport African doughnuts (mandasi) that she cooks and sells — creating yet another source of income for her family.

The transformation reaches far beyond her finances. Nelly now has the stability to provide for her husband and children. “I am able to eat different food types, pay school fees for my children and fulfill the visions that I have made with my family,” she beams. “I am now sleeping peacefully without any fears of food or paying school fees for the children.”

Her leadership has also grown. Today, Nelly serves as a leader in the Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience project, teaching other farmers in her district to adopt climate-resilient, labor-saving practices. By sharing her knowledge, she is multiplying her impact — empowering her neighbors to experience the same transformation she has achieved.

Across Nelly’s community, food and economic security are on the rise. Lombani, a government extension officer for the region, explains, “I can see the community is being transformed in the sense that in the area, there is food, income and nutrition security. Development is also happening at the household level.”

Nelly reflects on what it means to invest in holistic programs that address the root causes of hunger: “We are now healthy people. Children are going to school after eating their breakfast, having high yields and different types of crops due to conservation agriculture practices. With the support from the project, we have food, and we can access other food items from the market after selling our produce.”

This is the gift that fills: a future full of stability, strength and hope. It fills tables with food, families with security and communities with the resources to thrive. It’s an investment in futures rooted in resilience and hope.