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H’Nhi’s Smile Brightens His Classroom in Vietnam

on  October 22, 2019

In the Quang Ngai province of Vietnam lives a 4-year-old boy named H’Nhi who finds happiness at school despite the daily challenges his family faces including dangerous road conditions and malnourishment.Though residents in the community rely on the agro-forestry industry to earn income, this type of work does not provide a stable income. Born to a hunter and farmer, H’Nhi’s father spends his days working to feed his family. On his way to work each day, he drops H’Nhi off at school at the Song Rin Kindergarten in the Son Ha District.Like most children in the area, H’Nhi has suffered from malnourishment. At home, he typically eats fish, meat or salt. However, at school, H’Nhi and the other students receive nutritious Rise Against Hunger meals distributed by partner Children of Vietnam. H’Nhi’s teachers report that since the students began receiving Rise Against Hunger meals at school, they are more focused in class and have more energy. Previously, the teachers paid out of their own pockets to purchase food for their students, so the Rise Against Hunger meals have provided relief for both the students and teachers.With the help of a nearby kindergarten school, parents are able to prepare food for children to bring to school each day. Every month, parents are provided with government funds to purchase food for their child through the Quang Ngai Fund for Children, which is supported by individuals and organizations, including Children of Vietnam. This office has become a bridge between donors and vulnerable children.Ms. Trang, a staff member of Quang Ngai Fund for Children, shares, “Thanks to the Rise Against Hunger meals distributed by Children of Vietnam every year, these children have enough food. This also encourages them to go to school regularly.”H’Nhi finds happiness in playing with other students at school and having enough energy to do so.“I like going to school because I have a lot of friends to play with,” H’Nhi said.As H’Nhi continues to use his smile to brighten the lives of those around him, schools like the Song Rin Kindergarten still need assistance to create bright futures. To make a difference today, donate now!

About the Author

Janae Curtain is the Manager of Digital Marketing at Rise Against Hunger. Janae leads the development and execution of digital marketing initiatives including social media, email marketing, digital advertising and more!

More Posts by Janae Curtain

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.