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Partner Hospital in Haiti Provides Life-Saving Care to Burn Victim Amid Gang Violence

  • Amanda Whitmyer

on  June 4, 2025

New Hope Hospital, a longtime partner of Rise Against Hunger, has worked in recent months to provide care for victims of ongoing gang violence in the country. When Louis* was severely burned in a recent gang-related fire, no local hospitals had the capacity or resources to help him. Dr. Maklin, New Hope Hospital’s lead physician, sprang into action by coordinating an emergency helicopter transport and providing life-saving treatment.

Even during these moments of crisis, hope remains — and it’s all thanks to Hunger Champions like you.

Rise Against Hunger works in countries worldwide to respond to crises by distributing vital aid where it’s needed most. Since the earliest days of our organization, we have worked alongside in-country partners to serve those facing hunger in Haiti. The nation is currently facing a significant humanitarian crisis and political unrest due to ongoing gang violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas.

Throughout the region, many residential areas have tragically been set on fire due to local gangs’ efforts to drive people out and gain control of more territory. More than 1 million people have been displaced, and thousands like Louis have been harmed or even killed as a result of the violence.

When Louis arrived at New Hope Hospital, the team there had just received a Rise Against Hunger shipping container filled with the equipment necessary to treat him and many more patients, including burn dressings, antibiotics, wound supplies and pain medication.

Dr. Maklin shared that Louis would not have been able to receive care without these supplies. Thanks to you, our community of Hunger Champions, the hospital had the vital resources it needed to provide life-saving care in times of crisis.

With your support, we can continue to respond quickly to emergencies in Haiti and worldwide. From emergency meals and food kits to medical supplies and medication, your gift empowers us to deliver essential meals and critical aid to vulnerable communities in times of crisis in the countries we serve worldwide.

This disaster season, give to our Global Emergency Relief Fund to ensure vital resources reach those who need them most.

*Name has been changed.

About the Author

Amanda Whitmyer served as the Digital Marketing Specialist at Rise Against Hunger.

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.