Supporting School Success to Support Children’s Futures

on August 12, 2020

Children are our future — that might sound like a cliché, but it is so true. This back-to-school season might look different for students worldwide, but education and adequate nutrition remain critically important as they empower children and provide them with the tools needed to foster bright futures. Today, on International Youth Day, we’re highlighting a few of the many amazing children we serve across the globe. With proper nutrition and education, these children are working toward their bright future!

Edith, A Girl Full of Energy and Confidence

Edith, a 12-year-old girl living in Lusaka, Zambia, is a 7th grader at Bauleni Legacy Academy. Due to a variety of economic issues, Edith’s family was unable to afford the nutrition needed in their daily diets. She struggled to stay motivated and confident in her studies. Now, with the help of our partner Family Legacy Missions, Edith receives three meals a day. She feels healthier and has the confidence and energy needed to excel in school. Described by her teachers as a “joyful and intelligent young lady,” Edith also aspires to be a teacher one day.

H’Nhi’s Bright Smile

In Vietnam’s Quang Ngai province, H’Nhi is a happy 4-year-old boy with an infectious smile. Like most children in the area, H’Nhi suffered from malnourishment. He began receiving Rise Against Hunger meals, distributed by partner Children of Vietnam, through the school feeding program at Song Rin Kindergarten. After H’Nhi and the other students began receiving meals, the teachers noticed that the children had more energy and were more focused. Having the energy to play with the other students at school brings H’Nhi joy. “I like going to school because I have a lot of friends to play with,” he said.

Stephanie Dreams of Becoming a Doctor

In the rural community where 17-year-old Stephanie lives in Tremesse, Haiti, many children come from families that have received little or no education and suffer from food scarcity. Despite the death of her father and her mother living in a different country, Stephanie is a motivated, excellent student in her 10th grade class at St. Marc School, where she receives Rise Against Hunger meals distributed by partner Hands for Haiti. Since receiving the meals, she feels a lot healthier and can focus better. Education is incredibly important to Stephanie because she is working toward her dream of becoming a medical doctor one day.

Angelica’s Plan to Give Back to Her Community

Her teachers describe her as smart, committed and creative. Angelica, a 13-year-old girl living in a small town in southern Honduras, attends Jose Trinidad Reyes School and takes part in their school feeding program, receiving Rise Against Hunger meals distributed by partner Central American Relief Efforts (CARE). The school’s principal has noticed improvements since the school’s students started receiving meals; they’ve gained weight, academic performance has improved and student attendance has increased. “The Rise Against Hunger meals have brought more nutrition to my community,” Angelica said. This young girl loves her community and her plans for the future reflect that! She hopes to become a teacher as a way to give back to her community.During this global crisis, it is important we support children’s education by helping them have the supplies necessary for a safe, healthy academic experience. Empower children around the world this back-to-school season by donating to Support School Safety and Success and participating in Rise Against Hunger’s Virtual School Supply Drive!

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.