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Zero Hunger is the GOAL for Boys like Celicourt

on  February 4, 2019

Sporting events are the perfect time for families and friends to gather and eat favorite foods with great company. Last night, the recent football season ended with the big game in the U.S. and whether you are a fan of either team (or impartial like me), I’m sure many of you joined together to share a meal or sports-themed snack. Indulging in a meal together over a sporting event is something so common, yet such a privilege in many parts of the world.Just outside of Cap Haitien in Tremesse, Haiti, lives a boy named Celicourt. At just 13 years old, Celicourt has a passion most boys his age have — football. Better known in the U.S. as soccer, football is the most popular sport in Haiti.In Celicourt’s hometown, Tremesse, jobs are very scarce and the majority of residents are considered malnourished. The main industry is farming, yet due to climate change and variability, food is hard to come by.Celicourt has no running water or electricity in his house and walks two miles to his school, St. Mark, every day. He receives six Rise Against Hunger meals per week at his school through a school feeding program sponsored by our partner, Hands for Haiti.Despite his setbacks, Celicourt has always had a passion for football and loves to play with his friends after school. Last year, the St. Mark School started a football team, which Celicourt was able to join, and now plays against other schools in the region. Since Celicourt has been on the team, the school has even won the area-wide championship. Celicourt shares that he believes Rise Against Hunger meals made him stronger and faster leading to the championship win.Willy, the principal of St. Mark, shares that Celicourt has always been a good student who is eager to learn and he accredits this to the Rise Against Hunger meals Celicourt eats at lunch each day. Willy shares that he has seen Celicourt progress both physically and mentally since he started eating the Rise Against Hunger Meals.In the future, Celicourt hopes to go to a university and become a doctor. “My parents and I thank you and your support is doing wonders in my life,” said Celicourt.So whether you are watching sports, playing sports or using sports as an excuse to indulge in a special snack or meal, I hope you take a moment to think about boys like Celicourt who share a passion for sports — so similar to many of us. Tremesse, Haiti, might seem like a world away today, but providing healthy and nutritious meals to boys like Celicourt could lead to a better future for the world tomorrow.Donate today in honor of boys like Celicourt. Your donation could lead to more opportunities for kids around the globe have the physical strength and agility to play on school sports teams!

About the Author

Maddie Laing is the PR and Communications Specialist on the Rise Against Hunger Marketing Team. Maddie manages communication between Rise Against Hunger and news outlets across the globe.

More Posts by Maddie Laing

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.