It started with one woman who remembered
Michelle Ramundo was born and raised in Jamaica. Her mother sold food at a school, and for months at a time, sometimes years, she fed hungry students whose families could not pay her. She never collected. Her rule was simple, no child goes hungry in front of you.
Years later, building a life in Delaware, Michelle could not put that down. She founded Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated to scale her mother's rule into something that could feed children long after any one person's kindness runs out. The organization was incorporated in Delaware and recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity effective January 21, 2026.
The first mission, May 2026
The team walked into Chatsworth Primary and Infant School in Maroon Town, St. James with food packages and drinking water, enough for students to carry home to their households, not just eat at their desks. On the same visit we sponsored graduation packages for seven students so their families would not have to choose between rent and their child's milestone.
We went back. On September 7, 2026 the team returned to Chatsworth with back to school supplies, and reached Giddy Hall Primary and Infant School in St. Elizabeth the same day, more than 150 students between them.
That is the shape of this work. One school. One family. One child who eats tomorrow because someone decided they should.
Where we are going
Our long term work is a sustainable school lunch model across St. James, Trelawny, St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland. Rather than shipping meals in, we intend to partner with schools and local farmers, and as budget allows, train and employ community members to cook. That keeps food money circulating in the same community that eats the food, and it turns a donation into a job.
We are early, and we are honest about that. Every supporter who joins now is helping build something that should still be feeding children in ten years.