We are close enough to know the children's names
Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated is a United States based 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 41-2307937, incorporated in Delaware and recognized as tax exempt effective January 21, 2026. We serve underserved communities in Jamaica through school feeding, educational support, graduation sponsorship, emergency relief and family empowerment.
We are not a pass through. Our team is physically present at the schools and in the communities we serve, working directly with principals, teachers and community members who tell us what is actually needed before we spend a dollar on it.
About the Founder
Michelle Ramundo is the Founder and Executive Director of Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated. Born and raised in Jamaica and now living in Delaware, Michelle's passion for serving others began long before the organization had a name.
As a child, Michelle grew up watching her mother do something that would stay with her for the rest of her life. Her mother sold food at a local school, and when children came to her hungry without money, she fed them anyway. Sometimes weeks and even months would pass without payment, but she never allowed a child to go hungry simply because their family could not afford a meal. That quiet act of compassion became one of the earliest seeds of what would later become Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated.
Michelle also understands firsthand what it means to lose everything and still find the strength to rebuild. On September 12, 1988, Hurricane Gilbert devastated Jamaica, destroying homes and changing the lives of families across the island. Michelle's family lost everything. Her mother was raising four daughters at the time, and the family lived in a small one bedroom home with a dirt floor. They did not have much materially, but Michelle remembers a home filled with resilience, sacrifice, faith, and a mother determined to make sure her children survived.
Those experiences shaped the woman Michelle would become.
Years later, after building a life in the United States, earning her degree in Public Health Education, raising her own family, and working in service centered careers, Michelle could not forget the children and families in Jamaica who were still facing the same struggles she had witnessed growing up.
Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated was created from that memory, that responsibility, and that belief that where a person begins should never determine where they are able to go.
Today, Michelle leads the organization's programs addressing food insecurity, education, school communities, emergency relief, and families working to rebuild their lives. For her, this work is not charity from a distance. It is deeply personal.
Michelle knows what it feels like to come from very little. She knows what it means for a mother to stretch what she has to feed another child. She knows what it means to lose a home, rebuild, and keep going.
And that is the heart behind Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated:
Helping one family at a time, while reminding every person we serve that their circumstances do not have to be the end of their story.
How we work
We listen first
School leadership and community contacts identify the need before anything is purchased.
We buy and deliver
Food, supplies and materials go directly to students and families, by hand.
We document
Every distribution is recorded with partner sign off, distribution logs, receipts and photographs.
We return
We build ongoing relationships with schools rather than one time visits.
What we believe
Dignity is not optional.
Families receiving help are partners, not subjects. We do not photograph children to provoke pity and we do not tell stories that strip people of their pride. Every photograph on this site is used with the permission of the schools and people shown. Help given respectfully is help that lasts.
Our team
Floyd Foster
Coordinator, Jamaica
Floyd is our coordinator on the ground in Jamaica and a Mount Salem native. He introduced Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated to Chatsworth Primary and Infant School, and alongside Michelle he spoke with the children during the September 2026 school visit.
Racquel Gonzales-Milliner
Secretary
Racquel serves as Secretary of Rise Again Jamaica Incorporated, supporting the organization's administrative and communication needs. Her role helps keep records organized and the team connected as it works to serve children and families in Jamaica.
- Nonprofit corporation registered in Delaware, United States
- 501(c)(3) public charity under section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), EIN 41-2307937
- Fiscal year ending January 31
- Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law
In the news
“The goal is not simply to give something and leave. We want to build relationships, understand what communities actually need and work toward solutions that can continue long after we leave.”
Michelle Ramundo, Founder and Executive Director, quoted in “Rise Again Jamaica spreads its wings in three parishes,” The Western Mirror, Montego Bay, Friday, September 18, 2026, page 6.
