May 15, 1989
Born in the heart of Cité Soleil
Jempson is born at Sainte Catherine Hospital, and grows up where hunger and having no clothes are everyday life — a fritay seller’s and a bolèt seller’s son.
It started with a plate no one ate alone
“I know what it means to go through the day without food.”
On May 15, 1989, my mother brought me into the world at the Sainte Catherine Hospital in the heart of Cité Soleil. I grew up in a working-class neighborhood where hardship, hunger, and scarcity were constants of everyday life.
My mother sold fritay — Haitian fried food — by the roadside, and my father earned a modest commission selling bolèt, the Haitian lottery. I was raised in a community where a meal was more than just a basic necessity; for many of us, it was a luxury. Some people watched the sun rise and watched it set without having eaten a single thing.
I made it a personal duty to share whatever small portion of food I had for the day with a friend. Whoever was hungry at the time I ate would share the meal with me. My mother always encouraged me in this practice; she began giving me larger portions of food, but instead of eating more myself, I simply added another friend to the list.
On days when I had no food at home, I was always fortunate enough to have a friend invite me to share theirs. Together, we created a system so that everyone had hope of getting a small piece of food each day, rather than one person eating to excess while others went without. This deep sense of sharing is what inspired me to create Limyè Lespwa (Light of Hope). I know what it means to go through the day without food, and I know what it means to go without proper clothing. Project 01 is that same plate, shared wider: a first meal for about 100 people in Cité Soleil, where no one eats alone.
Jempson’s closing words
“I know what it means to spend a day without food. I know what it means to have nothing to wear. That spirit of sharing is what inspired me to create Limyè Lespwa.”
Jempson wrote his story in Kreyòl. Use the language buttons at the top of the page to read the whole site in English, Français or Kreyòl Ayisyen.
The boy who shared
“If you are hungry while I eat, we eat together”
He makes it his duty to split his day’s food with any hungry friend beside him. His mother gives him more — so he adds another friend to the list.
The circle
No one eats alone
On days his own house has nothing, a friend shares theirs with him. The boys build a circle where everyone has hope of a little food each day.
Today
The circle becomes Limyè Lespwa
Now in the United States, he is widening that same circle: one honest community meal for about 100 neighbours in Cité Soleil — then a school, a sports centre, and care.
His words, as he wrote them — Kreyòl Ayisyen
“Mwen konn sa sa vle di fè jounen san manje, mwen konn sa sa vle di pa ka abiye. Se sans pataj sa a ki enspire m kreye Limyè Lespwa.”
— Jempson, founder · “I know what it means to spend a day without food; I know what it means to have nothing to wear. That spirit of sharing is what inspired me to create Limyè Lespwa.”
