After being adopted by a couple in the wake of the 2010 Haitian earthquake that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, Jamesly Jesse hasn’t forgotten the value of giving back even after fifteen years.
The 16-year-old Eagle Scout just received a national service award and scholarship for raising $35,000 and then packing and distributing 100,000 meals to needy people at Hôpital Sacré Coeur, the same hospital that saved his life.
“It’s not really about any of the accolades,” Jamesly told People. “It’s about making sure people know there are other people out there who need food.”
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In 2010, while visiting Haiti ten months after the earthquake, Mary Jesse and her husband, Nathan, who were childless at the time, took their chances of taking Jamesly in after the 2-year-old orphan was abandoned at a hospital in Milot.
He was so adored that the staff had to ask people to hold him less so he could walk on his own. At one point, a sign that read, “Do not pick me up,” was hung with him. The couple first planned to apply for a medical visa in the United States for the little kid, who had survived five days in the wreckage with major wounds.
Looking back, Mary, a 55-year-old orthopedic volunteer and physical therapist from Illinois, said, “It’s very humbling that our paths wouldn’t have crossed without the earthquake …But the more we considered it, we realized we had nothing to take him back to.” They decided to adopt instead.
After the adoption procedure was completed in May 2013, Jamesly arrived in Moweaqua, Illinois, at the age of four.
He participated in a neighborhood T-ball game and quickly adjusted to his new environment.
“He hit the ball and everybody was clapping for him from all over the park,” said 62-year-old Nathan, a worship minister. “It was so cool. Everyone took him in, and everything just took off from there.”
Jamesly then became involved in the scouting program through his school. Even though he enjoyed the outdoor activities and the opportunity to engage with others, he still shocked his parents in 2023 when he announced his intention to raise at least $17,500 in order to send 50,000 meals to Haiti.
“I knew immediately what I wanted to do,” he said.
“He didn’t even blink an eye,” Nathan said. “Mary and I looked at each other like, ‘Buddy, we’re not wanting to mortgage our home on this.’ But he proved us wrong.”
Jamesly earned a lot of the donations by giving presentations across his neighborhood. The initial goal “came very easily, which we were in shock about,” Nathan admitted. “Then Jamesly said, ‘What’s the most we can pack in a day?’ Well—100,000 meals.”
In October 2023, Jamesly arranged a “packathon” in his school gym. “I didn’t really know how many people were going to show. That part was scary,” he said.
He didn’t need to worry because about 430 volunteers came together. “We had physicians, we had preschoolers. It was really fun,” Mary recounted.
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The meals were a big help for Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Haiti, a country that still struggles with instability. That they were donated by a former patient came as no surprise to the staff, said emergency director Tim Traynor: “Jamesly is a bright and wonderful young man.”
As a result of his project, Jamesly was selected for the 2025 Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award.
“It was a very big, shocking thing for me,” he said about the honor. “I wanted to give back to a community where I started.”
Although Jamesly has not visited Haiti since coming to America as a child, he has indicated a desire to do so. He also does not currently have any close extended family in Haiti.
“It’s definitely been a thought of mine [on] how I can make it back to make an impact there,” he said. “But as of right now, the political unrest they have, it just really wouldn’t be safe.”
The teen’s future plans include attending college to study meal planning.
He also dismisses the praise for his achievements, preferring to concentrate on the influence on future generations.
“I have kids that look up to me,” he said, “but I know they’re going to make an impact as they grow up too.”
