Meet Cherie
Cherie is pursuing a vision to address the food and nutrition crisis in North Korea on a local and global scale.
Cherie has been through more challenges and witnessed more atrocities in her life so far than most Americans can even imagine. These are the things that shape a person’s character, wound their heart, and scar their soul. But for Cherie, these were pivotal moments that defined her and gave her a mission in life—to help as many malnourished people in the world as she can. For her, being a productive and successful part of society is living a life that helps others.
– Cherie's recommender
[Note: Given the sensitive nature of revealing personally identifiable information, the accompanying image was submitted by the RISE Scholar to represent herself.]
Story
An activist and spokeswoman, Cherie uses media platforms like YouTube to awaken people to the realities of North Korea. Cherie’s early memories of classmates scavenging for food and dying from starvation cemented an indelible path toward this personal mission.
Cherie is pursuing a vision to address the food and nutrition crisis in North Korea on a local and global scale. During her formative years in North Korea, she witnessed the incredible will and enterprise of a generation of North Korean women like her mother, who became entrepreneurs to ensure their families’ survival as the North Korean food distribution system collapsed.
Following in their footsteps, Cherie seeks to develop nutritious meal-replacement products for populations facing hunger and malnutrition, honoring the painful lessons of her past with concrete plans to help build a brighter future. She is especially focused on the devastating impact of nutritional deficiencies among young children and how it affects subsequent generations. Cherie is tirelessly working with doctors and scientists to develop a simple shelf-stable food that can contribute to the nourishment of regions where access to food is extremely limited. She has connected with business consultants, NGOs, and governmental organizations to find ways of bringing sustainable, effective nutrition products to the most vulnerable members of society.
Cherie is furthering her education in nutritional science to further her capacity to impact nutrition needs—not only in nations like North Korea, but even locally in the United States. Beyond the food insecurity crisis in North Korea, Cherie has observed how people in the U.S. also suffer from nutritional deficiencies due to a lack of time, knowledge, or access. This realization has sparked her desire to strengthen her intellectual foundations and understand nutrition more deeply, with the goal of developing a thriving business whose mission is to meet health and hunger needs at home and abroad.
Journey with Cherie in her pursuit to nourish, heal, and empower those in need!
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