Fourth-grader raises funds to feed an entire Haitian village for a year
Fourth-grader Sanya Pirani wants to end hunger — and she's taking it one village at a time.
It started last year, when the Prior Lake elementary school student saw a YouTube video of a starving child last year.
"I saw this young girl with sad eyes and torn clothes and I thought I need to do something about her," Pirani said.
So she came up with a plan: "I'm feeding 700 people for one year, which will require $56,210." The 700 people live in the Letant village, in Haiti.
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Pirani began working with Feed My Starving Children, a hunger relief organization, in October. So far, the 9-year-old has already raised $17,000 of her goal.
Her father, Amyn Pirani, said she's also been active in fundraising for the Community Action Partnership Agency food shelf in Scott County. She raised $1,000 for them last year.
"She has always been motivated to help other people," he said.
On Saturday, Pirani was commended by Gov. Dayton, when he visited Feed My Starving Children's Eagan facility, where Pirani and more than 100 volunteers packed food to send abroad. The governor gave her a certificate of recognition for her efforts.
"This is just extraordinary what you do," Dayton told Pirani.