Since the Davis Projects for Peace initiative was implemented in 2007, six projects devised by Macalester students have been selected for funding by the Davis Projects for Peace program.

Davis Projects for Peace is meant to encourage creative ideas and entrepreneurial actions and to support motivated youth to create and implement their ideas for building peace throughout the world in the 21st century.

Kathryn Wasserman Davis launched the Projects for Peace initiative on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2007. She is the mother of Shelby M.C. Davis who funds the Davis UWC Scholars Program currently involving over 90 American colleges and universities, including Macalester; the competition involves students from those colleges.

2010 Project

Michael Manansala ‘12 of St. Paul, Minn., and Cecelia Martinez-Miranda ‘13 of Manila received the 2010 Project for Peace award. Manansala and Martinez-Miranda intend to introduce to children living in desperate conditions the concept of growing food, and doing it with few resources.

2009 Project

Douglas Mapondera, a native of Zimbabwe, used his award to refurbish the irrigation infrastructure in Vuka Resettlement Community of Zimbabwe, an eight-year-old village of about 700 people in Vuka, Centinary, Zimbabwe. His project began May 24, 2009, and will take approximately two months to complete.

2008 Projects

Leah Roth-Howe '08 and together Zainab Mansaray '09 and Arthur Sillah '10, left, received the award.

2007 Projects

Dara Hoppe ’10 and Fiorella Ormeño Incio ’09 received separate awards.

A complete list of the participating schools, summary of projects, and a video interview with Davis from 2006, is available on the program’s web site: davisprojectsforpeace.org.