Makol J. Chuol \u201927 has secured a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant as part of efforts to promote peace and build stronger communities worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This summer, Chuol will lead the Voices of Amani project in Kenya, addressing ethnic conflict in the Kakuma Refugee Camp by empowering teachers as “Peace Champions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through training in empathy, dialogue, and conflict resolution, the project aims to reach over three hundred students, fostering cross-cultural understanding and sustainable reconciliation of\u00a0one of Kenya\u2019s long-standing refugee communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt feels like a full circle moment, but not the end of the story; it feels like a beginning,\u201d says Chuol. \u201cIt reflects what it means when a place like Macalester believes in you and gives you the opportunity to return and create change where you once felt limited. I am returning not as someone who escaped the story, but as someone ready to help rewrite it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The work is especially meaningful to Chuol, who grew up in the same refugee camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have experienced, witnessed stories of pain and resilience in Kakuma that have stayed with me like a song in my head, moments where I wished I could do more,\u201d Chuol said. \u201cThis grant is not just support\u2014it is permission to act on the voices I could no longer ignore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chuol overcame significant obstacles at a young age, living without his family since the age of twelve and eventually traveling to Minnesota to study computer science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI remember long lines for water and food that was never enough, and classrooms where learning often meant listening closely and making sense of what you could,\u201d says Chuol. \u201cYet even in those moments, there was laughter and community, and those experiences shaped me into someone who values resilience and purpose. I did not have the easiest childhood, but it gave me a reason to make things better for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through it all, Chuol has prioritized giving back to others. Despite his busy schedule as a student-athlete on Macalester\u2019s track and field team, he still dedicates time to teach children in Kenya online, connecting with them from thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, the children in Kakuma will soon have even more of his attention, along with the financial backing of the Davis Projects for Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the Davis Projects for Peace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Established in 2007 by philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis, the Davis Projects for Peace program empowers college students to design and implement grassroots initiatives that promote peace, often in regions facing systemic challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n