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Projects for Peace

Two students gathered with a group of people all wearing Projects for Peace t-shirts.

The Projects for Peace grants allow undergraduates, including University of Rochester students, to design grassroots projects focused on conflict resolution.

Projects for Peace is a global program that encourages young adults around the world to develop innovative, community-centered responses to the world’s most pressing issues.

International philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis established the program in 2007 on her 100th birthday, committing $1M for the first 100 projects. Her family has continued the commitment ever since.

Every year, 100 or more student leaders are each awarded a $10,000 grant to implement a “Project for Peace,” anywhere in the world, typically over the summer. These activities address root causes of conflict and promote peace.

As a member of the Davis United World College Scholars Program, the University of Rochester is guaranteed funding for one project annually. Proposals may be submitted by any US or international student enrolled at a partner institution.

Learn more about the Project for Peace Fellowship and other fellowship, scholarship, and award opportunities available to Rochester students.

Recent Projects for Peace Grant Recipients

Congratulations to our most recent University of Rochester Projects for Peace recipient!

Headshot of Lizmairi Vargas Saint.

Lizmairi Vargas Santa ’26

Intended areas of study: economics (BS), business entrepreneurship (BS)

The Dominican Republic native currently lives in Dover, New Jersey. Her project, a seminar for youth titled “Fostering Curiosity and Creativity for Youth Empowerment and Lasting Peace,” will be held May 21–23 in her hometown of Azua. Around 90 high school students from that region will work in teams to generate service projects to improve their neighborhoods and schools.

“The purpose of this seminar is to foster a sense of collective effort in the community and inspire students to advocate for social change for the betterment of their future,” Vargas says. The participants, she adds, “will be exposed to challenges, networking opportunities, and professional development series to help equip students who struggle to find opportunities in their hometowns.”

Vargas is a Handler Scholar and a Kearns Center Scholar.

Past Projects for Peace Grant Recipients

2023 Recipient

Headshot of Abobakar Sediq

Abobakar Sediq Miakhel ’26
Intended areas of study: physics (BS) and mechanical engineering (BS)

Miakhel is an Afghan refugee who resettled in Brussels, Belgium, and attended the Davis United World College Scholars program at Atlantic College in South Wales, United Kingdom, before coming to Rochester.

He is cofounder of an app called AILEM: A Language App for Peace, which provides language education for refugees and asylum seekers hoping to integrate in a foreign country. He created it with Atlantic College classmate Xinyao Liu, who is also a refugee, in 2021. The app is free and available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, with more than 6,000 downloads (primarily in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the UK).

“Our ethos is ‘created by refugees, for refugees,’” Miakhel says. “Every design, feature, and solution, we consult with our refugee and asylum seeker community, ensuring that we have a solution that’s tailored to their journey and experiences. We don’t see this model in other language app solutions.”

The goal of the app is to allow refugees to access necessities by using basic phrases. “In the long run, refugees can build confidence and fluency to be able to express themselves in more complex situations,” he says. “We want to make AILEM the number one solution for refugees to learn a language and integrate into society.”

The app has won several awards, including the 2023 European Charlemagne Youth Prize and the 2022 European Young Innovators Award.

Miakhel is now working on translating content into Spanish for Latin American migrants and will pivot to reaching refugees in the US this year. “To implement this plan,” he says, “we are partnering with Rochester’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program to support refugees in Utica, New York, where refugees make up a quarter of the city’s population of 60,000.”

2022 Recipients

Souleymane Diallo, left and Abdoul Maiga, Projects for Peace grant recipients photographed at the University of Rochester April 25, 2022. // photo by J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester

Souleymane Diallo ’24
Area of study: Politics, philosophy, and economics (BA)

Abdoul Rasmane Maiga ’25
Area of study: Computer science (BS)

Diallo is from Guinea and Maiga is from Burkina Faso, both in West Africa. Their project is called Stronger Together Initiative: A Three-Steps Approach to Heal the Hearts, Empower Women & Youths, and Unite Guinea, and will be held in Guinea from May 21 to June 4.

The project aims to promote long-term peace and reconciliation in Guinea, which has experienced numerous political instabilities, violence, and social injustices. “All have had a significant impact on the country’s development,” Diallo says. “It has left its young people in extreme poverty and despair, despite Guinea being one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resource endowment and population youthfulness.’’

The three-step project will include:

A conference for Guineans of all ages and backgrounds to have an open and inclusive dialogue on the country’s history and future direction
An entrepreneurship and leadership bootcamp that will empower 30 youths ages 15 to 25 to become proactive changemakers
A marathon run for participants of all genders, ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities

In all, around 180 people take part in the project.

Diallo and Maiga say their project will be a stepping-stone for initiatives they are starting through their nonprofit, the Guinean Young Leaders Initiative. “With this project, we intend to positively catalyze the process of reconciliation, peace, and cohesion in Guinea,” Maiga says.

2021-2013 Recipients

2021 Recipients

Mohammed Bah ’23
Country: Central African Republic
Area of study: International relations (BA)
Minor: Computer science

Miguel Yakouma ’23
Country: Central African Republic
Area of study: Biomedical engineering (BS)

2020 Recipients

Dokata Banchale ’22
Country: Kenya
Area of study: Economics (BA)

Chernor Diallo ’22
Country: Kenya
Area of study: Economics (BA)

2019 Recipients

Beauclaire Mbanya ’20
Country: Cameroon
Area of study: Chemical engineering (BS)

Kapambwe Chalwe ’20
Country: Tanzania
Area of study: Electrical and computer engineering (BS)

Eve L. Marealle ’21
Country: Tanzania
Area of study: Mathematics (BS)
Minor: Chemical Engineering

Joyceline L. Marealle ’20
Country: Tanzania
Area of study: Chemical Engineering (BS)

2018 Recipients

Shingirai Dhoro ’20
Country: Zimbabwe
Area of study: Electrical and computer engineering (BS)

Bienfait H. Mugenza ’21
Country: Rwanda
Area of study: Political science (BA)

Philemon K. Rono ’21
Country: Rwanda
Area of study: Mechanical engineering (BS)

Ashely Tenesaca ’20 (declined)
Country: Zimbabwe
Area of study: Computer science (BS)

Mame Coumba Mbodji ’17
Country: Senegal
Area of study: Business (BS)

Zanga Ben A. Ouattara ’16
Country: Senegal
Area of study: Computer science (BS)

2014 Recipients

Katherine M. Wegman ’15
Country: South Africa
Area of study: Anthropology (BA) and biology (BA)

John B. Dawson ’13, ’14 (T5)
Country: South Africa
Area of study: Molecular genetics (BS)
Minors: Chemistry and psychology

2013 Recipient

Fatima R. Bawany ’16
Country: Rochester, NY
Area of study: Religion (BA) and biology (BA)