International House residents design peace projects

Two residents of the International House at the University of Chicago will spend the summer in Peru and Afghanistan implementing grassroots peace proposals they designed.

“Seeing all that poverty really affected me,” says Genevieve Cour, who spent her childhood traveling throughout Asia. “I wanted to do something about it, and so I got into microfinancing.”

Cour, a second-year economics major in the College, will use a $10,000 grant from the Davis Projects for Peace initiative to travel to the rural Andes to form microfinancing banks in two villages in Peru. Zaid Al-Farisi, JD’95, will collaborate with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to beautify a war-torn Afghan city with a residential peace park using a second Davis initiative grant.

Village Banking in Rural Peru

Living abroad gave Cour firsthand glimpses into dire poverty and underdevelopment, prompting her to seek out economic solutions for nations weakened by political unrest.

She will work with the residents of Arahuay and San Pedro de Casta to implement microfinancing banks. Village banking is a novel way to provide villagers with small amounts of capital for short periods of time at low interest rates. The banks are managed by those who receive the loans, operating much like a cooperative.

“Peru is a very stable country, it’s just really underdeveloped,” Cour says. “The current Peruvian president [Alan García Pérez] is trying to build up the infrastructure of these villages, even though they’re really remote.”

Making Space for Peace in War-Torn Afghanistan

“I have been privileged to see much of this amazing country,” says Al-Farisi, reflecting on his human rights work in Afghanistan.

His legal experience both in the corporate sector and as a volunteer social activist led him to Kabul, Afghanistan, one year ago. He currently works with the Afghan justice system, religious leaders, and the public to reform human rights and criminal and juvenile law.

Working for a year in the outskirts of Kabul, Al-Farisi has been privy to the effect of decades of political upheaval on Afghani children. Afghanistan’s dearth of safe places for recreation inspired the idea of building a peace park for Kabul’s residents.

“When completed, the park will provide a safe area for children to play in and enjoy their childhood. Such venues are extremely scarce in Afghanistan,” he says.

The peace park will be a collaborative effort with community residents, and its location is ideal—near housing complexes and two schools that currently lack playgrounds.

“News of the park has already reached the children of the neighborhood, and they are elated!” says Al-Farisi.

Looking Forward

Upon completion of their summer peace projects, Cour and Al-Farisi will give public talks at International House about their global work.

“I think it’s a great thing for International House and for the University that these students were accepted,” says William McCartney, director of International House. “And it’s a great thing for the communities involved.”

The Davis Projects for Peace initiative is open to undergraduates of colleges and universities in the Davis United World College Scholars Program and residents of International Houses worldwide who submit proposals for their own grassroots peace projects. This year, 100 proposals were selected from an applicant pool spanning 85 campuses. The winners each received a $10,000 grant to implement a project during the summer of 2008.

“The winners put together their travel plans and their budgets; they develop relations with their communities and make sure the plans continue after their departure,” says McCartney.

Davis Projects for Peace is funded by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an internationalist and philanthropist. Davis committed $1 million in 2007 to fund 100 peace projects in celebration of her hundredth birthday.

The University of Chicago first participated in the competition in 2008, the second year of the initiative.

“We will stay involved in this as long as they have the program,” McCartney says.

By Rhema Hokama