2024 Peace Fund Grants Awarded
Indigenous children in Chiapas celebrate harvest. With help from the Peace Fund, last year the Mayan Intercultural Seminary offered a program to protect traditional agricultural practices that conserve biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources.
BPFNA~Bautistas por la Paz is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Peace Fund grants in support of projects fostering peace rooted in justice. This year’s selected projects represent five countries, each responding to needs and opportunities in its local context.
The Peace Fund grant recipients for 2024 are as follows:
Ashlee Wiest-Laird will lead a group of young adults on a trip to Palestine to experience the life, faith, and struggle of those who live under military occupation as well as learn from Israeli peacemakers working for human rights. Grant funds will underwrite three scholarships. “First-hand experience of the Palestinian situation is crucial for the work we do for justice here in the United States to advocate for foreign policy change,” says Wiest-Laird. “Seeing the realities of life in the West Bank is what can move those who are interested in ‘the issue’ to those who live and act for justice.”
Adolescents are the protagonists in SEPAZ’s peacemaking project. Their energy and dedication will transform their homes. Together they will build a more peaceful future.
The SEPAZ Foundation’s Young Mediators project will equip approximately 50 high school students in Mondomo, a community in southwestern Colombia historically affected by gun violence, with tools for conflict transformation, mediation, and environmental care. SEPAZ director Luz Amparo Chagüendo Ospina says, “This project is part of a process of social reconstruction in the lives of young people.”
The Mayan Intercultural Seminary (SIM) will replace outdated sewage systems polluting the local river and causing serious health issues in the indigenous community of Carmen Grande Belmonte in Chiapas, Mexico. The new “friendly bathrooms” will feature a sustainable, waterless toilet. “It is important to remember that peace begins by taking care of the land, water, wind, and, health,” says Dalia Juárez, SIM general coordinator. “The baths show it is possible to make small, specific changes to eliminate illnesses and pollution.
“The Peace Fund empowers the hands and feet of peacemakers within our movement. We are glad to support peacemakers around the world.”
A Portée de Mains (APM) will train young people displaced from villages affected by the M23 war, now living in the Mugunga camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in nonviolent communication and conflict resolution. “These young people need peacemaking skills to prevent them from being manipulated by politicians, sharing ethnic hate messages, and escalating armed conflict,” says APM coordinator Saleh Veronique Wanyema.
Rise Above Reality Expectation (RARE) will host a weekly summit for youth and young adults in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, to learn about racism and discuss their experiences with trusted mentors, culminating in a creative project. A soccer camp for youth will run concurrently with the summit to build community and develop leadership skills. “We aim to bridge gaps and build a stronger foundation for people of color, immigrants, refugees, newcomers, and at-risk people in our community,” says Dacious Richardson, RARE’s youth coordinator. “Addressing systemic issues through dialogue, storytelling, and education will empower young people to engage with their community, rediscover their cultural heritage, and nurture a sense of hope.”
Each year Peace Fund grants are awarded to a new cohort of grassroots projects equipping, mobilizing, and gathering peacemakers around the world. Projects tailored to local contexts that strengthen indigenous leadership are prioritized.
“The Peace Fund empowers the hands and feet of peacemakers within our movement,” says executive director Jason Smith. “We are glad to support peacemakers around the world.”
