March 5, 2025

The student leaders of each project received $10,000 in funds to pursue innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues.

In 2024, Bennington College student Hanna Anday '24 received a grant to pursue "Field of Dreams: Equal Play, Equal Dreams at Adey Meshelsh Primary School" in Ethiopia.

Wrote Anday about the project: 

"Creating a 'field of dreams' isn’t just about laying down grass and goals—it’s about forging a space where young people can envision a future free from the shadows of conflict. It’s where equality is practiced, hope is nurtured, and a community comes together to rebuild, one game at a time. This project has taught me that the true strength of a community lies in its ability to support and uplift each other through shared dreams and collective action.

This project established a recreational center at a primary school with a soccer field and volleyball court to provide equal opportunities for girls and boys, fostering a strong sense of equality and encouraging their dreams. By normalizing girls’ participation in sports and engaging teens in community-based volunteer programs (specifically helping villages with farming tasks), the initiative sought to keep young people off the streets, to strengthen community connections, to help heal the community from the trauma of recent conflicts, and to build a foundation for long-term peace and unity."

Projects for Peace is a global program that encourages young adults to develop innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues. Along the way, these student leaders increase their knowledge, improve skills, and establish identities as peacebuilders and changemakers. Projects for Peace headquarters is hosted by Middlebury College’s Center for Community Engagement.