Bantu Mabaso awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant

2016 May 20

Bantu Mabaso of Mpaka, Swaziland has been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant to start a mentorship initiative to combat food shortages, especially during dry seasons, in the rural community of Phalala, Swaziland.

Mabaso, the daughter of Sanelisiwe G. Diamini of Mpaka, Swaziland, is a 2013 graduate of the Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa. She is majoring in politics at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

"Improving food security in the community will prevent hunger associated with unfavorable climatic conditions and low agricultural productivity," she says. This initiative will provide technical skills, mentorship and initial supplies to grow an abundant food supply in Phalala.

Projects for Peace provides $10,000 grants to aspiring undergraduates attending member institutions of the Davis United World College Scholar Program. These students propose sustainable projects around the world that promote peace and address the root causes of conflict.

Bates is internationally recognized as a leading college of the liberal arts, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world. Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community.

With a commitment to affordability, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion or national origin. Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world.