NC Millennium Village Project

On Wednesday, October 25th, students from UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and Bennett College gathered at Bennett College in Greensboro to formally announce their alliance in the Millennium Village Project.

The first student-led movement of its kind, the Project aims to raise $1.5 million within the current academic year for the sponsorship of a Millennium Village in Africa.

At 10:30AM, Dr. Johnetta Cole, President of Bennett, addressed students and members of the Press on the partnership between the nation’s first historically black private women’s college and two of the State’s premiere public and private universities.

Following a brief question and answer session led by student representatives, the roughly hour-long event concluded with a student rally on the Chapel Steps.

The Millennium Villages Project, a community-driven approach to poverty eradication, designed by renowned economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs and Columbia University ’s The Earth Institute, consists of a comprehensive set of targeted investments in health, food production, infrastructure, and access to clean water. The model relies on practical, low-cost interventions tailored to the specific needs of each community, creating a proof of concept that can ultimately be scaled up to the national and international levels.