NC Millennium Village Project

The Millennium Villages™ Project:

• Developed by a team of scientific experts at The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the UN Millennium Project 
• A science-based, bottom-up approach to eradicate extreme poverty in an African village
• A comprehensive strategy that includes investments in health, food production, education and gender equality, access to clean water, and essential infrastructure
• Community-led interventions that will put our village on the path to self-sustaining economic growth
• Accountable $1.5 million dollar investment, with $300,000 per year distributed over a five year period

The project began with one research village in each of the 12 agro-ecological zones in Africa. The project expanded to 78 Millennium Villages™ through Millennium Promise™, a NY-based NGO that ensures the direct investment of funds in the villages. The location of the 78 Millennium Villages™ in different ecological and agricultural regions proves that the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved in most settings, and precedes the spread of successful strategies in each different region.  The interventions are detailed on the Millennium Promise™ website at www.millenniumpromise.org.  The Millennium Villages™ are developed based on an innovative strategy that is straight-forward, low-cost, thorough and proven to succeed. 

Why MVP is ideal for a University:

• The UNC-Duke-Bennett MVP provides the opportunity for students and professors to engage in an academic dialogue to critically assess the Millennium Villages™ development model and its progress in achieving sustainable and scalable poverty relief.
• Through communication with our Kenyan partners in Marenyo, we can connect classroom theory with on-the-ground change.
• The UNC-Duke-Bennett MVP provides the opportunity for UNC, Duke and Bennett to unite their campuses behind a single cause. There are several student groups at each school working toward various components of the UN Millennium Development Goals, including healthcare, women’s rights, hunger relief, and environmental issues.  The sponsorship of a Millennium Village™ allows these groups to band their passions behind this single unique opportunity to forward their causes on-the-ground.
• The goal of $1.5 million to partner with a village cannot be achieved by one student group. This goal has motivated students to work together within and across universities, to connect with the community, and to reach out to alumni and parents who want to contribute to the MVP.