$1.5M sought for village in Africa
Students at UNC, Duke and Bennett College working to help impoverished

BY JAMIE SCHUMAN jschuman@heraldsun.com; 918-1046
Chapel Hill Herald
Monday October 09, 2006
Final Edition
Front Section
Page 1

CHAPEL HILL -- It's fairly common to hear of student organizations raising a few hundred, or even a few thousand, dollars for charity.

It's not so common for college students to raise more than one million dollars.

That's what some students at UNC, Duke and Bennett College are trying to do. They're seeking $1.5 million to provide relief for an impoverished village in Africa.

The campaign is part of the Millennium Villages Project, an effort to lift villages in 10 African countries out of poverty. The money would provide one village with varied resources, such as medical help and training and tools for farmers.

The students have been working on their campaign for about a year and already have about $1 million pledged, said Nitin Sekar, a UNC junior and co-coordinator for the colleges' effort. The students have $500,000 from various donors, and one anonymous benefactor is providing matching funds for any money raised, Sekar said.

It has been common for single donors to pay the full cost of helping a village, but not so common for bigger groups to get involved, Sekar said. He hopes the students' effort will show that large groups, such as universities or even countries, should be contributing to the cause.

Increasing awareness

The students' campaign is not just about raising money, but about increasing awareness of world poverty, Sekar said.

The students are planning educational forums where professors and development experts can discuss the millennium villages and other ideas for African relief.

Damjan DeNoble, a Duke senior and project co-coordinator, said he hopes students will also get involved in development efforts in a hands-on way, by doing service at the village or by coming up with new aid solutions.

The group hopes to reach its fundraising goal by the end of the academic year.

The students got the idea to participate in the project after participating in a videoconference with Jeffrey Sachs, director of the U.N. Millennium Project, an advisory body that comes up with solutions for ending extreme poverty.

DeNoble said he's glad that not just Duke, but also UNC and Bennett, which is a historically black women's college in Greensboro, are participating, as the partnership is allowing people from different backgrounds to interact.

"It's an experience that gives a lot back," he said.

The group can submit requests about where they want their village to be, and are most interested in Kenya, Uganda and Malawi, Sekar said.

A biology and environmental sciences major, Sekar got interested in development issues after visiting India with his family and seeing poverty there.

He said he couldn't rationalize the imbalance of wealth that he saw, and he said he felt like he had "to do something to help level the playing field."

To donate to the effort or to get involved, visit www.ncmvp.org.

This article was used with permission by the author and Herald Sun Editor.