Notre Dame senior Molly Boyle, an anthropology and preprofessional studies major, has won a $10,000 grant for a project she designed to educate young mothers near Lima, Peru.
The grant was awarded by the Davis Projects for Peace, which supports grassroots projects designed by U.S. undergraduates to promote peace. Boyle will spend three months in San Juan de Lurigancho, a village just north of Lima, where she will coordinate a program to educate young mothers whose children attend Rayito del Sol, a new school for three to five-year-olds.
“Many of these mothers can’t help much with their own children’s education because they don’t know how to read or write,” Boyle says. “A program that instructs them in basic literacy and math would enable them to pass on their knowledge to future generations.”
Working with Rayito del Sol’s teacher, Boyle plans to create an adult curriculum focused on enhancing skills in reading, math, nutrition, hygiene, art, and gardening. Grant funds also will provide support for basic school and hygiene supplies.
Notre Dame is one of nearly 100 colleges and universities in the Davis United World College Scholars Program. Each year, each institution in the program is invited to nominate students for the prize. At Notre Dame, the application process is administered by the Kroc Institute.
Previous Notre Dame recipients included Jenna Knapp, who designed a disaster prevention workshop for an agrarian region in El Salvador, and Andrew Masak and Caitlin Hildebrand, who created a health and nutrition program in Peru.
Contact: Renée LaReau, 574-631-5098, rlareau1@nd.edu