Global Seed Grant 2024 Grantees
Lisle International has awarded seven Global Seed Grants, supporting projects in Guatemala, Kenya, Uganda, El Salvador, Sacramento (California, USA), Mancos (Colorado, USA), Hotevilla (Arizona, Hopi Nation, USA), and Texas (USA). Check out their location via our interactive map.
These grants empower diverse communities to foster intercultural understanding and shared learning experiences. We encourage you to learn more about them below:
Choral Music as a Bridge to Intercultural Understanding in Guatemala
Coro Voces del Lago Panajachel (Voices from the Lake Community Chorus Panajachel) | Panajachel, Solola, and other towns in Guatemala
Guatemala, with a population of about 17 million, is deeply divided by culture, language, class, geography, and politics. Indigenous Mayans, comprising over fifty percent of the population, have historically faced exploitation and discrimination. The Voces del Lago Chorus in Panajachel aims to promote social justice and positive change by fostering intercultural exchange and empowering young people through music.
Voces del Lago uses choral music as a bridge to bring Guatemala’s future leaders—youth aged 8 to 20—together to initiate conversations that can change hearts and minds. The program seeks to contribute to a Guatemala where everyone, regardless of background, has an equal opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.
Members of Voces del Lago will venture beyond the mountains that separate Mayan communities from the rest of Guatemala to collaborate with predominantly non-Mayan choirs in larger cities. This partnership aims to create opportunities for both the hosting students and Voces del Lago members to engage positively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, in addition to uniting young people through music.
The groups will collaborate on learning multiple pieces of music while participating in diversity and communication workshops. These workshops will involve group exercises aimed at challenging assumptions, identifying stereotypes, promoting respect for differences, and fostering peacebuilding for both Mayan and non-Mayan participants with the goal to help youth become agents of change in their schools, families, and communities. Additionally, the youth choirs will work together to organize a significant youth music festival, the All-Guatemala Young People’s Music Festival, scheduled to take place in Panajachel.
Kenya Youth Shield Our Peace Initiative
42 Change Makers | Kakamega, Western Province, Kenya
Despite peaceful elections in 2022, Kenya has a history of violent protests fueled by tribal tensions. Youth, both participants and victims of these demonstrations, underscore the pressing need for interventions promoting peace, unity, and political stability among Kenya’s diverse tribes.
In rural Kakamega, unemployed and disengaged youth are particularly susceptible to political manipulation. Their lack of understanding of the link between peace and socioeconomic stability, combined with limited exposure to and disconnection from community stakeholders, exacerbates the problem. 42 Change Makers, which draws its name from the 42 tribes of Kenya, proposes a project to address this by educating youth on the importance of protecting community assets and fostering a sense of patriotism.
Building on a 2018 Lisle grant, 42 Change Makers will expand its mission to provide youth from diverse cultures with tools, skills, connections, opportunities, and mentorship, which will allow them to address community issues and effect positive change. The initiative will collaborate with students from 5 high schools and 5 middle schools in rural Kakamega, representing various tribes in Kenya. Through their combined efforts, 42 Change Makers aims to assist 750 young people in developing a heightened cultural awareness and active citizenship, in order to engage peacefully in community change processes. Students will learn from peers of diverse backgrounds, fostering youth leadership and providing experiential academic exposure. Ultimately, the project seeks to promote understanding of cultural differences, break down tribal stereotypes, and cultivate positive relationships among youth and community stakeholders, contributing to the political stability and harmony desired by all.
Healing Together: A Cross-Cultural Training to Heal Trauma and Violence
Healing Together | Mbarara, Uganda
The Healing Together Summit addresses the ongoing need for survivor-centered mental health resources and tackles the challenges of delivering such resources. This innovative program brings together community mental health trainers from Nepal, Uganda, and the US, and 40 teachers and community leaders in Uganda, for cross-cultural education, healing, and peace-building, to disrupt generational cycles of trauma and violence in their communities.
Over two weeks, country leaders and board members meet in Western Uganda to observe and learn about trauma healing workshops facilitated by local leaders, learn about personal healing retreats, and to engage in cross-cultural education, healing, and peace-building. Following this, the team will transition to a lakeside village for shared healing experiences. In the final phase, the core team will discuss learnings, share best practices, and co-create strategies for scaling mental health awareness and access in their communities to support survivors and to prevent violence.
The Summit aims to foster empathy, resilience, and community care, equipping participants with tools to effect positive change. An estimated 1,200 children and youth in Uganda will be supported by the newly graduated Healing Advocates each year. This project will also have a broader ripple effect. The cross-cultural exchange, learning, and professional development aspect of our Summit will impact an estimated 2,500 teachers and community leaders in Uganda, Nepal, and the US who will train over the next 2 years to become local Healing Advocates. In turn, they will support an estimated 75,000 children and youth.
Salvadoran Collective Healing Initiative
Nueva Esperanza | Nahuizalco, El Salvador
In El Salvador deep-rooted polarizations endure from historical oppression, leading to conflicts, particularly affecting marginalized indigenous communities whose rights are often overlooked. Nueva Esperanza has equipped Salvadoran peacebuilders with Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy to cultivate compassionate leadership and diminish inner polarization. To tackle ongoing conflicts, these trained peacebuilders will collaborate with indigenous communities in rural Nahuizalco, exchanging skills in personal and collective healing through IFS and community organizing for health and ecological preservation.
Through face-to-face interaction, peacebuilders from urban San Salvador and from rural indigenous communities will work to cultivate mutual understanding, dismantling stereotypes and biases that impede collaboration. Addressing prevalent intergenerational trauma stemming from the civil war in El Salvador, the IFS project employs techniques such as “time travel” and “unburdening,” with the goal of healing trauma deeply embedded within family systems for generations. It also facilitates depolarization, enabling individuals to respond more thoughtfully to conflict, particularly significant in a politically divided environment like El Salvador.
The project also tackles environmental degradation in El Salvador. It connects urban peacebuilders, rural counterparts and environmental activists to learn from indigenous communities’ successful resistance against multinational corporations planning to build a hydroelectric dam in their sacred river. It also aims to revive neglected indigenous beliefs and practices, helping participants reconnect with their heritage and its wisdom.
This project introduces the first ongoing in-person IFS peacebuilding training in El Salvador. It serves as a pilot initiative, offering valuable insights for future projects in marginalized communities nationwide.
Global Rhythms: Integrating Cultural Communities through Art and Environment
Green Incubator | Sacramento, California, USA
The mission of Green Incubator is to support grassroots environmental education. This project aims to promote healthy lifestyles and foster community building among residents of Oak Park neighborhoods in Sacramento, California. These neighborhoods exhibit significant racial and ethnic diversity, yet are divided demographically across three zip codes. Despite this diversity, the neighborhoods face economic challenges, with limited opportunities for cross-cultural interaction and leisure activities. Marginalized communities experience heightened stress due to various factors, including economic strain, health issues, and crime rates. The project seeks to address these issues by providing affordable and enjoyable multicultural arts presentations, creating opportunities for integrated community interactions and enhancing social cohesion.
The project will offer five theater performances incorporating multicultural dance, music, and storytelling acts centered around the theme of cranes and their distinctive symbolism and importance to different cultures. A subsequent tour will be led for audiences in nearby nature reserves hosting wintering cranes and other birds. The tour will introduce patrons to engaging joyful experiences, encouraging participants to share discoveries and foods. For most participants it will likely be their only natural environment outing or the first in many years.
By connecting an uplifting story and dances about cranes originating from different cultures represented in these neighborhoods, with real- life cranes in this region that are not commonly accessible to people in underserved communities, the project hopes to engender positive interactions and a culture of mutual respect and appreciation. These family-friendly performances will improve intra-community appreciation of the main cultural groups of Oak Park.
The Eagle & The Condor: Flying Together in the U.S.
The Tandana Foundation | Mancos, Colorado, USA and Hotevilla, Arizona, Hopi Nation, USA
The Tandana Foundation focuses on community development in the Quichinche parish, Otavalo canton, Ecuador, where it has been supporting education initiatives among indigenous and mestizo families for more than 25 years.
This project, “The Eagle & The Condor: Flying Together in the U.S,” is an intercultural partnership and exchange which will bring eight Ecuadorian scholarship students and one Tandana Foundation staff member to visit the U.S. for two weeks in September 2024, in order to promote personal growth through service-learning and leadership, enhance cross-cultural skills, and build lasting relationships between Ecuadorian and indigenous American communities.
During a one-week homestay in Mancos, Colorado, students will learn about agriculture, conservation, and irrigation, and engage in a service activity. The second week, in collaboration with Deer Hill Expeditions, will involve homestays with members of the Hopi Nation in Hotevilla, Arizona, service learning, and cultural exchange focused on corn traditions. More broadly, participants will be guided towards a keener sense of connection to self, to culture, and to others. As they share their own culture with new friends, they will note many differences while also recognizing commonalities as indigenous people. The study of the central role of corn in the two respective indigenous cultures will be an important focal point. Activities will include service with local projects, learning about immigration and water issues, interacting with artists, and sharing their culture. Ultimately, the project aims to foster mutual understanding and break down barriers among participants and to inspire the students to continue their educational paths and motivate younger members of their communities to follow suit.
Muslim and Christian Summer School
The Center for Muslim & Christian Studies (Bridge Trust USA) | Houston, Texas, USA
The Muslim & Christian Summer School is an enriching one-week program designed to foster understanding and camaraderie between Muslims and Christians. It provides a unique opportunity for participants to delve into each other’s religious beliefs, guided by fellow students and distinguished scholars from the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies at Oxford, Rice University, Houston Christian University, University of Houston, Baylor University, and Hijaz Muslim College.
Open to University students, young professionals, religious leaders, and those in faith-based social vocations with interfaith dimensions, the program dissolves barriers, enriches participants’ academic pursuits, and equips them for their careers. Through lectures, workshops, and tutorials led by Christian and Muslim scholars, attendees explore scriptures, shared historical contexts, and contemporary issues. The experience extends beyond academia and includes communal meals, recreational activities, and group visits to mosques and churches.
At the core of the program’s philosophy lies collaborative learning and understanding that delves into commonalities and distinctions defining diverse Christian and Muslim traditions. Participants engage in dialogues covering challenging subjects, disagreements, and societal dilemmas in an atmosphere of reverence and empathy. This fosters understanding for individuals of differing faiths, as well as those with varying theological perspectives within one’s own faith community.