Manna Project International

Manna Project International (MPI) is an organization that enables young adults to travel to international communities in need and to work in these locations. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in Nashville, Tennessee. MPI's mission is "to foster communities of young adults and encourage them to use their passions and education in service to communities in need."[1] Through teams of college graduates committed to living and working together for one year in a developing country (currently Nicaragua and Ecuador), MPI seeks to catalyze bottom-up change in resource-scarce communities.

MPI was founded in 2004 outside Managua, Nicaragua, by a handful of graduates mostly from Vanderbilt University. Since then, MPI has expanded internationally to Quito, Ecuador, and to eight other university campuses.

In Nicaragua, community programs include:

• After-school literacy
• After-school math
• English classes
• Creative arts
• Health education program
• Women's health and exercise
• Child sponsorship[2]
• Preschool
• Feeding program
• Community center development
• Sports and recreation
• Educational scholarships
• Microfinance
• Health clinic development

Partners in Nicaragua include Alongside Ministries,[3] the Gutierrez family,[4] Project HOPE (USA), and Worcester State College.

At the Ecuador site, programs include:

• Career skills and computer literacy classes
• Adult English
• Youth English
• After-school homework help
• Children's Art
• Children's Nutrition programs at local elementary schools
• Adult Nutrition & Cooking classes
• Yoga and Zumba
• Children's Dance classes
• Health classes for children and adults

Partners in Ecuador include Hogar de la Madre Soltera, Esperanza y Progreso del Valle: Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito, the United Nation's Peacekeepers, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas, Colegio Chaupitena, Colegio Fajardo, and Antorcha de la Vida.