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." 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: Partners in Nicaragua include Alongside Ministries, the Gutierrez family, Project HOPE (USA), and Worcester State College. At the Ecuador site, programs include: 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.