This summer, Ƶ students Harshitha Talasila ’26 and Kajol Luplunge ’28 have been selected as two of 125 recipients of Projects for Peace grants. Accepted from a pool of applicants at partner institutions across the globe, their projects address issues of substance abuse, mental health, and women’s health internationally.
To date, there have been more than 2,000 Projects for Peace in over 150 countries — Talasila and Luplunge’s initiatives now join the list.
Harshitha Talasila ’26
On July 1, Talasila arrived in Vijayawada, India — the site of her Projects for Peace fellowship and, more personally, her birthplace. “I immigrated from India to the States when I was five,” she explains, “and wanted to give back.” Her project partners with a nonprofit, Young Indians, and centers around the subjects of mental health and drug abuse.
An environmental studies and peace and conflict studies double-major, Talasila developed the idea for her project by consulting family members in Vijayawada. She asked, “What is a really pressing issue here?” and became aware of rising drug-abuse cases and a lack of dialogue about mental health, especially in the school system.
“In India, these topics are often stigmatized,” she says. “This can lead to a lack of support for individuals, with broader long-standing impacts on a community.”
In preparation for her project, Talasila consulted Shaw Wellness Dietitian Allison Bowers and Alcohol and Drug Services Counselor Stephen Elfenbein. Additionally, she spoke to her former advisers with the Dutchess County Youth Council of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to source public speakers.
In association with Young Indians (Yi), each session of her program takes place at a local University or school. There, Talasila and other speakers share information about various drugs, abuse, and associated mental health concerns.
“When the project originally started, we weren’t sure if we would get a really strong response,” shares Talasila. “But the minimum class size we’ve had is 150 students.”
Following their presentation, Talasila hosts a Q&A with program participants and circulates feedback forms. “A lot of the feedback has been, ‘Hey, no one’s ever talked to us about this,’” she says. “And by the end, I feel like a good majority of our participants walk out knowing more about the topic.”
For Talasila, though, the project is about more than education: it’s a step toward long-term change.
“We must start at the individual and local community levels to build peace,” she argues. “Peace isn’t just about the absence of conflict — it’s about creating the foundation where communities are able to thrive and support one another.”
Kajol Luplunge ’28
In partnership with peers at Clark University and volunteers at Diyo South Asia, an NGO she co-founded with peers in high school, Luplunge’s Project for Peace is based in Sankhuwasabha, Nepal. There, her project is working to address both practical and societal challenges Nepalese women face during their menstrual cycle.
“In Nepal, menstruation is often treated as a taboo rather than a physiological process,” explains Luplunge, who co-founded Diyo South Asia to address such concerns. “Some girls don’t make it through school because they don’t have access to proper facilities, leading to higher rates of child marriage and other long-term consequences.”
A major directive of Luplunge’s project is to build clean, well-lit, and hygienic bathrooms with proper disposal facilities in two government schools in Sankhuwasabha. By doing so, she and volunteers aim to provide girls with the safety and privacy needed to stay in school during their periods. “We’re also teaching 57 women how to make reusable pads, so they can improve access and share this information with their communities,” she adds.
A third phase of Luplunge’s project is reproductive education. “Menstruation shouldn’t be a secret,” she says. By hosting workshops for 400 boys and 500 girls, she aims to spread awareness “not just about biology, but about discussing these topics sensitively and openly.”
As Luplunge completes a neuroscience research project in Hamilton, she is continuing to write articles, draft interview questions for local women, and prep slides for the project.
“Helping others has always been part of how I grew up,” she says. “This project is specific to the summer, but we’re planning more.”
The Projects for Peace program was founded in 2007 with a $1 million investment from Kathryn Wasserman Davis, a philanthropist and longtime advocate for international peacebuilding. Interested Ƶ students can apply through the University’s Office of National Fellowships and Scholarships.