DIVERSE EXPERIENCES AT NOTRE DAME TEACH SCHOLARS THAT PEACE ISN'T EASY

One led a delegation from South Africa to Mozambique to meet with the banned African National Congress, for which he was denounced as a traitor to his country. Another is currently finishing her first book of poetry and prose. A third started law school and then left to manage a homeless shelter.

These are just some of the lives led by students who were selected to study for a master's degree in peace studies at the University of Notre Dame. This year, students came from 13 countries around the globe to learn at the Institute for International Peace Studies. More than 150 students apply each year to receive one of the 14 scholarships that pay for everything, including a stipend of $130 a month.

Children's Express recently traveled to South Bend to talk with three of these students, each of whom found out about the program from professors or organizations in their own countries.

Zhang Ninghui, 27, received a bachelor's degree in English from Nanjing University in the People's Republic of China.

Rosette Kawaaluko Muzigo, 28, has a law degree from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. She has initiated programs to counsel and educate victims of violence, and has instituted a peace education program at schools in Kampala.

After obtaining a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Cairo University in Egypt, 24-year-old Abir Khater has worked in a social service center for family planning and as a researcher at the Center for Political and International Development in Cairo.