LOST BOYS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol, two of the authors of Courageous Journey, have plans to make a difference in this world, using their experiences and expertise. Through their new non-profit organization, Lost Boys Face Foundation, they are working toward creating a Multi-Purpose

Ayuel Deng Leek

Center for the disabled in Southern Sudan. Here’s the plan:

LBFF Initial Project:

Multi-Purpose Vocational Center to be located in Southern Sudan

Beny Ngor Chol

Concept: A Multi-Purpose Vocational Center will be built to host a variety of activities to benefit disabled men, women and children. These individuals will be trained in marketable skills, such as carpentry, masonry, weaving, clothing manufacture, metal work, tanning and leather work, growing vegetables and preparation of food, basic medical skills for helping to run a medical clinic for minor illnesses and first aid.

All these products will be sold to the local community. The profit will be shared between the disabled producer and the Center. In time, the Center will become self-supporting and the disabled self-reliant.

Classes will also be taught to both the disabled and the community at large on such topics as sanitation, sign language for the deaf, family planning and prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases.

Special chair made by Beny's staff for handicapped child

The need: Sudan is a war-torn country with a 2008 population of 39,445,000, over 40% under the age of 15. The long civil war between the North (Arabic Muslim) and the South (Black Christian and Animist) took two million lives and displaced four million people, many of whom still live in refugee camps outside the country. According to Dr. John Garang, head of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army and Vice-President of Sudan after the Peace Agreement in 2005 (until his untimely death shortly thereafter), estimated that 39.2% of the people of Sudan are disabled, most from war injuries and mutilation by having hands or legs cut off.

Expertise to make the project a reality: Beny Chol, Executive Director of LBFF, served as Manager of the Community-Based Rehabilitation Program in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, beginning at age 18. As a Lost Boy himself, he worked under the direction of the International Rescue Committee and had 120 paid staff under him. In addition, 595 volunteers formed the Community Based Rehabilitation Committee who helped identify, register, and organize the disabled for the program. He supervised the types of programs envisioned for the Multi-Purpose Center.

Ayuel Leek, President of LBFF, also a Lost Boy, worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Kakuma. He was trained in counseling, visiting the sick, and helping children deal with their war traumas through drama.

Both Beny and Ayuel are still in contact with several persons, both disabled and not, who worked in Kakuma and are skillful and willing to make this dream a reality. One such person is Claudio Suleiman, who is disabled himself. He worked with Beny for the International Rescue Committee as one of the counterpart managers in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. He currently lives in Juba, Southern Sudan, where he oversees staff for the World Food Programme as Human Resource Manager.  He has agreed to lend his expertise to this project at the ground.

Other Americans, board members and donors, as well as Beny and Ayuel,  will periodically make visits to see how the Center is progressing.

Real Possibilities: Beny has just returned from 3 months in Kenya and Sudan. He found land near Juba, virtual capital of Southern Sudan, that would be ideal for the Center—near population and the Nile River. He talked with the Land Commissioner and Land Title Officer about their dream. The city leaders told him if the Foundation could raise enough money to build and staff the Center, they would donate the land!! This is a miracle in itself, making the project an obtainable goal for the near future, bringing hope to hundreds of disabled children and adults in this region.

To be part of making this dream a reality, mail your tax-deductible 501 (c) (3) check, made out to Lost Boys Face Foundation to:

Mr. Beny Ngor Chol, Executive Director

Lost Boys Face Foundation

Proposed site for Multi-Purpose Center near Juba, Sudan

3653 N. Cleveland Ave.

Kansas City, MO 64117

Thank you!

The LBFF Board

Beny Ngor Chol, Executive Director

Ayuel Leek Deng, President

Zach Amal, Treasurer

Samuel Malek

Simon Majak

World Vision Report – Week of October 10, 2009 – Manute Bol.

Manute Bol with Ayuel Leek Deng on left, Beny Ngor Chol on right

Learn what Manute Bol is doing by building schools with Sudan Sunrise for all children in southern Sudan. Click on World Vision Report above.

GOOD NEWS JUST IN!

Beny Ngor Chol has recently returned from 3 months in Africa where he looked for land to build the projected Multi-Purpose Center for the disabled of Southern Sudan. He met with the Land Commissioner and a Land Title Official in Juba, the largest city in the South. He told them of the plan, sponsored by the Lost Boys Face Foundation. They offered to GIVE land near Juba to locate the Center if the non-profit Foundation could raise the funds to build and staff it.

At Overland Park Unity Church in Kansas, Beny and Ayuel Leek (along with Barbara Youree) first told the good news and explained their vision to help the disabled and vulnerable people of Southern Sudan. For more on the project, click on Lost Boys Make a Difference under Archives in the right side bar.

To contribute to this amazing project by Lost Boys of Sudan, who after having endured years of hardship, are not bitter, but only want to help those less fortunate than themselves: Go to Lost Boys Face Foundation and click on contact us.

For questions about this project: email Barbara Youree at byouree1@cox.net

President Obama has chosen retired Major General J. Scott Gration as special envoy to Sudan. This action is urgently needed as many people around the world have been hoping that the President would appoint someone of Major Gration’s ability, experience, and integrity. In 2006 Major Gration traveled to Africa with Mr. Obama and visited the refugee camps in Chad.

Following the arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir of Sudan for war crimes, the Sudanese government expelled 13 international aid agencies (NGOs), which left 1.1 million civilians without vital food deliveries and many more left without potable water and health care. We can expect to hear of starvation and disease on a grand scale.

Hopefully, the new envoy to Sudan will be able to make a difference in this land that continues to be left devastated and desolate.

February 17, 2009

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), western Darfur’s most influential rebel group, and the Khartoum government have signed a joint declaration of good intention. Representatives of the two groups have been meeting in Qatar this past week. Sponsors of the meetings include Qatar, the United Nations, African Union and Arab League.
The sponsors say, whereas the agreement is hopeful, the talks are preliminary and intended to pave the way for a broader peace. Other rebel factions are refusing to talk to Khartoum and say the peace drive will fall without them.
Fragile as it is, the agreement is a positive first step.
Source: Aljazeera.net/english.

February 13, 2009

To listen to U.S. news one would think that the economic crisis was the government’s sole concern. But this week two roundtable events were held in congressional office buildings, highlighting Sudan’s crises and considering ways to move ahead with a more muscular policy.

Conflicting reports of a arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omer al-Bashir by ICC and news that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 between the North and the South was faltering brought about the new concern.

At a meeting of four members of Congress, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom suggested creating security guarantees for Southern Sudan in order to deter a renewal of the North/South civil war. “The key to making CPA implementation a reality is to put Southern Sudan in a position where it has leverage,” said Commissioner Leonard Leo in an interview.

The Commission, a government agency created by Congress in order to advise the State Department, made its recommendations to Secretary Hilary Clinton. The Commission also recommended that a new Special Envoy be appointed to Sudan, someone with the necessary stature to emphasize the priority of Sudanese peace and stability to the new Administration.

Congressional members attending: Chris Smith (R-NJ), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Barbara Lee (D-CA)

*
A group of four Senators met for a roundtable discussion, hosted by the Senate Foreign Relation Committee. They discussed the importance of a Special Envoy for Sudan and the need for the US to help lead efforts to implement the North/South peace agreement (CPA).

Senator Kerry said that he had met with Secretary Clinton that morning and disclosed that she was favorable toward the concept of a no-fly zone and other “concrete steps.” He added, “To the degree that anyone is listening, particularly Khartoum, I hope they will understand, no matter what happens with the ICC, that there is a moment here to try to change the dynamics and begin to move responsibly. I am absolutely confident that this administration is going to focus on this issue and I personally am interested in this no-fly zone concept.”

Senators attending: Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Feingold (D-WI), Senator Cardin (D-MD), Senator Kaufman (D-DE).

Source: www.sudantribune.com Feb. 13, 2009

February 13, 2009

This is the month that the International Criminal Court at the Hague was to issue an arrest warrant for the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir. The New York Times, basing its information on unnamed lawyers and diplomats, reported late Wednesday, February 11, that judges had decided to issue said warrant.

On Thursday, February 12, the court quickly clarified that “no decision had been made” on whether to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir in connection with atrocities and genocide in the Darfur region.

A flurry of news items then went out confirming and denying the action. It was soon learned that the UN Security Council had discussed the situation in Sudan and the “possibility” that the ICC would move to arrest the Sudanese President. Some of the Council members expressed the concern that working for peace in Sudan and upholding justice at the same time presented a dilemma.

France suggested that the ICC should withhold the arrest if al-Bashir would surrender two senior Sudanese officials charged with the killings in Darfur.

Some felt that the fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement (the north/south peace pact) of 2005 would be in jeopardy. Other arguments pro and con continued. Apparently the ICC will consider all the angles before making such a far-reaching decision.

FYI: More than 300,000 people have been killed in the ethnic war in Darfur since 2005.
There are now about 13,000 international peacekeepers in Darfur and another 10,000 monitoring the peace agreement between Khartoum and southern Sudan.

Sources for this post: The Times, Feb. 13, 2009; www. ynetnews.com.

January 10, 2009

Sudan Sunrise will break ground along with Manute Bol for a new school in Turalei, not far from Abyei, for some 300 children who have no school except the shade of trees. According to Bol this will give Sudan a giant example of reconciliation. His school will welcome Darfurian and other Muslim students. And Darfurians are volunteering to help build it as a sign of reconciliation.

This move toward reconciliation is quite significant in light of what the New York Times warns is a “fragile” peace between the Muslim North and the largely Christian and Animist South. For more about the project,Sudan Sunrise. Then scroll down to Manute Bol Turalei School Project.

LOST BOYS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol, co-authors (with Barbara Youree)of Courageous Journey, have plans to make a difference in this world, using their experiences and expertise. Through their new non-profit organization, Lost Boys Face Foundation, they are working toward creating a Multi-Purpose Center for the disabled in Southern Sudan. Here’s the plan:

LBFF Initial Project:
Multi-Purpose Center to be located in Southern Sudan

Concept: A Multi-Purpose Center will be built to host a variety of activities to benefit disabled men, women and children. These individuals will be trained in marketable skills, such as carpentry, masonry, weaving, clothing manufacture, metal work, tanning and leather work, growing vegetables and preparation of food, basic medical skills for helping to run a medical clinic for minor illnesses and first aid.

All these products will be sold to the local community. The profit will be shared between the disabled producer and the Center. In time, the Center will become self-supporting and the disabled self-reliant.

Classes will also be taught to both the disabled and the community at large on such topics as sanitation, sign language for the deaf, family planning and prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases.

The need: Sudan is a war-torn country with a 2008 population of 39,445,000, over 40% under the age of 15. The long civil war between the North (Arabic Muslim) and the South (Black Christian and Animist) took two million lives and displaced four million people, many of whom still live in refugee camps outside the country. According to Dr. John Garang, head of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army and Vice-President of Sudan after the Peace Agreement in 2005 (until his untimely death shortly thereafter), estimated that 39.2% of the people of Sudan are disabled, most from war injuries and mutilation by having hands or legs cut off.

Beny and some of his staff at Kakuma

Expertise to make the project a reality: Beny Chol, President of LBFF, served as Manager of the Community-Based Rehabilitation Program in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. As a Lost Boy himself, he worked under the direction of the International Rescue Committee and had 120 paid staff under him. In addition, 595 volunteers formed the Community Based Rehabilitation Committee who helped identify, register, and organize the disabled for the program. He supervised the types of programs envisioned for the Multi-Purpose Center.

Ayuel Leek, Vice-President of LBFF, also a Lost Boy, worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Kakuma. He was trained in counseling, visiting the sick, and helping children deal with their war traumas through drama.

Both Beny and Ayuel are still in contact with several persons, both disabled and not, who worked in Kakuma and are skillful and willing to make this dream a reality. They and other Americans, board members and donors will periodically make visits to see how the Center is progressing. Beny will be in Kenya and Sudan in December 2008 and January 2009. He will check out possibilities of purchasing property for the Center in Juba, Jongulei or Unity State. He has contacts in these areas.

To be part of making this dream a reality, go to Lost Boys Face Foundation and click on Contact Us.

October 13, 2008

Ayuel & Beny sign book contract for Courageous Journey

Ayuel Leek Deng and Beny Ngor Chol, co-authors with Barbara Youree of Courageous Journey, now have a website about their newly formed non-profit foundation: The Lost Boys Face Foundation.

Their goals are to help Lost Boys and Girls with education (scholarships), medical assistance (testing and treatment) as well as create awareness of the crisis in Sudan. Check it out: Lost Boys Face Foundation