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

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

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

Barbara Youree: Published Books

Renaissance Brides is a collection of four novellas, combined under one cover.

Follow family lines through historical sixteenth and seventeenth-century Italy as the couples find love amidst the most trying battles. Françoise Chaplain is wounded almost too deeply to grasp the proposed love of Stefano Marinelli. Bianca Marinelli, his daughter, seeks unorthodox apprenticeship in a male-dominated culture of Italian arts, just as love comes to the studio by equally unusual circumstances. Costanza Biliverti, noble widow, faces fire, theft, revolt and her own daughter Anabella kidnapped, but finds love again in a traveling merchant. Anabella and Albret suffer their own pride and honor as good intentions and misunderstandings hinge the fate of their love on a duel.

The four Christian romance novels in Renaissance Brides are described in more detail below:

Silent Heart

In sixteenth-century Europe, Francoise Chaplain is mourning the loss of her fiance and close family members. She, her mother, and one surviving brother find refuge on a farm in France, but they must escape war and sickness, and seek safety at a villa in Milan, Italy. There she encounters the attentions of the grand duke and the ravages of the plague – and more tragedy. Her only hope is in her relationship with God and the kindness of the man who loves her. Stefano Marinelli is at once taken with the beautiful Francoise, but he sees deep hurt in her eyes. He professes his love for her and asks her to become his wife. Could any man win Francoise’s silent heart?

Both Sides of the Easel

The cultured city of Rome during the seventeenth century embraces almost any artist of emerging talent—unless that artist is a woman. Bianca Marinelli’s ambition to become an accomplished artist blinds her to the realities of her day and sends her on a quest to be apprenticed by the famous artist Caravaggio. Marco Biliverti’s castle and lands were confiscated by his evil half-brother. Until Marco can prove he is the rightful heir to his father’s estate, he is forced to work as a stonemason. Because he also supports his widowed mother and sister, he agrees to sit as a model for Caravaggio to supplement his worker’s income. Marco is captivated by the intelligence and charm of the lovely Bianca. But bereft of his wealth, Marco cannot hope to pursue the woman of his dreams. Can they ever overcome the barriers that separate them from a growing love?

Forever Is Not Long Enough

Costanza, a noble widow, lives on a vast seventeenth-century estate in Terni, Italy, north of Rome. While her adult son is away at the university, she and her teenage daughter, Anabella, are confronted with challenges of the estate. There is a fire in the vineyards, cattle are stolen, disputes arise among the servants, and unexpected visitors arrive. When Anabella is kidnapped by those who seek to claim to her dowry, Costanza must accept help from a handsome and wealthy merchant. When Antonio encounters Costanza, he is drawn to her family and faith. Assuming it should be easy to get what he wants, he proposes… but is rejected. Costanza would rather remain a widow than have a husband who is rarely home. She is enjoying her independent role of estate manager and will marry for no less than the deepest of love. Can Antonio persuade her that he can offer what she desires?

Duel Love

Proud Albret Maseo believes honor must precede love. Although he loves Anabella Biliverti with all his heart, his peasant status spurs him to earn the affection of this noble-blooded lady. Caught up in a peasant revolt, Albret knows he must release Anabella from any obligation toward him until he has proven his worth in her eyes—and his own. Anabella has loved Albret a long while, and he’s never been anything but dignified in her eyes. Her heart is confused and broken at his declaration—freeing her to love another. Vexed, she finds entertainment and comfort in the social life of Florence. When wounded honor calls for a duel, love’s strength and valor is tested.

YOU MAY ORDER any of the above romances from Heartsong Presents by going to heartsongpresents.com and downloading an order form or by calling 740-922-7280

___________________________________

Courageous Journey,

Walking the Lost Boys Path from the Sudan to America

by

Ayuel Leek Deng, Beny Ngor Chol and Barbara Youree

Courageous Journey has just been published by New Horizon Press (September 2008). For more information, click on May I Say? or go to www.sudanfaces.wordpress.com/

This 330-page, hardcover book is available now in most bookstores or go to Amazon.com.

]]> http://sudanfaces.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/some-background/ Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:06:57 +0000 sudanfaces http://sudanfaces.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/some-background/

Only recently have Americans heard much about the country of Sudan in far away Africa. We get a few images on nightly news about the horrible conditions in the refugee camps where Darfurians have fled from their burned villages and where they are continually attacked raped and starved.

But during the civil war in that country (1983-2005) the coverage was near nil. In 1990 during the First Gulf War, Sudan was totally blocked out. Their government did not back the U.S.

During that first civil war, atrocities beyond belief were happening while most of the rest of the world went merrily shopping and keeping up with their favorite sports teams. Over 2 million died and thousands more were displaced.

In a nutshell, the Black, Christian and Animist South rebelled against the Arabic, Muslim government’s oppression in the North out of the capitol in Khartoum. They sought to restrict religious freedom, enforce Islamic sharia laws, deny education, refuse to share the wealth, and even attempt to move the North/South dividing line to place the newly discovered oil fields into the North.

To help move southern Sudanese off this oil rich land, the government enlisted the help of the Darfurians (Baggara tribes) who were black like the Southerners, but Muslim like the Arabic Northerners. They armed them with guns, tanks and horses. “You don’t want to be ruled over by infidels, do you?” they were told.