Who We Are


As Lost Boys, the men and women who started Hope of Sudan organizations walked thousands of miles during the Civil War seeking refuge, first to Ethiopia and then to Kenya. Many were shot, eaten by lions or starved. They were as young as 5. Of 30,000 estimated Lost Boys, 10,000 survived the journey.


In 2000 America welcomed the Lost Boys. They came to start new lives knowing little English, having never ridden on a plane or turned on a light. Through determination, our members have excelled. They are doctors, university graduates, lawyers, college students, parking attendants and warehouse laborers. They are visionaries who see how a new Southern Sudan can be and have a passion to help their Sudanese brothers and sisters build a new life. With their vision, American supports have joined efforts.


"Here we come together as a team and there is mutual benefit," says Gabriel Deng, of HOPE for Ariang. "We believe in one goal, one mission. We have a common cause of helping each other to benefit the people of Sudan."


Our members:

  • Water For Sudan -- Inspired by his father's severe illness from drinking unclean water, Lost Boy Salva Dut is realizing his dream to provide fresh water to Sudan. Water for Sudan has so far installed 29 wells that serve 180,000 people. Villagers collaborate to decide which areas have the most need, help dig the wells and train to operate and maintain the wells. (Rochester, N.Y.)

  • The John Dau Sudan Foundation -- Lost Boy John Dau is an internationally recognized humanitarian whose organization develops health clinics in Southern Sudan. He opened the Duk Lost Boys Clinic in May 2007 in his home village, from which he fled as a boy. The clinic sees 75 patients a day, is the first to provide neo-natal care to women in Southern Sudan and is developing a vaccination program that will greatly reduce infant mortality. The clinic turns no one away. (Syracuse, N.Y.)

  • Hope With Sudan -- Eighty orphaned or unaccompanied children, youth and young adults are sponsored with tuition and living expenses in Kenya and Uganda through this California-based organization, which also provides scholarships for 55 Sudanese living in San Jose. (San Jose, Calif.)

  • Ayual Community Development Association -- Peter Magai Bul and other Sudanese Lost Boys and girls from around the world including the United States, Australia, Canada, Uganda, Kenya and Sudan are improving the quality of life in the Ayual Villages in South Sudan. They opened a library in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in 2003 and opened Pongbgorong Primary School in Ayual in 2004, which serves more than 800 students. They have also raised $50,000 toward a health clinic and will expand services to include teacher training and will drill bore holes to provide fresh drinking water. (Chicago, Ill.)

  • Hope of Sudan -- Members provide financial scholarships for college and voacational-educational needs of more than 40 Lost Boys and Sudanese refugees in the Rochester-N.Y. area, as well as trauma healing and emotional support. The group sponsors Sudanese children by providing their tuition, room and board in Kenyan boarding schools and helps Lost Boys support their relatives' education in Africa. (Rochester, N.Y.)

  • African Soul, American Heart -- Lost Boy Joseph Akol Makeer is the author of "From Africa to America" and is featured in the new film "African Soul, American Heart," which documents his return to Sudan. His organization is building a boarding school for orphans to serve 50 children in Duk Payuel and will complement the John Dau Foundation's Duk Lost Boys Clinic. (North Dakota)

  • The New Sudan Education Initiative -- Lost Boy Abraham Awolich and Aduei Riak lead a project with the goal of building secondary schools for 20,000 young people in Southern Sudan by 2015. The first school of health sciences opened in May 2008 and is training 60 young women for careers in health science and agriculture. (Vermont)

  • Sudan Sunrise -- Americans, Sudanese and supporters stand in solidarity with Southern Sudanese Christians and Darfurian Muslims to facilitate reconciliation among all Sudanese and improvements in education, health, community development and church planting. Ex-NBA star Manute Bol built one of two schools that the organization has opened. (Lenexa, Kan.)

  • Lost Boys Rebuilding Southern Sudan -- Lost Boys created this group to provide the next generation of leaders in America with powerful lessons about teamwork, perseverance and forgiveness. The men are fundraising to provide a high school education for pupils in Southern Sudan. (Chicago, Ill.)

  • HELP Sudan -- Lost Boys united with a mission to recruit teachers and start new schools in Bor, Southern Sudan, providing pencils and notebooks for hands that might have taken up arms and an education for minds that once only understood war. Alliance membership means they can realize their goal of expanding redevelopment projects to include key infrastructure elements such as health care and water. (Chicago, Ill.)

  • Southern Sudan Initiatives -- Lost Boy Dut Leet Deng started this organization to better the lives of Lost Boys and Lost Girls and to repair the damage that decades of war have inflicted on religious, agricultural, economic, social and cultural life in Southern Sudan and surrounding areas. The group plans to build a permanent base of operations in Bor, Southern Sudan with an initial focus on providing health care. Once the compound is established and staffed they will expand programs into the economic and cultural life of the community. The objective is to create a viable model that can be recreated in other communities. (Syracuse, N.Y.)

  • United Families for Sudan -- Members wish to provide education, health care and economic development for Dinka people in the Twic East District of Southern Sudan and will install a water pump and grinding mill in 2009 to provide clean water and an efficient way to prepare food. As a result, there will be more opportunity for women and girls to spend less time procuring survival basics and attend school or farm. Members hope to open a primary school and medical clinic and provide economic development opportunities.

  • The Luol Deng Foundation -- Chicago Bulls NBA player and Lost Boy Luol Deng created the foundation to support the United Nations High Commissions for Refugees’ work to build schools, encourage girls to get an education, promote nutrition and provide clean water, playing courts and fields and sports equipment for children in Sudan. (Chicago, Ill.)

  • The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation -- The acclaimed autobiography "What is the What" tells the story of Lost Boy Valentino Achak, who created the foundation in the belief that the strength, determination and diversity of the Sudanese will enable them to build a peaceful and prosperous future. The foundation empowers Southern Sudanese diaspora in the United States to enhance their educational, social and economic opportunities and rebuild southern Sudanese communities through the implementation of community-driven development projects that increase educational opportunities.

  • HOPE for Ariang -- Lost Boy Gabriel Bol Deng is raising money to open the Ariang Primary School to provide children in his native village an education who have had little access to formal education, epecially girls. He has raised $60,000. He is working in partnership with Lost Boy Samuel Garang Mayuol, who is raising money to build a system of water pumps to provide clean water to the 10,000 residents of his boyhood home of Lang Village. They are featured in the documentary film "Rebuilding Hope," which focuses on their return to Southern Sudan. (Syracuse, N.Y.)


Associate Member Organizations

  • Hope for Southern Sudan

  • Sudanese Youth Development Action

  • Abek Community Development Program

  • St. Josephine Bakhita Medical Clinic

  • Makol Ariik Development Foundation

  • Village Help for South Sudan, Inc.

  • Supraid: Sudan Production Aid
© 2012 The Hope of Sudan