ACDA President Peter Magai Bul to Appear on Oprah

As new United States citizens, "Lost Boys of Sudan" Peter Magai Bul and Kuek Aleu Garang will be voting for the first time in this year's election. Oprah will feature their experience as first time voters on her show on election day. Tune in on Tuesday, 4 November to see Peter and Kuek along with their guests: former NBA Legend Manute Bol, Malual Mayol Awak (President of the Sudanese Community Association of Illinois), John Dut Kuol (Board Member, Chicago Association for the Lost Boys of Sudan), and Onam Liduba (Acting President, CALBOS). Check local listings to find when Oprah plays in your area.

This Year's Trip to Southern Sudan

Following up on last year’s assessment trip, many Ayual community members and friends will travel to Southern Sudan this upcoming November and December. Those traveling include ACDA state representatives David Yak Mayen, John Mading Dut, and Angok Manyuon, former president of ACDA David Biar Gak, former board chairman of ACDA Deng Wal Biar, current deputy board chairman of ACDA Jim Thompson, ACDA members Jima Bul Magiir, Malith Bul Ajak, Bul Deng Bul, and friends of ACDA Craig and Colin Sternagel, Ariahna Jones, and Susan Gordon.

Some of the projects planned for this year’s trip include continued assessment, evaluation of the health clinic and building progress, and providing materials for the continued success of Pongborong Primary School, including cooking materials for the five cooks who prepare food for the children, bicycles for teachers, and school supplies.

Thank You to Eliza Mozer

Eliza Mozer has raised over $7,500 for the ACDA!

Our heartfelt thank you to Eliza Mozer, her parents, Karen and Jordan, and her younger sisters, Chloe and Isabel, for their tremendous efforts in fundraising for the ACDA. Eliza’s Mitzvah fundraising project has touched many people’s hearts in a way that will never be forgotten. In addition to raising awareness and funds for Pongborong Primary School in Southern Sudan, Eliza has also inspired people of all ages, giving them the courage, energy, and commitment to make a difference in their communities and beyond.

Our deep appreciation also goes to all the people, mostly from the Jewish Community, who supported Eliza by generously donating funds to her fundraising effort. Special thanks, also, to the Wisconsin-based Jewish Community Foundation, who are also contributing. Their support of Eliza’s Pongborong Primary School project will not only have impact on the education of Sudanese chlidren, but on all young people who helped make this fundraising effort a success. This project is a reminder that everything is possible.

Eliza’s overall goal is to raise $10,000. If you want to help her toward that goal or learn more about her project, visit her website: http://www.firstgiving.com/elizamozer

A New Alliance to Rebuild Southern Sudan

September 20-21st about 40 Sudanese Lost Boys and their American friends representing more than 15 US-based non profit organizations rebuilding Southern Sudan gathered in Rochester, New York for the first time to discuss the formation of an alliance. ACDA president Peter Magai Bul helped to coordinate this effort and he, along with Brandi Reissenweber, attended this meeting to lay the groundwork for the alliance.

Individually, many of the organizations involved have already made a real impact in Southern Sudan. ACDA has helped establish and support Pongborong Primary School. The John Dau Sudan Foundation has built and runs a hospital in Duk County. Water for Sudan has drilled new boreholes providing clean water in several communities in Southern Sudan. Working together, however, we can make an even larger impact, providing the framework of primary and secondary school education, clean water, better access to health care and developing agricultural programs.

Read more at RNews: Rochester Sends Hope to Sudan

Relief in Haiti

A friend of ACDA has asked us to help spread the word about support needed in hurricane relief efforts in Haiti. If you want to learn more and help, read this letter from the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti.

Eliza Mozer Fundraiser for Pongborong Primary School

As Eliza quoted in her Bat Mitzvah speech on Saturday:
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

Eliza Mozer, a 13-year-old daughter of Karen and Jordon Mozer, sets a shining example of how young people can bring change to help those in far away lands. Last year, with the support of religious school leader Heidi Kon, Eliza’s synagogue, Chicago Sinai Congregation, was able to raise funds in the amount of $5,000 to benefit the ACDA.

In early September, Eliza had a Bat Mitzvah (a Jewish coming of age ceremony). As a “Mitzvah Project” (a charitable activity), Eliza chose to raise money for the ACDA’s Pongborong Primary School in Southern Sudan, which has an enrollment of over 800 students from grades 1-7. Every $15 buys a school uniform for a child, and every $30 buys a desk for a child that now studies at a dirt mound.

While Eliza wanted to be more helpful beyond just raising money, she has so far raised over $1,000 for the school. Eliza’s family will also host a fundraiser at their home in late September for invited guests. A friend and associate of theirs will prepare Sudanese cuisine and several members of ACDA will deliver a presentation, share their personal experiences and respond to questions from invited guests. Among those speaking will be Peter Magai Bul, ACDA’s President, and Maketh Bul Mabior, Duot Angok Aguer, John Deng Ayiel, John Mading Dut, and Deng Akoi Jurkuch. These young men are among the “Lost Boys of Sudan” who, as children, walked thousands of miles to escape the violence of Sudan’s civil war.

Sudan has long been in a state of turmoil, with a civil war that has killed over 2 million people and displaced over 4 million from Southern Sudan, and a genocide that has killed about 300,000 and displaced roughly 2.5 million in Darfur.

If you would like to support Eliza’s fundraising initiative, please consider making a donation by sending your check made payable to:

Ayual Community Development Association
In the memo line write
"Eliza Mozer Fundraiser for PPS"

Send your donation to:
Ayual Community Development Association
5703 Finbourough Court
Richmond, VA 23228

Or visit ACDA's website to donate by credit card and or also on Eliza Mozer’s web site.

Donations are tax deductible.

For more information, please contact Karen or Eliza Mozer at kmozer@rcn.com and emozer@rcn.com

Congressman Frank Wolf: A Man of Principle and Courage

Congressman Frank Wolf (center) with (from left to right) David Biar Gak, Peter Magai Bul, John Dut Kuol, John Chol Pajieth







A note from the Friends of Congressman Frank Wolf:

For many Americans, Frank Wolf is a Congressman from Virginia. But for thousands of helpless innocent civilians from South Sudan to Rwanda and from China to the Balkans, Frank Wolf is the defender of the forgotten and at times the lonely voice for the victims of government abuses and genocide. When very few people care to listen to the victims of abuse in South Sudan, Nuba, and Darfur, Frank Wolf was there. His commitment, dedication, and courage to stand up for what he believes are unparalleled.

When children were being bombed in schools and villages in remote places in South Sudan, Frank Wolf stood with them despite the enormous risks and difficulties. Congressman Frank Wolf first went to Sudan in April 1989 to visit the war zones of South Sudan. He was the first American to enter Torit, a major town in the South, which had just been liberated by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA). Since that first visit to Torit, Congressman Wolf never stopped to fight for millions of helpless people in Sudan.

During his risky and difficult visit, Mr. Wolf met and came to know well Dr. John Garang, the visionary head of the SPLM. Dr. John continually spoke of his vision of a “New Sudan”, a Sudan of equality and democracy for all Sudanese governed with integrity. The late Dr Garang said of Frank Wolf on a number of occasions that “Frank is a man of principle, who always stood with us.” Congressman Wolf never asked for recognition and in fact he always expressed his appreciation for other people. In a meeting in his office with Vice President Salva Kiir last year, Mr. Wolf told President Salva that “the world should thank you for fighting for the freedom of your people and for standing firm against the regime in Khartoum.”

Mr. Wolf, well known as a defender of the helpless, is an American hero, a leader on international life-and-death issues that his constituents may not be fully aware of, and a moral giant in terms similar to those of one of his own personal heroes, British abolitionist leader William Wilberforce. At the height of the Sudanese conflict and when the SPLM desperately needed help, an ill-informed senior American official, without proper authorization, informed regional leaders that they should not assist the SPLM. When Frank Wolf got briefed about this development, he took Administration officials to task. Had that policy remained in place, the SPLM would have been weakened militarily and the Sudanese government would have pursued its military campaign instead of negotiations.

Mr. Wolf’s commitment to the people of Sudan is fueled by his personal commitment to peace, justice, equality and good governance, as well as his awareness that Khartoum has presided over the entirely unnecessary war-related deaths of more than two million human beings in Sudan during the NIF/NCP’s rule, one of the largest civilian body counts since the Holocaust. There is an African proverb that accurately describes the man we call the defender of the helpless: He who tells the truth is never wrong! Mr. Wolf consistently and tirelessly spoke the truth in defense of the victims. Another African proverb says “He, who does not seize opportunity today, will be unable to seize tomorrow's opportunity.” We certainly don’t want to miss this important opportunity to say thank you for all that you have done and continue to do to help those in need.

Dear friends, we invite you to join us express our appreciations to Congressman Frank Wolf at an event on August 25, 2008 at 5:00PM. The event will be held at Hunan Dynasty Restaurant: 215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Washington, D.C. Please invite all your friends. RSVP at: friendsofwolf@gmail.com

Sincerely,
Roger Winter
Ted Dagne
Rebecca Garang
Mia Farrow
Brian D’Silva
John Prendergast
Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth
Faith McDonnell