Congressman Yarmuth Honors Sudanese Graduates

Eight Sudanese college graduates from the Louisville area received personalized Congressional certificates in recognition of their achievements during the 3rd Annual Sudanese Scholars Celebration on June 7. Congressman John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, told the graduates that he had never addressed a more inspiring and dedicated group of students.  And he urged the graduates and continuing college students to keep pursuing their dreams of becoming educated citizens who will make a positive difference in the world. (Photo below right, from left to right: Deng Bul Kuer, Kuany Anyieth, Akech Kwai, Peter Thiong, Jacob Mabil, and Abraham Goch)

Students honored at the ceremony, which was held at Resurrection Episcopal Church in Louisville, included: Kuany Anyieth, the first Sudanese student from Louisville to earn a master's degree, from the University of Louisville; Mabior Thuch Ghack, bachelor's degree, University of Kentucky; Deng Bul Kuer, bachelor's degree, Northern Kentucky University; Akech Kwai Kwai, bachelor's degree, Murray State University; Jacob Mabil, bachelor's degree, University of Louisville;  Peter Pandak Thiong, bachelor's degree, Berea College; Abraham Deng Goch, associate's degree, Divine Word College; and Christine Natiki Lokiru, associate's degree, Jefferson Community College. Lokiru (photo right) is believed to be the first Didinga woman in the United States to earn a college degree.

Congressman Yarmuth also honored James Maluak Malou (photo left),  a senior at the University of Louisville, for his extraordinary record of service to the community.  Malou is past president of the Sudanese Youth Association in Kentucky and a founding board member of the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund.

See LEO Weekly for Berea College graduate Peter Thiong's memoir, "A Journey Into Reality." 

Go to the Life on Campus page to read a reflection from University of Louisville graduate Jacob Mabil. 

See the Stories and Photos page for inspiring articles about University of Kentucky graduate Mabior Ghack Thuch and Northern Kentucky University graduate Deng Bul Kuer.  

Malden Catholic High School Students "Dress Down" and Donate With Style

Students at Malden Catholic High School, an all-boys' college-preparatory school in Malden, MA, donated the proceeds of a Spring semester "Dress Down Day" to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund. Students paid $2 each to be out of uniform for the day. The $950 contribution, which included a personal donation from the school's principal, Brother Tom Puccio, demonstrates Malden Catholic's commitment to academic excellence and faith in action.

Malden Catholic, which is sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers, was one of 50 high schools selected nationally to the 2006-2007 Catholic High School Honor Roll.

Fall 2008 Scholarship Applications Due

See the Applications page for information about next semester's grant cycle.   

The Temple Honors Sudanese Graduate, Scholarship Fund

Members of The Temple, Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom in Louisville, recognized University of Louisville graduate student Ngor Biar Deng with a $500 donation to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund. Deng, who spoke during The Temple's Shabatt service on Friday, April 11, told the congregation about his hunger for learning. With only a 9th grade education from Kenyan refugee camp schools, Deng obtained a GED after moving to Louisville in 2001 and started classes at Jefferson Community College. While working full time to support himself and family members back in Africa, he later transferred to the University of Louisville and graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry.  He is currently enrolled in a master's degree program in chemical engineering at the University of Louisville and spends alternate semesters in Dallas, where he works in a professional co-op position.

Rabbi Gaylia Rooks presided at the Shabbat service and presented the congregation's contribution to Deng and Paula Cohn, a member of the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund's board of directors. Others in attendance included James Malou, a student at the University of Louisville who serves on the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund's board of directors, his wife, Nyanwut, and Butros Kat, a student at Jefferson Community College.

Take Action Now to Help Lino Nakwa!

See the Take Action Now! page for information about how to help Lino Nakwa, an honor student and multiple recipient of the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund scholarship, whose future in the United States has been jeopardized by a Department of Homeland Security ruling.

Donors Continue to Support Sudanese Scholars

The Sudanese Refugee Education Fund would like to recognize the following donors whose generous contributions will ensure that scholarships will be available for students during the Fall 2008 semester:

Katherine Fishback, John D. Lorenz, Royal Stable Music (Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Fund), Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Meyer, Heidi Thiel, Dick and Sandy Reese, Terrie and Marshall Sellers,  Republic Bank (through the intervention of Chairman and C.E.O. Steve Traeger), Shara Haq, Vance and Greta Smith, John D. Lorenz, Dr. Steven L. Garner, Pearl Berg, Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Schwartz, Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Burbridge, Marcia Dorman, Meredith Brown, Jill and Ken Young, Adele Vinsel, Leona Mann, Edith Walker, Mr. and Mrs. James C. Stephens, Joan Diamonof, Mary C. Carlisle, Dr. Jerry and Maxine Bizer, and John Herzfeld and Holly Holland

Sudanese Scholars "Pay it Forward"

View the Life on Campus page for information about The Women's Educational Empowerment Project for Southern Sudan (W.E.E.P. for Southern Sudan).

O'Shea's Brunch Raises $4,700 for Sudanese

 The second annual holiday brunch buffet, sponsored by O'Shea's Irish Pub, drew an overflow crowd to the Louisville restaurant on Dec. 2, 2007.  Visitors dined on food provided by Sysco Food Services of Louisville and watched traditional Sudanese performances by the Didinga Hills Cultural Rhythms Dance Ensemble, poet and deejay Mawa Loule, and the Dinka  Rababa musicians of Louisville. The event raised $4,700 for the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund and the Sudanese Ministries at Resurrection Episcopal Church.  

(Photos: Top, left to right, Lual Aker Deng, Michael Pac, Solomon John, Emmanuel Solomon, and James Malou, members of the Dinka Rababa group; Center, left to right, Didinga dancers Sabrina Hillary, Christine Lokiru, Esther Nakwa, and Elizabeth Hillary; Bottom, Didinga soloist Maurice Moro and Esther Nakwa, kneeling at the right.)

To see additional photos from the event, go to the web site for the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky or view the collection by photographer Donald Vish. Also, visit the Stories & Photos page on this Web site.

Prospect-Goshen Rotary Foundation Renews Grant

For the second year in a row, members of the Prospect-Goshen Rotary Foundation in Kentucky have donated $1,000 to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund. The grant will ensure that more dedicated students can receive financial assistance during the Spring 2008 semester.

The Prospect-Goshen Rotary Club meets every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. at the Hunting Creek Country Club. 

Fishback Family Contributes to Scholarship Fund

Don and Robin Fishback, a Lexington, Kentucky couple with a strong history of charitable giving in this region, have extended their support to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund. The Fishbacks  gave $5,000 to the scholarship fund in September, which will make it possible for the organization to offer grants to students during the Spring 2008 semester. Katherine Fishback, Don's mother, followed with a $3,000 contribution to the scholarship fund in December,  continuing the family's extraordinary cycle of generosity that will benefit many students in the year ahead.

"We will use your donations as well as possible so that you can be proud of what you are working hard for," Abraham Goch, a scholar who attends Divine Word College Seminary, wrote in response to the Fishbacks' generous gifts. "You have showed me light and hope in my heart today."

Don Fishback is the founder of Fishback Management and Research in Lexington. He and his family are major contributors to the American Heart Association, The Children's Advocacy Center, and the Lexington Legends Professional Baseball Club, among other groups.

Gheens Foundation Renews Grant

The Gheens Foundation, one of Louisville's largest philanthropies and a long-time supporter of education in the community, has provided a second-year grant to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund. The new $10,000 grant follows a $20,000 donation that the Gheens board made in September 2006. The latest contribution will ensure that scholarships will be available for the Spring 2008 semester.

"We are pleased to assist in your important work!" Carl M. Thomas, executive director of the Gheens Foundation, wrote in a letter announcing the award.

The Sudanese Refugee Education Fund submitted the grant application in partnership with Resurrection Community Center, an affiliate of Resurrection Episcopal Church in South Louisville, which hosts a weekly liturgical service in the Dinka language for its Sudanese members. Many thanks to Virginia Woodward, Helen Coleman, Veronica Woodruff, Ron Christiansen, Rev. Jerry Cappel, and Dr. Eva Markham for their help in preparing the grant application.

Graduation 2007 Event Honors Scholars

About 100 friends, family, and guests attended the second annual Sudanese Scholars Celebration on June 9, 2007 at Resurrection Episcopal Church in Louisville. The celebration recognizes students who have graduated from high school and college during the previous year. This year's honorees included three students who earned bachelor's degrees and six students who earned associate's degrees from colleges and universities in Kentucky.

The graduates included Martin Bol Nhial, diploma in surgical technology from Jefferson Community College (JCC); Abraham Mawut Angol, associate's degree in applied science from JCC; Ajaang Ajak Deng, associate's degree in science from JCC; Deng Bul Kuer, associate's degree in criminal justice from Northern Kentucky University; Alier Mareet, associate's degree in business from JCC; William Manyok, associate's degrees in science and accounting from JCC; Lino Loboholoka Nakwa, associate's degree in business from JCC; Daniel Kuai Achol, bachelor's degree in business from Berea College; Abraham Kuany Anyieth, bachelor's degrees in physics and civil engineering from the University of Louisville; and Gabriel Mach Chol, bachelor's degree in business from Berea College.

During the graduation ceremony, former Brown School teacher Bryan Crandall presented a $600 check to the scholarship fund, representing the proceeds from a going-away party that  he used to raise money for the Sudanese refugees in Louisville. Crandall, a friend and mentor to many Sudanese, recently left Louisville to complete  a doctoral degree in education at Syracuse University.

YUM! Brands Foundation, Inc. Approves Grant

The directors of YUM! Brands Foundation, Inc. donated $5,000 to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund in March 2007. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Louisville-based YUM! Brands and works with charitable groups in the areas of hunger relief, youth, education, and the arts.

Because of the YUM! Brands Foundation's contribution, the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund will for the first time be able to offer scholarships for summer study. Many of the Sudanese refugees take two or three courses during the summer months because the concentrated schedule enables them to focus on one class at a time and earn credits quickly. However, financial aid generally isn't available for summer study. These new scholarships will reduce the debt they accumulate each year to continue their education.

Mapother Family Continues Memorial Gifts

When Louisville attorney William R. Mapother died on June 22, 2006, his family designated the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund as one of three charities that people could support through donations made in his honor.  Friends and business associates subsequently contributed $1,395 to the fund.

In May 2007 , the Creditors Law Center, Inc., with which Mapother was affiliated, donated an additional $4,400 to the scholarship fund. Mapother wrote a national newsletter as part of his work with the center. At his death, family members offered the newsletter's subscribers a refund for any remaining issues or offered to donate the balance of their accounts to the scholarship fund. This generous contribution was the result of that effort. Mapother, a former Jefferson County Juvenile Court Judge, was a nationally recognized expert on bankruptcy law and the author of 13 books on the subject. He traveled extensively around the world, visiting all seven continents, and was very interested in efforts to improve people's lives through education.

The Sudanese Refugee Education Fund wishes to thank Valerie Brown, Mapother's fiancée, and his three children, Katherine Grigsby Mapother, William R. Mapother Jr., and Amy Cruise Mapother, for encouraging the memorial gifts in his honor.

On Feb. 4, 2007, members of Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church donated nearly $2,000 to the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund through a special collection conducted at the regular Sunday service. Thomas Jefferson Church members have a long history of helping refugees resettle in Louisville. They sponsored four of the Lost Boys of Sudan in 2001 and have supported other refugees from Sudan, India, Somalia, and the Balkans. In 2006 church members also raised money and traveled to Kenya to build a dormitory for the Vihiga Children's Home.

Several Sudanese scholars attended the Feb. 4 fundraising event at Thomas Jefferson. Left to right: Daniel Achol, a senior at Berea College, was among the group of Lost Boys originally sponsored by the church in 2001; Rev. Elwood Sturtevant, minister of the church; Ajaang Ajak Deng; Lino L. Nakwa; Mario Lino; and Dick Reese, a church member who organized the event and serves on the advisory committee of the Sudanese Refugee Education Fund. Deng, Nakwa, and Lino all have received scholarships from the fund and attend Jefferson Community College in Louisville.