Trick or Treat with Josiah and Friends

Shane Bertou — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:42:46 +0000

For the second year I am asking that you, my friends, join me for Trick or Treat with Josiah and Friends!

All you have to do is go Trick or Treating like you always do. But afterwards, when you are scarfing down your candy, remember to save your candy wrappers for us to send in to TerraCycle.

Last year we raised over $10 just by sending in your candy wrappers. Let’s see if we can raise more this year! Will you help?

For more information on all of the items we can recycle with Terracycle see our Recycling page.

Latest Update from Sudan Sunrise

Shane Bertou — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:29:46 +0000

Here is the latest update from our friends at Sudan Sunrise. Read to the bottom where we’ve highlighted!

September 30, 2011

Dear friends of Sudan Sunrise,

Our June – July relief and reconciliation mission, facilitating Arab spring Northerners bringing aid to Abyei refugees and the most needy in Turalei, was a great success. Next month I will be able to share with you a half-hour news feature on this heroic initiative.But, I want to update you on several developments:

1. Turalei – This week I had great news from Victor, the headmaster, that the County Commissioner provided heavy equipment to dig ditches and a pond for water runoff, so that the swampy conditions of the school grounds during rainy season have been remedied! Also, Franklin Electric has sent a water expert from South Africa to improve the clean water system at the school. Enrollment has grown from 340 to 740 in the past few months, and the system will amply serve the needs of the school.

When I was visiting the school in April and again in July, I was troubled to see a significant percentage of the children showing signs of malnutrition. The food for the school lunches is provided by the World Food Program, but the school currently depends on Sudan Sunrise to provide salaries for the cooking staff, guard, etc., which makes the free lunches possible. The cost of the lunch program has increased 281 percent due to the increased enrollment (seven cooks and one guard cost $1,550.00 per month).

2. The Rev. Daniel Deng Kuot and his wife Rebecca have exciting news with the birth of their daughter, Malang Deng Kuot, in Nairobi. Daniel will soon move his little family to Juba, where he will base his work as field coordinator for Sudan Sunrise.

3. Two years ago Francis Bok took a field director from the Norwegian Refugee Council to his home town to discuss collaboration on the construction of the Gor Ayen Primary School. The Norwegian Refugee Council has just completed an 8 classroom school in Gor Ayen! In the past few months the school has grown to over 1,000 students because of the great influx of Southern Sudanese returning home from the North prior to the July 9th independence of South Sudan.

The school has many needs. The greatest need is potable water. The village’s two hand-pump wells are no longer functioning, leaving the increased population to depend on either rain water or river water. We are working urgently to help the village get these pumps working and to address the other priority needs of the school.

4. I highly recommend to you Jordan Conn’s recent electronic book on Manute Bol, especially the IPOD version that is loaded with multi-media extras. It’s short, a great read, and tells the story behind the Turalei school and the origin of the saying “my bad”! http://atavist.net/defender/

5. Bishop Abraham Nhial, the subject of the book “Lost Boy No More”, and the first (and only!) Lost Boy to become a bishop, will be arriving in the US on September 26th, to raise partners for his vision of a secondary school for girls in Aweil. A recent UNESCO report estimated that there are only 400 girls in all of South Sudan in their final year of high school. If you would like to speak or meet with Abraham during his time in the US please contact Janis Ricker at the Sudan Sunrise office.

One of the most inspiring parts of our work is our partnership with remarkable people such as the Sudanese Northerners who were ready to put their lives at risk to get help to the Southern Sudanese in desperate need of food. Special mention should be made of 8-year old Josiah Bertou who, along with his family and friends, has been doing all he can for Manute’s school effort. Recently, Josiah and Friends organized a miniature golf effort and raised $379, and one of his friends, Abel Austin, raised $11.85 at his lemonade stand! So far Josiah and Friends have raised $4,302 to build schools in South Sudan!

Thank you for your role in helping make all this progress possible.

With gratitude and best wishes,

Tom Prichard
Executive Director
www.sudansunrise.org

Thanks Abel!

fromjosiah — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:52:33 +0000

Last weekend my friend Abel sold lemonade at his lemonade stand and donated the money he made to help build our school. He raised $11.85. Not bad for a couple hours of work. Every little bit helps!

Maybe next summer we’ll invite more of our friends to help raise money with a lemonade stand. Great idea Abel!

Thank you!

Shane Bertou — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:25:03 +0000

Thanks to everyone who came out for our mini-golf fundraiser at the Clubhouse Fun Center. We will update you all with how much we were able to raise when we get the amount. Thanks again for your support!

We’d also like to thank the Clubhouse for offering us this fundraising opportunity and WHEC news for covering our event.

For anyone who couldn’t make it out but would like to donate you can do so through our Donate page.

The Josiah and Friends Mini-Golf Fundraiser

fromjosiah — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:59:04 +0000

The Second Annual Josiah and Friends Mini-Golf Fundraiser

Wednesday, August 31st
5PM – 8PM
The Clubhouse Fun Center
70 Jay Scutti Boulevard – Henrietta (Map)

Mini-golf, go-karts, video games and more!

A generous portion of the proceeds will be donated to our school building project in Sudan. Bring your friends, the more people that come the more money that goes to our school!

Josiah and Friends presents “SUDAN!”

fromjosiah — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:08:14 +0000

I wrote a song about our school building project with my friend Tom Lake of the band Ju-Jajuba. It’s a really fun song that’s great to clap and sing along to!

To celebrate South Sudan’s July 9th independence we are selling the song online to help raise money to build the school. Every dollar that’s donated goes to Sudan Sunrise to help provide an education to kids in Southern Sudan!

The song will be available for digital download below. If you would like a CD copy please email us at josiahandfriends@gmail.com.

Crisis in Turalei

fromjosiah — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:08:56 +0000

Hello everyone. Here is the most recent letter from our friend Tom Prichard regarding the emergency situation in Turalei, the village where our school is being built.

Please take the time to read it and help us meet this urgent need!

Dear Friends of Sudan Sunrise,

Due to the May 21st attack by the Government of Sudan on Abyei, there are now 15,000 refugees in Turalei, Manute Bol’s hometown and the location of the primary school. Two days after the attack, refugees from Abyei began arriving in Turalei on foot, hungry, exhausted and devastated. Almost immediately the stock of food in Turalei was depleted, along with gasoline and other necessities.

The UN responded quickly and has begun to provide food to the refugees and plastic sheeting for rudimentary shelters.

Even before the attack on Abyei, the permanent enrollment at the school had exploded from 350 students in April, to 700 students in May, due to Southern Sudanese returnees relocating to the South prior to the July 9th Independence.

In the days after the attack on Abyei the school provided shelter for children, many of whom had been separated from their families. To maintain a semblance of normalcy during this crisis the school has remained open and continues to function, despite the extreme overcrowding. Fortunately, the school is providing not only an education for these 700 children, but also water and a free lunch.

I am writing to ask for your help. There is an urgent need for five more classrooms, a permanent kitchen and a large pavilion. We need these additional facilities not only because the permanent enrollment in the school has doubled, but also because the school is now serving the wider community in this refugee crisis.

The children in Turalei have so little. I ask you to make a special gift on their behalf so that we can provide the children with adequate classrooms, so that even in the midst of this crisis they can receive the gift of education, food and stability. We can’t fix the situation, but we can help this school be a shining light of hope.

May God bless the children, all who are touched by this crisis, and all who labor to come to their aid.

With deep gratitude to you and your partnership in this effort,

Tom Prichard
Executive Director
Sudan Sunrise

Video: Update on the school

fromjosiah — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:56:46 +0000

Hey guys!

Our friend Tom Prichard of Sudan Sunrise recently took a trip to visit our school. Here’s a video showing some of the challenges the school has been facing in recent months.

It’s so cool to see all the kids we’re helping with this school. Thanks to your support they’re not only getting an education, but also clean drinking water and a healthy meal each day!

Help make life better for girls in Sudan!

fromjosiah — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:02:20 +0000

Today is International Women’s Day. It’s a day when we celebrate the all the great things women have done. It’s also a day when we think about ways we can help make things better for women all over the world.

One way you can do something today to help girls in Sudan would be to make a donation to our school.

Did you know that in Southern Sudan nearly 85% of the people are illiterate? What’s even worse is that less than 1% of all girls in that region complete elementary school. Because they aren’t getting a good education, they can’t help make life better for their families and communities!

By making a donation today you can help make life better for girls in one of the world’s poorest countries. What a great way to show thanks for everything you have and to give back to others!

Josiah and Friends – One Year Later

fromjosiah — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:27:32 +0000