These Sudanese children in Pariang are fortunate to have a solidly built school, unlike their counterparts in Aliap, whose school has a thatched roof and can only be used when it's dry. Submitted photo.

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By Katie Scarvey

kscarvey@salisburypost.com

When Karen Puckett saw a documentary in her Sunday school class on the Lost Boys of Sudan in 2007, she had no idea that it would lead to an intense passion for a county similar in name to her own — Ruweng —thousands of miles away in the African country of Sudan.

A media specialist at Isenberg Elementary, Puckett learned about the 30,000 young men known as the Lost Boys who were displaced or orphaned by government attacks on villages during the second Sudanese civil war. Of these, about 3,800 arrived in North America.

After seeing the documentary, Puckett was approached by Lost Boy Ngor Kur Mayol, who was living in Atlanta. He convinced her to get involved with a water project for his village. Puckett subsequently founded Sudan Rowan, which assisted with that project. There is now a functional well in Aliap, Mayol's village in Ruweng County, Unity State.

In February of 2009, Puckett traveled to Sudan with Mayol to see about the possibility of building a school there.

They distributed school supplies and began planning for a school, including securing land and approval from community leaders.

The current school in Aliap, with its thatched roof, cannot withstand the weather during the rainy season.

"We've got to get them to a dry place, so they can think and learn," Puckett says.

The plan, then, is to build a four-classroom structure, out of bricks and mortar, with teacher's quarters as well as latrines.

Puckett realized that Sudan Rowan would need support for such a project, so the group has teamed up with Mothering Across Continents for an initiative called "Raising Sudan," an effort to build multiple schools in conjunction with the Lost Boys of Sudan.

The first two schools will be in the home villages of Lost Boys Mayol and Lubo Mijak, (see story on this page).

Three additional schools are also being planned. The current goal is to raise $300,000 to build at least two schools this year.

Puckett is committed to this country that she couldn't have quickly pointed out on a map not so long ago.

"I want to concentrate on Sudan for the rest of my life," she said. "I don't want this to end."

She hopes to go back to Sudan, but adds: "I don't want to show my face unless a school is built."