LeMoyne Students Reach Out to Sudanese School

Gabriel Bol Deng, a former “Lost Boy’’ of Sudan, shared his story of survival with students at LeMoyne Elementary school in December. They listened as Deng told them about resilience and the benefits of having a positive attitude. He also talked to the students about a typical day for a boy or girl in his village and told them how important education is to these children. Deng said Sudanese children will often walk for two hours to attend school. The LeMoyne students heard that Deng built a school in his community because he wanted to give something back.

They listened as Deng talked about the struggles children in homeland face and they decided to take action. The children decided they wanted to help build a fence around Ariang School and the fundraising began.

This spring they have been working on various projects to raise money. In addition, under the direction of librarian Michele Romeo, fourth and fifth grade students wrote 130 letters to the students at Ariang.

“This is an ongoing service learning project for our students,’’ Romeo said. She said the students at LeMoyne asked the Sudanese students about their families and what a typical day was like for them.

“The kids really worked hard,’’ she said.

Those letters, along with others from Central New York students, were presented to Deng at a “Celebration of HOPE’’ event at LeMoyne College. He is returning to Ariang School this summer and will share the letters with the children there.

To learn more about Deng’s school go to please visit their website.