Mission Statement

Friends of the Sudanese is an all volunteer, 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to providing assistance and financial support to improve the quality of living for Sudanese refugees resettling in this country as a result of civil war. For the past six years, FOS has been working with a group of the Lost Boys of Sudan,young men between the ages of 16 and 23 who were brought to the Boston area in 2001 by the United States State Department after spending nine years in a refugee camp in Kenya. Having had next to no formal education and no previous exposure to western culture, most of these young men have been required to work full-time menial jobs, making it virtually impossible for them to get an education.

Our goals include:

• Ensuring a solid educational grounding in order to improve their future prospects for financial independence and quality of life.

• Assisting them in securing safe housing with proximity to public transportation and services.

• Giving them access to proper health care

• Helping them to secure part-time work during the academic year and full-time work during the summer so that they can begin to take responsibility for themselves

• Assisting them financially with housing, living, and educational expenses while they are still in school