The Ayual Community Development Association (AYCDA) was founded by the Lost Boys of the Ayual community as a non-profit organization, registered in 2004 in Philadelphia. The AYCDA's first project was a library in the Kakuma refugee camp in the Turkana District of the northwestern region of Kenya. The Kakuma camp hosted a majority of refugees from Southern Sudan. The library started operating in 2004 with the goal of enabling children to read. Although the children attended UN sponsored schools in the Kakuma refugee camp, the children did not have enough books to practice reading. The Lost Boys of the Ayual community who started the library project collected money and sent it to the community leaders in the refugee camp after conferring with them about the book project. The books they purchased were for the children in 1st through 12th grade. The books were all kept in the library where the children had access to them. The children left the books in the new library after reading, enabling all of the other Kakuma children to have access to the books.

This project lasted for a year, because in 2005 there was peace in Sudan and people in the camp were encouraged to return home. The library was then moved to Southern Sudan to the Ayual community area which had a primary school called Pongborong Primary School. The Pongborong School consists of grades one through seven. Community members volunteered to build the traditional mud and grass structure that became the school, and they also volunteered to teach the children. With the help of the community and the United Nation's provision of food rations, the community volunteers taught orphan children. Built of mud and grasses, seats were made of mud and blackboards were made of cardboard. Lacking books and pencils, pupils wrote their notes in sand. Despite hunger and diseases, enrollment increased to 336 in the first year of establishment.

The Lost Boys team then decided to improve this project. Through their contributions as members and also through the generosity of anonymous donors, they started addressing the pressing needs of this school- which included rebuilding the school because the traditional structure did not last very long and often needed repairs after rainy seasons.

The challenges are numerous but the rewards are incalculable for these resilient and hopeful children. The AYCDA members looked into getting more books and school uniforms for the children. The school has 800 students but so far they have only been able to get uniforms for half of the students. In addition, a team was sent to the school to do an assessment of the school needs in 2007 and they have partnered with the World Lutheran Federation which is helping construct a brick structure for the school with metal roofing. However, it is the responsibility of the school founders to get it equipped with the other necessities.

The first challenge is getting enough money to keep the school running-including books and supplies. The second challenge is creating a place for students to continue their studies after completing seventh grade. The current plans involve expanding the school to eighth grade but there are still very few opportunities for the children after graduation from 8^th grade. There is a need to give the teachers incentives or compensation for their tireless work. So far the teachers have been working as volunteers but they have their own families and therefore they do need some form of remuneration. The suggested compensation would be fifty dollars on a monthly basis-to start. The four hundred uniforms purchased earlier are not enough to cloth every child so there is a need to get more uniforms and shoes. Many of the children do not have shoes, and yet they walk a great distance to attend school. Shoes would make the journey easier for these determined students.

The Hopes and Aspirations of the Pongborong Primary School

Pongborong School was started by Lost Boys refugees prior to the Sudan Peace Agreement of 2005

Despite the accomplishments and commitment of the community members, Inter-tribal disputes persist, continuing a legacy of approximately 20 generations of intertribal conflict. To enable the Pongborong students to create the peaceful productive future to which they aspire, research based conflict resolution strategies will be infused into the curriculum. Our goal is to expand our vision of education to include inter-tribal problem solving and community dialogue strategies-relevant for the conflicts that impede all other initiatives in the region. The ASPIRE project will empower students with the ability to resolve conflicts, set goals, and develop the leadership skills they need to make a difference in their communities and beyond. The Pongborong students will bring a common language, interpretation and mediation skills back to their estranged communities. These skills will bring hope and give tribal leaders the tools they need to begin meaningful communication and inter-tribal commerce. The long-term goal, endorsed by the Governor and Ambassador, is to implement conflict resolution strategies within all schools in Southern Sudan-starting with the Pongborong students.

The conflict resolution curriculum integration will be undertaken by Lost Boys Academy, a US based nonprofit comprised of several of the Lost Boys who established Pongborong School, with leading academics in the field of conflict resolution, film, technology, and individuals dedicated to the welfare of Southern Sudan. The Pongborong School has been successfully educating students without significant resources for several years. The Academy's conflict resolution curriculum designers have extensive experience with successful at-risk schools in the USA; their educational materials have been successfully implemented in other countries as well (see www.heydenberk.com <http://www.heydenberk.com> for related research). The conflict resolution program designers have worked on education projects for at risk youth-some of which have a graduation rates of approximately 99%, a college attendance rate of over 90% as well as a high rate of student employment and professional success in populations that have previously faced challenges in all of these areas. The well researched conflict resolution curriculum has been designed and donated to the project. Video scenarios which demonstrate mediation methods, dialogue models, and other conflict resolution strategies will be developed as teaching devices for Pongborong teachers, in addition to written curriculum.

The livelihood of the people in Southern Sudan was entirely destroyed during the war. After the peace agreement was signed, many of the people who took refuge in neighboring countries returned to restart their lives. Our Association is contributing to the community by offering primary education, and also by promoting gender and tribal diversity in the school and in the community. With the help of our friends from around the world and our educated community members, the dreams of a peaceful, prosperous Southern Sudan will become a reality for the next generation.