Frequently Asked Questions
Learn about the Lost Boys of Sudan and frequently asked questions by clicking the links on this page. Feel free to submit your question through the contact us form. We look forward to hearing from you and answering questions you may have.
The Lost Boys were more than 30,000 Sudanese children who fled a violent Civil War in the late 1980s. Arab militias from the north attacked villages, killing the men and women and setting their homes on fire.
Boys between 5 and 15 years were often tending cattle in camps outside the village. When they saw the fires, they began running, joined by other children from other villages.
The boys (and some girls) walked more than 1,000 miles over three months without any support from adults. Many of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ died from hunger, thirst, eating poisonous plants, and attacks from lions and soldiers shooting at them. Many drowned crossing the Gilo River into Ethiopia. The survivors sheltered in a refugee camp.
After a year, violence in Ethiopia caused them to flee back across the Gilo River to Sudan. The rainy season had swollen the river and 2,000 drowned or were killed by crocodiles, hippos, and soldiers.
They walked south to the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya, which took an entire year. By then, The United Nations knew of the Lost Boys and dropped food to them. Fewer than half of the original children – 13,000 survived to reach Kakuma.
Watch Seeds founder and former Lost Boy Arok Garang describe his harrowing escape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJDgBnFJuZU
In 2001, more than 3,600 of the Lost Boys were allowed to come to the United States. Seeds of South Sudan founder Arok Garang was one of these Lost Boys.
After graduating from the University of Colorado, Arok felt called by God to rescue more South Sudanese refugee orphans from Kakuma.
Learn how Seeds of South Sudan has rescued more than 100 orphans and educated them in Kenya here.
- Demonstrate strong maturity, responsibility, and motivation
- Have a parent or guardian letter of approval and support for fundraising activities
- We request a recommendation from your principal or guidance counselor
- Fill out a sponsorship application
- Please send your cover letter and the principal or guidance counselor recommendation letter via email to info@seedsofsouthsudan.org
- Allow 1-2 weeks for the Board to review your application
Please note, you will receive your Certificate of Sponsorship from SOSS once your annual sponsorship is paid in full.
If you need a letter from SOSS for college admissions or for your College Counselor, kindly let us know at least four weeks in advance with specific directions of who, what, when, where and why.
The financial commitment for sponsoring a student’s needs for an entire year, including tuition, room, board, medical care and other essentials, is $1,800 or $150 a month. We understand that this is a significant sum of money and, in addition to our individual donors, many of our children are currently sponsored by a church, school, service club or community group. Please do not hesitate to email us at the address below if you would like help putting together a group to collectively sponsor a child’s education and care.
There are three ways for individuals and groups interested in sponsoring a child to fulfill the financial obligation:
- A one-time annual payment of $1800. (Due by fall for the following academic year.)
- Two semi-annual payments of $900.
- Twelve monthly payments of $150.
For those unable to commit to the full sponsorship of a child, Seeds of South Sudan is always deeply grateful for one-time or reoccurring donations of any size to our General Fund. Email us at info@seedsofsouthsudan.org for more information, with your email and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you!
There may or may not be a choice of student gender, though SOSS will try their best to accommodate gender choice when requested. It is the position of the members of the Board that both genders are capable of education and leadership in the development of this new nation, South Sudan. Therefore, both genders are considered with equal importance for sponsorship. Arok and the Board believe all South Sudanese children should be given equal opportunity to pursue education and lead their communities without gender bias.
During school breaks–the months of April, August, and December throughout Kenya– the Seeds students live at Home Base, a large family home and compound in Nakuru, Kenya.
They live there with responsible adults who cook for them, supervise games and activities, provide medical aid if needed, and keep them safe.
Home Base was purchased with the support of many caring donors. We raised more than the purchase price because many repairs were needed. With this support, Seeds has been able to upgrade the water supply and sewer system to accommodate a “family” of 100 people.
we appreciate all the donors to Seeds of South Sudan, who made it possible for our students to have a permanent home.
Sponsors change the life of a refugee orphan by giving them a chance for three meals a day and an outstanding education. The cost is $1,800 a year or $150 per month. Sponsorships can be shared with another person or a group. The funds pay for:
- Tuition
- Safe, secure shelter and regular meals
- School uniforms
- Personal care and school supplies
- Transportation
- Basic health care
Donations other than sponsorships go to the General Fund to cover medical care and expenses to operate Home Base, including utilities. The general fund also covers stipends for the Seeds in-country director, Home Base director, maintenance staff and the cook. Seeds’ founder and president also receives a stipend to cover operating the organization in conjunction with the volunteer board and work with the Seeds students. He also travels to the Kakuma Refugee Camp to interview more children and bring newly sponsored South Sudanese orphan children to Home Base in Nakuru.
Monthly donations are an important source of revenue that enables Seeds to care for all of our students. Sign up to be a monthly donor here
Roots Academy is located in Nakuru, Kenya. It is a high ranking K-8th grade boarding school privately owned by Mr. Anil Walia, a Kenyan citizen of Indian origin. The gender breakdown is 75% boys and 25% girls. Upon completion of the 8th grade, students are well equipped to take the high school entrance exam to continue their education. A website for Roots Academy is currently under construction.
Since 2017, several sponsors and volunteers have visited their students and schools. Many visit Roots Academy, a K-8 school in Nakuru where most Seeds students begin their formal education.
In 2022, a total of 14 Seeds volunteers on two service trips visited Nairobi and Nakuru and provided leadership and skills training, including interviewing for jobs and a health screening of students and staff. A new service trip is planned for August 2024. For more information, email info@seedsofsouthsudan.org.
SOSS founder Arok Garang currently lives in Kenya where he is attending seminary. He frequently travels to Nakuru to visit family and support the students, including providing career counseling to the high school graduates and tutoring in math.
Almost all the students from South Sudan are orphans; there are a handful of South Sudanese children who are not orphans but their parents are unable to provide food, shelter or education for them. The students in our program are carefully selected from among the brightest and most eager refugee orphans from Arok’s community. They exhibit leadership qualities and have an aptitude for the discipline and rigors of higher level learning.
The selected K-8th grade children are offered an education at Roots Academy, a boarding school located in Nakuru, Kenya. Older students attend high schools across Kenya, according to their performance on an eighth-grade exit exam. All students are in school for three-month terms and one-month breaks, based on the British system. In an effort to create an environment of security, opportunity, and stability from the harsh conditions at the refugee camp, Arok has established a safe home base compound in Nakuru where the students live during their time off from school.
Seeds of South Sudan has several ongoing fundraising goals:
- Sponsoring the education of 200 students for their academic careers. Since its founding in 2009, Seeds has rescued more than 150 students from the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Many of the students have now completed high school.
- Raise money to educate high school graduates to earn a certificate (1 year), diploma (two years) or degree (four years) from post-secondary institutions in Kenya.
- The building of a sufficient general fund.
The General Fund serves several purposes for helping SOSS meet its mission:
- Lodging, food, sports and play activities, clothing, and medical needs for the students when on school breaks and holidays. Our current sponsorship structure provides for our students needs only while they are away at school, with additional expenses such as lodging, food, sports and play activities, clothing and medical needs being covered by the general fund while they are on break from school . For more information about sponsoring a child, please go here
- The general fund covers operating expenses approved by the Board, such as website maintenance and hosting, printed materials and office supplies, office space, and events costs.
- Yearly travel to Kenya for Arok to visit his wife and children and to manage the administrative needs for the Seeds of South Sudan students is covered by the general fund. Arok does not draw a salary from SOSS at this time, and receives only a small monthly stipend to help offset his expenses.
Seeds of South Sudan operates in the United States under a Board of Directors and bylaws.
The Board is currently all based out of the Denver area, though we have had Board members serve remotely in the past.
See photos and bios of the current board members here:
We welcome inquiries from people interested in serving on the board or in other volunteer positions. If you are interested in contributing your talents, please contact us at info@seedsofsouthsudan.org.
The Board meets monthly throughout the year with a month off each during the winter and summer holiday season.
Our Mission
Seeds of South Sudan rescues refugee orphans from the Kakuma Refugee Camp so they can receive an education in Kenyan boarding schools. These bright children are selected for their leadership potential and willingness to help others, so they can become the “seeds” to build the new nation of South Sudan.
Our Vision
Seeds of South Sudan works to ensure that bright African young people are reaching their full potential. Each SoSS scholar is given resources to obtain an education to prepare them to create a strong, peaceful and civil society in South Sudan.
The vision of Seeds of South Sudan is to raise future leaders for the development and leadership of the Republic of South Sudan. Right now our goal is to sponsor 100 students, with 65 children currently participating in our program.The children in the SOSS program are selected carefully from among the brightest and most eager refugee orphans of Arok’s community. They exhibit leadership qualities and have an aptitude for the discipline and rigors of higher level learning and, in turn, we believe they will contribute much to their communities in South Sudan.
