"Everyone on this floor is friendly, and I consider them my friends," notes Ajou, who stresses that the multicultural group at Devine Hall includes Caucasian students. In their free time, he and Akok like to watch their small TV or gather with a few other students to watch movies. Ajou likes to go to the gym, and Akok enjoys surfing the Internet and listening to music. "I used to listen to African music," he says, "but I have been changing slowly to rap."
Moses Ajou gets a look at the Boston skyline as he and his clasmates travel to a New England Conservatory workshop on West African music as part of a UNH African history course.
Akok dreams of becoming a teacher after he graduates--perhaps a high school mathematics teacher. "If there were peace in my country, I would like to go back," he says. "But no one knows what the future holds. Things keep changing."
Ajou is uncertain about choosing a major, let alone a career, but he, too, has a sense of mission, of wanting to make a contribution in the world. By getting an education, he says, he and his peers can help not only Africa, but also "help the development of this country, as immigrants always have." He encourages other Sudanese to work to come to college. "The best way to help people from southern Sudan is through education," he asserts. "If all the young men who are here could go to university, there would be a tremendous change!"
Akok and Ajou express great appreciation for what they have found in this country and at UNH. "One of the most important things is peace. You can go out the door without seeing people fighting," Akok says. "You have peace in this country, you have good government and good education."
UNH Lost Boys Scholarship Fund
There are now five Lost Boys of the Sudan attending UNH. Abraham Piol, Jacob Mabil and Peter Guaguei joined John Akok and Moses Ajou at the beginning of the spring semester. The University of New Hampshire Foundation has established a scholarship fund to help them and other Sudanese refugee students. To contribute to this fund, make out a check payable to the UNH Foundation Inc., with the notation that the contribution is for the "Lost Boys of Sudan Scholarship Fund," and send it to the UNH Foundation, Elliott Alumni Center, 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824.
"And freedom," Ajou adds with emphasis. "You don't feel like you are bonded. Here, I can travel from one state to another." In Kenya, people had to pay the police in order to leave the refugee camp. When it comes to freedom and aid for people in Third World countries, Ajou adds, "There is no country in all of the world that is doing what America is doing."
"I learn something new every time I talk to them," marvels Lourdes Genao. "I don't think I could ever complain about anything again, knowing what these kids have been through." ~
Lorraine Stuart Merrill '73 is a dairy farmer and freelance writer in Stratham, N.H.
All Cows are Alike
New Hampshire is a long way from southern Sudan, the homeland that Carlos Nai and Mou Thiik Riiny fled when they were only 5 and 6 years old, but cattle brought us together. Carlos and Mou were part of the group that toured the UNH Dairy Center in the summer of 2001. Wanting to explore American agriculture in more depth, they came to my family's farm in Stratham last year for a summer internship. "We wanted to know," Carlos says: "How do they take care of cows here? How do they raise them?" They were also eager to learn to drive tractors and trucks.
The two teenagers, who live with foster families and attend Winchester (Mass.) High School, said our farm reminded them of their home villages in two ways: we have lots of cows and heifers, and our families live close together on the farm. Their villages in Sudan were family groups, and as members of the Dinka tribe, the families helped each other care for their large herds of cattle. Four generations of our family live on our farm. I kept imagining these boys, now 17 and 19, being separated from their families, fleeing their burning villages in terror, and wandering on foot for hundreds of miles when they were the age of my 5-year-old granddaughter, Hannah.
Despite the horrors and hardships they have experienced, these boys have big hearts and a great sense of humor. They yearn for family and are eager to learn and work. They are determined to get the best educations they can and to succeed in the United States. Carlos and Mou spent one day visiting with animal science faculty at UNH, and they are very interested in studying at the university. Mou hopes to study animal science at the Thompson School and pursue a career in dairy farming, while Carlos is interested in biology and a possible career in medicine.
Mou and Carlos quickly became like members of our family. My granddaughters, Hannah and 3-year-old Samantha, loved hearing them talk about Africa--how they had walked among giraffes. They also learned something of the sadness and hope in these boys' stories. We are all grateful for our time with Carlos and Mou, a time of much learning for all involved.
"It has been interesting for us to see cows again," Carlos told us. He had noticed differences between our cows and African cows, but, he stressed, "All cows are alike."
