Who We Are
The Board of Directors
Dut Leek DengFounder and Presidentdut134@yahoo.comDut is one of the
Lost Boys of Sudan. He lives in Syracuse, where he has worked at St. Joseph’s hospital for the past 8 years. He recently completed his associates degree and will attend Columbia College to study criminology, with the goal of eventually enrolling in law school or pursuing graduate studies in criminal justice administration.
He is the chief representative of the SPLM (the principle South Sudanese political party) for the South Sudanese community of New York State, and one of the original organizers of the Sudanese Episcopal congregation of Syracuse. His wife Nyibol and young son Leek Dut Leek Deng currently reside in Uganda.
Mari MalekCo-founderE-mail
Mari was born in Wau, South Sudan, and emigrated to the US at the age of 13, after living for a time in Egypt. She currently lives in New York City, where she is pursuing a successful career as a fashion model and club DJ.
Learn more about Mari at her website, marimalek.com
Moses JohAnother of the “Lost Boys,” Moses has also lived in Syracuse since 2000. He works in housekeeping at St. Joseph’s hospital and SUNY Upstate medical center. He is an active leader in the Sudanese Episcopal congregation at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, and lives with his wife Apieu and young son.
Samuel AlonySamuel is another of the original Syracuse Sudanese community, arriving along with Dut and Moses in December 2000. Since then, he has completed his studies at OCC and SUNY Binghampton, where in 2007 he earned a BS in Biological Sciences. He now lives in Tempe
Arizona, where he is enrolled in medical school, and has a wife who lives in Kenya.
Jacob FrankJacob is a PhD student at Syracuse University, where he is currently doing his dissertation
research on faith and religious identity among the Jieng(Dinka) community in Syracuse. He
previously served in the US Peace Corps in Moldova, where he taught English, and has recently
received a State Dept. scholarship to study Arabic over the summer in Tangier, Morocco. He has
lived in Syracuse with his wife since 2008.
The Organization
SSII is a certified 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It is also a proud member of the Hope of Sudan Alliance, other notable affiliates of which include The John Dau Sudan Foundation (link), The Luol Deng Foundation (link), The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation (link), and Gabriel Bol Deng’s HOPE for Ariang foundation (link). HOSA organizations have nearly a decade of experience in development work in South Sudan, with successful projects in areas ranging from health care and education to road construction and clean water provision.
