Enlarge Abraham Maker (from left), David Thon and Joseph Majak at David's graduation in '06 at Mars Hill.

Posted: August 31st, 2009 Andria Krewson

The friendship between Nina and Carol Phillips and David Thon wasn’t the only one forged when Charlotte became home to a group of young men from the Sudan in 2001.

And Thon isn’t the only one who worked, obtained degrees and found ways to help his home country.

Four others have earned their bachelor degrees: Joseph Majak, from Mars Hill; Manoi Athiaan Manoi, from UNC-Asheville; and Daniel Thongbor and James Mijak from UNC-Charlotte.

Manoi is continuing his master’s degree studies at North Carolina A&T State University. Abraham Garang is a senior at Lynchburg College in Virginia, and Atem Ajak plans to graduate soon from Defiance College in Ohio.

Mijak, who graduated from UNCC in May 2008, has returned to Sudan on two extended trips, volunteering as a teacher in the school in his home village.

He found supplies so limited on his last trip that he broke pencils in half to have enough to give to each student. His goal: build a good school in his own village. His Charlotte mentors, Phillips and Leslie Bragg, are helping him connect with organizations that can help.

Abraham Maker, and James Chol, along with Abraham Lueth from Kansas City, Mo., with assistance from church friends in Charlotte, arranged the meeting in Charlotte in 2007 to explore how they could best help their home country.

That meeting was the beginning of the Sudanese Empowerment and Development Agency. The group has begun raising funds through speaking engagements and is exploring other fund-raising methods.

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