Thursday event to recruit help for South Sudanese women

By Alice Waugh

Lincoln women are invited to an open house on Thursday hosted by the Circle of Giving for South Sudanese Women, a grassroots organization that grew out of efforts several years ago by Lincoln resident Susan Winship and others to help the “lost boys of Sudan.”

Thousands of “lost boys” who were orphaned and displaced by civil war in Sudan traveled by foot for years in search of safety. Many eventually found their way to refugee camps elsewhere in Africa and eventually to the United States. There have been numerous books and films about the “lost boys,” including What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, a novel by Dave Eggers.

Winship was one of those who helped resettle 150 “lost boys” in the Boston area, including three who lived for a time at Codman Community Farms and attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. For 12 years, she headed the Sudanese Education Fund, which helped pay education costs of the “lost boys” (the organization was recently renamed South Sudanese Enrichment for Families).

For the past year and a half, Winship and others have been involved in helping women from South Sudan who are in the U.S. but have no safety net. Many of them are wives, ex-wives or other relatives of Boston-area “lost boys” who grew up, went back to Sudan to marry, and returned with their families to America.

“The women we support are most often single with children, and have no extended family to support them in a time of need,” Winship said. She and several other Lincoln women founded the Circle of Giving for South Sudanese Women two years ago. Each member gives at least $100 a month to help pay for school tuition, rent, child care, car repairs and insurance, school lunches and summer camp.

“We fill in the blanks where they’re needed, and there’s plenty of need,” Winship said. “We’d love more women to join and come to the event on Thursday, meet some of the Sudanese women and hopefully help.”

Those interested should contact Winship (susanwinship@comcast.net) or another member of the group for detailed information about the open house on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 5-7 p.m. Members of the circle include Janet Ready, Cathy Rogers, Nancy Fleming, Ann Helmus, Ellen Matathia, Susan Winship, Anne Doyle, Bean Nardi, Anne Sanderson, Sandy Storer, Donna Knollmeyer and Patty Rocklage, all of whom but one are Lincoln residents.