(PHOENIX, Ariz., July 21, 2003) - What began as a mission to save 20 old desks from being tossed into the District’s collection of abandoned office equipment and supplies has turned into a continued act of giving. From used desks to textbooks, some members of the Phoenix College community have granted the wishes of a few Sudanese students by helping them keep their New Sudan Cultural Development Program up and running.

When Phoenix College students and refugees from Sudan, Riak Riak Garang and Tiabdit Dhiu, saw a pile of desks sitting outside of the English Department they immediately inquired about them. What some viewed as old, unusable desks not meeting ADA requirements, Garang and Dhiu viewed them as an undiscovered treasure.

After weeks of paperwork, and the efforts of PC employees including Ginny Cummings, Arnold Guerra, Mitra Mehreban, and Ronnie Elliott, the request to donate the chairs to the Sudan Cultural Development Program was approved. It was now time to transport them to their new home: the New Sudan Cultural Development Program Center.

The New Sudan Cultural Development Program is an outlet and special community to a number of Phoenix College students and prospective ESL students. Its mission is to provide programs for the advancement and collaboration of displaced Sudanese in Arizona. The center houses a number of programs and classes including: ESL classes, computer classes, money management programs, cooking lessons for men, and dispute resolution within and outside the community. Members of the program would like to see language classes for Nova, Noir and Arabic in the future.

Currently, a number of Sudanese women are learning the English alphabet and how to spell their names in English at the center. Once they have the English alphabet mastered and understand a little more of the language, their goal is to attend ESL classes at Phoenix College.

"This was a small act of kindness that had a substantial impact on this refugee group," said ESL instructor, Pam Rogers. "When we were loading up the chairs, it was like these students received $10,000. One student even guarded the chairs that we were not able to transport in the first load. It was an incredible day."

Both Garang and Dhiu will always be thankful for this act of kindness.

"We are very grateful for PC’s donation," said Dhiu. "We are very excited about it. The women and children now have desks to write on…it is so much better.

If you are interested in volunteering your time or donating needed items, please call (602) 249-1942 or (602) 299-5578. The center is in need of additional chairs/desks, books, white boards and instructors for English, Nova, Noir and Arabic. The center is located at 2610 W. Bethany Home Road, #101 in Phoenix.

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