Kenneth Masungu
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Kenneth Masungu, a native of Sudan but currently a US Citizen is the founder
of the Young Shepherds (YS), a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. He is a holder of BA in
English Literature and Linguistic, Assuit University in Egypt, Master’s Degree in Educational
Administration, North Dakota State University, and a doctoral Candidate for a Ph. D degree in
Education, majoring in Institutional Analysis, Occupational and Adult Education,
North Dakota State University, Fargo-North Dakota, USA.
Mr. Masungu holds designations of President and Chief Coordinator of the Young
Shepherds Organization. He is a teacher by profession and has worked in this field
for 30 years. In the year 2006-2007 he was employed by the Academy for Educational
Development (AED), office in Washington DC but was posted to Africa attached to the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST), Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS),
and worked as a Technical Educational Adviser. As a dedicated hardworking person, he
helped extensively in the development of policy documents to the Government of Southern
Sudan that contributed in the establishment of the new educational system in
Southern Sudan. Encouraged by the love of his people suffering back in Africa,
Mr. Masungu aspired to pick up a new challenge and career in promoting The Young
Shepherds organization after his graduation from the college where he can continue
to extend humanitarian services to the destitute around the world and the Southern
Sudan in particular.
The Young Shepherds' History
The Young Shepherds was founded on December 26, 1996 as a result of a vision revealed
to the founder, Kenneth A. Masungu, a Sudanese teacher, who escaped death narrowly from
Sudan, and while teaching in a Libyan high school, fell seriously ill with Pneumonia,
and was admitted for 5 days in an isolation room at El Faransh Hospital in Tripoli, Libya.
When he was in the hospital, Mr. Masungu went into a dream, and saw a vision that revealed
to him the sufferings of the people of Southern Sudan during the civil war and the new
blooming picture of economic development of Southern Sudan after the civil war.
After his recovery Mr. Masungu and the family went to Cairo, Egypt for further medical
treatment. In Cairo, the same vision reappeared to him. It seemed urgent that
Mr. Masungu should respond to some of the messages regarding the horrors of people in
Southern Sudan. By then the people at his home town of Lakama’di, were in dire need of
clothing. His family suggested that they should send home all their used clothes.
Mr. Masungu called a meeting with some of the Southern Sudanese who were living in
Egypt as refugees, and as a result they formed an organization and collected 185 pieces
of used clothing. Mr. Masungu donated a sum of $500 US Dollars from his own diminishing
saving account for shipping of used clothes to Southern Sudan from Cairo through Kenya
through care of Mundri Relief and Development Association (MRDA), another non-profit
organization established by the sons and daughters from Great Mundri County in Southern
Sudan and with its head office in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 1997 the Young Shepherds were joined by many other refugees from Southern Sudan
living in Egypt. But when these refugees resettled in the United States, Canada,
and Australia, they agreed to incorporate the organization in the USA. In the year
2001, it was officially registered under the laws of the State of North Dakota.
The phrase, “The Young Shepherds” is the name given to the organization. It depicts
a group of young Southern Sudanese, who plight the country and were struggling for
their people and flocks during the difficult time of civil war in Southern Sudan,
and guiding them to see peace and prosperity.
The Young Shepherds is managed on a voluntary basis by 12 members with high
educational qualifications and training in various fields such as Education,
Health, Agriculture, Finance, Administration, Technology, Business and nonprofit
organizational management. The organization’s annual estimated operating
budget is $25,000.
Who Are We?
We are the refugees who had escaped from the civil war in Southern Sudan, crossing through the thick
Equatorial and tropical rain forests for safety to the neighboring countries; Ethiopia, Kenya,
Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central Africa. Others traversed through the arid
Great Sahara desert to Chad, Cameroon, Libya and Egypt. Several of us had died en-route
drowned in wild rivers, some eaten by wild animals, prey birds or died due to lack of drinking
water, food and proper clothing for several days in the wilderness. Having survived all those
challenges and horrors of merciless two decades of a civil war in Southern Sudan, as
ambassadors to the remaining poor Sudanese suffering back home in Africa, our hearts are
still with them and in dear yearning of our motherland in Africa, as a result we are trying
to rescue those who survived the civil war but still in dire need of basic services.
Consequently, we are looking for friends who share the same feeling of humanity and love
towards one another to join hands with us in this difficult adventure through fund-raising,
whose purpose is to help “save the poor and the needy” of basic services in Africa and
Southern Sudan in particular. Thus, our mission is two pronged. First, it seeks to
improve lifelong education, health care services, agriculture, clean drinking water
system, sanitation, microfinance small business and infrastructure in war-torn
Southern Sudan in Africa. And the second, it strives to provide needed services to the
Sudanese and other African communities living in Fargo-Moorhead area in the Midwest
in the U.S.
Why Have We Formed?
The Southern Sudan has been wrecked by two decades of civil war between the Muslim North,
and the Christian South. Two million people reported to have died from war induced diseases,
famine and starvation. Another four million had been displaced internally. The war had
immeasurable impact on the land as a result of mass destruction of general infrastructure.
Therefore, the Young Shepherds strives to participate in the reconstruction and development
process in the war-ravaged region of Southern Sudan to improve the living conditions to the
poor community in Southern Sudan.
What Do We Do?
The Young Shepherds values education, affordable healthcare services, agriculture, churches,
clean drinking water, sanitation, and infrastructure and microfinance small business in
war-torn Southern Sudan. Thus, the Young Shepherds is committed and dedicated to achieving
the goals and objectives in:
- Promoting education in general, especially education for girls, adult education
and literacy, early childhood development, people with disabilities and orphaned children.
- Initiating and promoting short-term and long-term vocational and life skills training programs
- Promoting health care services, hygiene, nutrition and sanitation in schools.
- Helping in the reconstruction and construction of schools, health care centers, churches and light infrastructures
- Promoting modern agricultural programs, farming and short-term food security in emergency situations.
- Providing in-service training for teachers, educational leadership and health care workers, and general leadership especially among the youth.
- Encouraging community in income generating activities through promotion of microfinance small businesses.
- Providing school materials, textbooks, exercise books, school uniforms, school bags etc
- Initiating residential public living houses especially to war veterans and disabled people
