In May 2009 the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation opened its first secondary school in Valentino's hometown of Marial Bai, Southern Sudan. It's the very first secondary school in the entire region. To learn more and see photos from the school, visit www.valentinoachakdeng.org. We are expanding the school campus to include a library, a teacher-training college, a community center, and sports facilities.

The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation aims to increase access to education in Southern Sudan by constructing schools and promoting literacy for children, women, and men.

Valentino Achak Deng—whose life story is told in the novel What Is the What by Dave Eggers—was born in Southern Sudan, in the village of Marial Bai. He fled Sudan in the late 1980s during civil war, when his village was destroyed by murahaleen—the same type of militia that currently terrorize Darfur. Deng grew up in refugee camps and in 2001 was resettled to the United States. What Is What was published in 2006.