1. Starting the Non Profit/Receiving $20,000 From Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation
Phusuda and I met in 2022, but prior to meeting each other, we were both working to help the same kids our own way. I was helping kids through a rising stars soccer program and Phusuda was helping the kids by being present in their life and taking them to do fun activities such as shopping, skating, playing at the park, and so forth. But investing thousands of hours and our own personal money into helping the kids and seeing the impact we have on them, we knew that had a chance to make a big difference in their life. And that was the birth of Light for the next Generation, a youth advocacy nonprofit organization based that is committed to supporting underprivileged youths to thrive in life through sports, education, and arts. We aim to empower youth by connecting them to different community resources and opportunities such as professional development, arts, sports, academic scholarships, and employment. Our first big grant came from Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation when we were awarded $20,000 to run our various program. This gave us the sail in our wings,and we really want to express our gratitude to SFACF, because we wouldn’t be able to do what we have done in 2024 without this financial support. Special thanks to Pat and Andy, and Staff at Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.
2. High School Volleyball Wrap Up
Our volleyball program began when Moses was challenged and asked by the girls and Avera Sisters, what was being done for the girls. Girls in the refugee and immigrant communities don’t have much opportunities because they are often at home babysitting and helping the families in other chores. But after having some conversations with few Avera leaders in 2021, we were able to open up an opportunity for girls to play volleyball and have fun, and develop leadership traits. We would practice most Fridays at Avera Kairos Volleyball Program for 1 hour, and have 30 minute educational sessions about school, family life and future plans. We had about 30 girls between middle and high school, and we really enjoyed spending time with them and supporting them, but we had to wrap it up at the end match this year, when Phusuda and I planned to get married in April. Special thanks to Peyton Hecht for being our consistent and extraordinary volleyball coach over the years, and Nyriek Choul for being an awesome parent, and helping us to expand the program to serve more south from the south Sudanese community.
3. $500 from Juneteenth/ $2500 From Avera
Avera Leaders have been our main supporters since the beginning, not only did they employ one of our co-founder, but they have given Moses a lot of flexibility and to do his job at Avera as a Community Outreach Consultant but also support the youth. They have sponsored $2500 to support Light for the Next Generation. We’ve also gotten a $500 donation from Juneteenth, thanks to Harriet Youcum and Julian Buidoun. We’d like to give thanks to all the Avera Leaders for their support, special thanks to Julie Ward and Angela Schofelman for being our champions and cheerleaders.
4. Indoor Winter Soccer Program
We started our indoor season at MCC coliseum Downtown from January to April. Between rides, practices, games we spent about 100 hours investing in youth and mentoring and coaching them in skill and character. Thanks to Valeria and Isabella at MCC for supporting us with the space, and Sioux Falls Soccer Academy (Atlas) for hosting games for our kids to have fun.
5. Hena to Spain
Our focus is not to make the next Ronaldo or Messi, but we also want to support our kids’ dreams and aspirations, and develop their natural Athlete. One of our star player Hena has been with us since the beginning of our soccer program in 2018. He has natural athletic ability and is one of the most hard working kid. He showed up to every practice and worked hard, and in 2024, he tried out for a soccer opportunity, and he got selected to go Spain and further develop his soccer and athletic ability. He is now a track and soccer athlete at Washington High School, and doing amazing things with his life. He is an incredible example when natural talent meets hard work, and we’re grateful to mentor and support him in his journey. Special thanks to his parents, teachers, mentors and coaches that have supported him.
6. Skyforce Game
FCA gave us some free tickets to take some kids to the Skyforce game and we had so much fun watching and supporting our semi pro Sioux Falls Basketball team. Thank you to our friend Robel at Sioux Falls Skyforce.
7. Kunama Language Club
We were invited to help teach a kunama language after school at Anne Sullivan Elementary. We said yes to the opportunity and have taught the class for a couple of months for about 1 hour a week. We were so grateful to have the opportunity to connect and build the relationship with some of the kids and families at this amazing school. Special thanks to Dhil Bhujel and Teacher Katie Green for this opportunity and always advocating for new ways to support their students.
8. Hawthorne Cultural Event
At LIGHT FOR NEXT GEN, we support kids from all cultures and backgrounds, even though we don’t understand every culture, but we try to encourage and create space for kids we work with to express their culture through creativity and their talents. We were invited to have a booth and participate in Hawthorne cultural day, and our amazing dancers Siyan and Maria performed Kunama dance, while Pratichiya and Binu performed Nepali dance. Special thanks for Ms.Amy Tulson for getting us connected and Hawthorne School staff for hosting this great cultural celebration to support their students.
9. State Championship Series
One of our great soccer organizational partner is Dakota Alliance Soccer Club. We appreciate all they do in our community, and are grateful for what they have done to support our soccer boys ever since we started working with them in 2020. We understand that it takes a village to raise a kid, so whenever we see a kid that is really talented and would benefit with more consistent training and coaching, we encourage them to further their opportunities with DASC. We have about 20 players that currently play for DASC that have gone through the rising stars program. Our favorite thing is supporting them by watching their games and encouraging them to pursue their soccer opportunities. We got to watch them compete at the state and regional level with their DASC teams with the State Championship Series and the President’s Cup. Thank you Frank, Holly and all the amazing staff and coaches at Dakota Alliance Soccer Club.
10. Outdoor Practices
In the beginning of May we started our outdoor practices at our favorite park, Kenny Anderson, this park has been our playground for the past 7 years, and we’re grateful to have this space to practice, have fun and grow.
11. Adding U8 Soccer Team
Our soccer program keeps growing every year, thanks to our supportive parents and community. First there was just one team, then it grew into 3 teams, but we also saw a need in first and second graders, so we started a u8 team to help support them. We’’ll just say they were squirmy, energetic, witty, funny, and joyful group to work with.
12. Kunama Cultural Festival
Our kunama volleyball girls got to participate in the kunama cultural festival at the Levitt in a fashion show and dance. We got to work with the girls and their families to help prepare them and build their confidence to showcase their talents and culture.
13. Sioux Falls Storm Game
Avera gave us tickets and their suite at the Sanford Premier Center to go watch the Sioux Falls Storm game. Even though our kids are soccer fanatics, they enjoy watching other sports. We’re grateful for our organizational partners for supporting us to expose our kids to fun and uplifting environments and opportunities.
14. Atlas Soccer Tournament
We got to participate at the Atlas Tournament this summer at the Sanford Crossing. Our U8 team got to participate in their first organized soccer game and lost their games but the had a lot of fun. But our U11 and U14 team won all their games.
15. Girls Soccer Program
For years we’ve been asked to start a girls team by parents and girls. After seeing a need for girls to also be involved and active in activities at a young age, we started a small team this summer! Our capacity with the boys was already limited but we were able to open up a few spots to a handful of girls ages K-5 to join us! Our main goals were to develop skill, spark interest in the sport, and learn early responsibility on a team! Most of them have never touched a soccer ball prior to this so we had fun learning about soccer.
16. DASC Fall Kick Off Tournament
We laughed, we sweated, we ate snacks, and we played a lot of SOCCER at the 2024 DASC Fall Kick off Tournament!! 
17. Elementary Volleyball Program
After wrapping up soccer, we had more time to invest into our volleyball girls, so we started back up for our elementary and middle school girls. With the support of amazing friends and program coordinators Nyariek and Peyton, we were able to have about 30 girls that consistently come to practice. Our goal was to introduce them to the sport, develop their skills and character, and encourage them to try out for their school team or kairos. This fall three of the girls tried out for Kairos and made the team.
18. High School Soccer
One of our favorite times is high school soccer season, because we get to kick back, enjoy a good game of soccer, and cheer for our boys. From Rising Stars, we have 10 boys that play for Washington High School, 4 for Lincoln and 1 for O’Gorman. We try to make it to as many games as we can to support and encourage our boys and their high school teams. Congrats to Lincoln Patriot for Winning their soccer state championship for the second year in a row. Thanks to their high school staff, coaches, and SDHSAA for providing such great opportunities and environments to support and empower students to grow.
19.. Shine Your Light Wrap Up
This Fall, we completed our 8-week program Shine Your Light Program at Washington High School graduating 15 students. We enjoyed getting to know these students and supporting them in their college and future career aspirations. In the words of words of Amy Tulson, our friend, school liaison, and who helped us lead and host the program, she shared, I saw students take steps of growth though the program by opening up about their experiences in the United States, growing more confidence in asking questions and engaging in conversation, initiating conversations with their school counselor, applying for jobs, and researching post secondary options.
20. End of Year CELEBRATION
On Sept 28th, We celebrated our end of year celebrations for our soccer program. We celebrated with our players, family, friends and community members. We ate, danced, heard from guest speaker Terry Grateful Liggins, and cheered each other on! THANK YOU to all of those who showed up that day & made our kids feel special, and continue to support our soccer program.
21. Open Field Program
No matter how life gets, we always find a way to connect with the kids, and we’ve also been blessed with our own child to care, connect and love, and as the season gets busy, we have taken a step back to focus and be grateful for what the Lord blessed us with. But we’ve implemented an open field program for our soccer boys to connect and support them however we can. For our high school boys, we have an open field every other Saturday, and for our elementary and middle school boys, we have one once a month. This is our way to remind them that we are always in their corner until we go back to our consistent practice days.
Holiday Blessings
We are wishing everyone happy holidays, filled with joy, peace and warm hugs. We wish you a great thanksgiving, Christmas, and happy new year. Thank you for all this support this year!
What incredible work you are doing! I knew it, but seeing it all put together like this reminds me of all you bring to the community. Thank you for being such a blessing, Moses & Phusuda. I am honored to know you!