is a San Diego based non-profit with a dream to build a better future for the children of South Sudan by giving students access to education through scholarships and supporting teachers. It tells the story of two little boys who had to flee from their homes in Sudan to escape a civil war that destroyed their villages and took their families. With nowhere to live and no one to look after them, they walked together with many other boys who also lost their families for one thousand miles until they reached a refugee camp in Kenya. These children, who ranged in age from 4-14 eventually came to be known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. After reading this incredible true story, Abbie had many questions including the one that set Shaping Bright Futures in motion: “Where are the Lost Boys of Sudan now?” Abbie and her mom, Molly, who went on to become a co-founder of Shaping Bright Futures, learned that there were many Lost Boys living in their home town of San Diego, California. Abbie wrote to a local organization and asked if someone could come to her class and tell them more about the Lost Boys. Mathew Riek volunteered and came to speak to Abbie’s class. In addition to telling the children firsthand what it was like to have been one of the Lost Boys, Mathew also shared his dream of returning to his home village in Unity State, South Sudan to build a school for the children there. Abbie and Molly know they could not build a school on their own, so they partnered with Mathew and an education company headed by Justin Price and Mary Bratcher to form Shaping Bright Futures. With the help of a team of incredibly talented and caring people who share the philosophy that small caring actions could reach around the world, SBF has set out to make Mathew’s dream a reality.
