Launched in 1996 through the efforts of our Executive Director, the Rev. Samuel Juma (himself a Sudanese refugee), Fulaa began with an emphasis on helping to meet the needs of Sudanese refugees who sought asylum in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. This effort involved helping with housing, furnishings, employment, education and spiritual needs. From this commitment, a monthly Sudanese fellowship has emerged bringing together many from the community. Holiday activities, memorial services, and discipleship training events continue to encourage these individuals in their new home in America.
Since the signing of the Sudanese peace treaty in 2005, Fulaa's primary focus has shifted to assisting refugees seeking to repatriate from the camps in Uganda and Kenya back to their homeland in South Sudan.
Currently, efforts are centered in the area surrounding the town of Nimule situated near the border of Uganda. Working closely with a local church, Fulaa sponsors an orphanage with more than sixty children in residence and is also assisting with micro-economic and educational projects.
Fulaa Lifeline International is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Christian ministry incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Board of Directors which govern Fulaa is based in Northern Virginia. The Board is chaired by the Rev. William Kynes (Ph.D), senior pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Annandale, Virginia.
Fulaa means "waterfall" in the Madi language of the Sudanese people. It signifies the abundant hope available through Jesus Christ, the Living Water. Fulaa is a practical arm of hope for the displaced Sudanese. Its goal is to demonstrate in real, practical ways, an outreach of love to the destitute who have little but their very lives and their faith in Jesus Christ and His saving grace.