KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Mechanical engineering senior John Aza (right) leads an organization that finds volunteers, tutors and donations for clothing, toys and more for Sudanese children. Aza spends time with (from left to right) 9-year-old Jeoffry Odu, 4-year-old Rebekah Odu, 1-year-old Lori Mingain and 3-year-old Lara Mingain.

When John Aza came to Arizona in 1996, he was fleeing from an ongoing civil war in the Sudan that has displaced millions of people.

Now, Aza, a mechanical engineering senior, is the director of the Southern Sudanese Resettlement Program and will be speaking at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march Monday to express his gratitude to American society.

Aza said he will be speaking about justice and racism.

"If the struggle wasn't made, this meeting wouldn't be possible," said Aza, referring to America's civil rights movement.

Aza is one of three Sudanese refugees studying at the UA. He first came to America by invitation, and then applied for and received political asylum.

Like the 300 other Sudanese refugees in Tucson, Aza was fleeing from an ongoing civil war in southern Sudan, a North African country near Egypt.

He said he is happy to be in a country where there is more justice.

"We are enjoying the fruit from America's struggle," he said.

But that doesn't mean life has been smooth for him and the other refugees living in Tucson.

Aza is helping Sudanese refugees adjust to life in Tucson by directing the Southern Sudanese Resettlement Program. According to Aza, the government pays rent for the Sudanese for three months, but then refugees are on their own.

"We arrive here and we are given an empty room," Aza said.

The first refugees to come were all men, but in late 2002, entire families began arriving in Tucson.

Celcius Odu arrived with his wife and five children from the Sudan two months ago.

"It has been difficult," Odu said. His children range from four to 17 years old.

Aza's sister, Claudia Mingain, arrived two years ago with her two children: Love, 8, and Lara, 3. Since arriving, she had one more child, Lori, a year ago. Mingain attends Pima Community College and is an on-call caregiver.

The refugees' main concern is for the more than 32 children who are now part of the group.

Aza said the children's English is poor, and they are having a hard time adjusting.

"It is crucial and important for us to see the children succeed," said Mohamed Elomrabi, vice president of the SSRP.

"We need tutors, mentors and volunteers," Aza said.

They are also in need of clothing, especially winter clothes like jackets, sweaters and blankets. Even though the Tucson winter is mild, it's still colder than Northern Africa.

"We don't have winter back home," Aza said.

A local church has lent SSRP a room to set up a small school.

The school now has eight computers and is looking for volunteers to teach basic computer and typing skills.

"Professors won't grade hand-written papers," said Aza, stressing that the students need help learning how to use word-processing programs.

Finding and keeping steady work for the adults has also proven difficult.

"Jobs are the biggest problem," Aza said.

"Some have lost their jobs, and it is difficult to get new ones."

Aza said one refugee who was laid off moved in with him. Otherwise, the refugee would have been homeless.

Despite all the hardships they have faced, the Sudanese remain cheerful and optimistic, Aza said.

And since many are becoming comfortable with the laws, habits and culture in America, they want to reach out to Tucson.

"We need to contribute to the community," Aza said. He has formed a band, and he is interested in organizing concerts to show off Sudanese drumming and dances.

Aza said he is working to start classes at the university in which refugees can teach their languages.

According to Aza, the civil war in Sudan is beginning to ease up because America is siding with the Southern Sudanese and pressing for peace.

He hopes students will become interested in traveling to Sudan.

While the Sudanese refugees are a close-knit group here in Tucson, members of the group still keep in touch with friends and family around the country and back in Africa.

They say it is very important to become self-sufficient here in America because their families back home are expecting a lot from them.

"If we can't help ourselves, how can we help those back home?" said Aza, whose family lives in Uganda. "It becomes a chain of helping each other."