Stunning and wonderful news today from Sakler Moo, a member of the refugee soccer team and the winner of the highest grade point average in his entire Junior High School, was admitted to the Albany Academy this afternoon, on a generous but partial scholarship.

The Albany Academy is the most prestigious and academically challenging school in this region, if not  the state.  It is a remarkable achievement for Sakler and his family, who I know well as a gifted musician, artist and scholar.

He is a private, serious and intense student, he has no time for social media, smart phones or parties, he studies and reads and paints all the time.

Sakler’s story is the a great American story, and he is on his way to being an American success story. His family, caught in a brutal civil war fled Thailand and into Burma – Sakler was born in the woods while they were in hiding – and eventually to a United Nations refugee camp, where he spent the first years of his life.

His sisters were killed during the journey.

They came to America, where the family works hard but struggles, like all refugees.

His mother is determined to help Salker get into this school, her life, like most refugees, is about hope for her children, since everything was taken from them.

The Albany Academy, considered one of the most difficult schools in the state to get into, costs $28,000 a year. The school has offered Sakler an annual scholarship of $22,000 plus a $1,000 admission fee, due at the end of this week.

So Sakler needs about $6,000 a year for the next four years. His family is determined to pay a substantial portion of that.

I have offered to pay the admission fee, I have the money, and tomorrow, Ali, who has been Sakler’s mentor and supporter for some years, and his parents and Ali and me will meet  with school officials to see how we can support Sakler and pay the difference between what his family can offer and what the school can give him.

One of Sakler’s elementary school teachers has been working with Sakler for some years to advance his education, she has been instrumental in getting  him to this point. She’s coming to the also, she is his champion.

Needless to say, Ali and I have been on the phone all day – he is exhausted after four days in a summer camp with the soccer team – trying to figure out how we can  help Sakler get into this school.

In addition to the $1,000, he will need additional funds this  year and every year for the next four years. His mother promises to pay some of that money, using her tax refund and if necessary, and getting another job.

We will seek the help of other people, and I believe I can  raise at least several thousand dollars a year, we’ve done that a number of times. That’s what he will need to make up the difference. We might find some other sponsors to help. I guess I am one of them.

Ali and I are committed to making this happen, and to supporting Sakler through this entire experience, we both know him and admire  him, he has great character and serious of purpose, he is interested in  becoming an architect or engineer.

His gifts as an artist will support him in that way.

I talked to Sakler just last week, he said his favorite activity is to be a member of the soccer team. We just raised money for him to go to high school with new clothes and shoes, the Albany Academy students wear uniforms. Ali is heartbroken to think of Sakler leaving the soccer team, but thrilled for this opportunity for him.

In the score or more conversations I have had with Sakler (who is working on a portrait of me for my birthday), he has never mentioned his horrific experiences in the jungles of Burma or in the notoriously crowded and violent refugee camps.

He has never complained about his life.

So I’m not asking anyone for money, not quite yet.

I think that will happen later in the week. I want to meet with the school officials,  hopefully negotiate whatever I can negotiate on his behalf, if anything, and see if there is any give on their side.

I need to know precisely what he needs and to evaluate  exactly what I think we can do. I think this is right in the wheelhouse of the Army Of Good, I can hardly think of a better cause, or one that does more good to an individual’s life.

After we meet, if everyone is comfortable, I will open a special Sakler Moo education account to raise funds for his education at this very good school and keep the funds separate and accountable, as all my work is.

I believe this must happen, this is a life that must be supported, a young man of great promise and purpose and setting out to live his destiny in America, the land of opportunity, especially for the tired and the poor.

I really want to make this happen, and so do many other people. Ali loves Sakler like a son, and believes this to be a message from God. I know Sakler well, he has great character and purpose.

Below.  Audio: Sakler Moon Gets Admitted. Got To Make It Happen.