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BOB REHA: Reuben Panchol has been in the Fargo area for only three months. He says he thinks he's 19, but he looks much younger. Reuben says he's made some big adjustments since he arrived from the refugee camps in Kenya. One is not having to worry so much about food.

REUBEN PANCHOL: We eat according to our wishes. Whether you like to eat rice four or five times, you can do. But when we were in Africa back home, you just survive on one meal.

BOB REHA: Pat Gores is a mentor to many of the Lost Boys. He and his wife got involved through their church. Gores says many of the Lost Boys are not sure of their age. Most were assigned birthday in the camps.

He says many of the Lost Boys of Fargo think they're 19 or older. But there is concern that several of them might be much younger than that. Gores says the young men in Fargo have been granted refugee status, allowing them to go to work immediately.

PAT GORES: If they use their actual dates, there are only two states out of our 50 that will allow unaccompanied minors, meaning there has to be a host family and care, foster care, on the other side. And we just don't have the social network in this country to accept that many immigrants of minor refugee status.

BOB REHA: The Lost Boys have struggled with other problems. Phillip Rand also arrived in Fargo three months ago. He was in poor health and discovered he needed a cornea transplant. He says he was overwhelmed by the community's response to his plight. Strangers brought him food and clothes and helped him with the expense of the operation.

PHILLIP RAND: And the time when I was admitted, during the time when I was in hospital, many people came. They visit me throughout the day and night. So I like Fargo a lot.

BOB REHA: The Fargo Lost Boys have learned the meaning of independence in America. They've discovered part of the formula is you need money. Most of the young men have jobs. They rent apartments.

They've also learned independence means paying rent and bills. A few have learned to drive. Most of the Lost Boys are working on their GEDs, high school equivalency diplomas. Like many of the Sudanese, Abraham Garango says he's working hard for the future.

ABRAHAM GARANGO: I want work. And I want to go to school because in the future, maybe we might go back to our country. If we go there, I think that will be benefit to my people and to myself.

BOB REHA: All of the Lost Boys talk of returning to their homeland. Some talk of becoming geologists, which could be a useful skill in their mineral-rich country. The boys' mentor, Pat Gores, says some of the boys have given other reasons for returning.

PAT GORES: Several have expressed an interest in joining the military to go fight the oppressive Muslim government that has persecuted these boys for so long. Many of them are aware that Osama bin Laden had spent four or five years in northern Sudan.

BOB REHA: Some of the Lost Boys say they've had trouble sleeping since the September terrorist attacks. They've brought back bad memories of the violence and death they'd left behind. Some say they're willing to join the US effort to fight Osama bin Laden. Jacob Cool says it would be a way to show appreciation for the way people have responded to their situation.

JACOB COOL: And this is our first time to get help. So when we came here, we get help, a lot of help. So we are very happy for that things.

BOB REHA: The Lost Boys will never give up their dream of returning to Sudan. They acknowledge it may be years before the Civil War ends. For now, they are grateful to be alive, to have found a place to live and work in peace. Bob Reha, Minnesota Public Radio, Fargo.