Western Equatoria is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, often described as the Garden of Eden, and should be a main source of food for the whole of South Sudan due to its lush vegetation. But for over three decades, the people from the region have lived in desperate fear, targets of one of the most ruthless terrorist organisations in the world - the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by the infamous Joseph Kony, whose forces murdered thousands and, under whom, some 66,000 boys were forced to become child soldiers.

The only defence villagers had came from Alison Tunga, leader of a group which came to be known as the ‘Arrow Boys’. They had no money for proper weaponry and were forced to go to the aid of their people carrying only spears and bows and arrows. This, against Kony’s forces who were heavily armed. And yet, somehow, the ‘Arrow Boys’ succeeded where others could not and finally drove the Lord’s Resistance Army from their land.

Filmmaker and 5-times Emmy winner, Jamie Doran, had been travelling the length and breadth of South Sudan making a documentary series and had become fascinated by the story of the ‘Arrow Boys’. During filming, Alison had spent many nights listening to Jamie talk about his love for Celtic Football Club and, in particular, the extraordinary story of the 'Lisbon Lions', the eleven men who became world-famous when Celtic became the first British team to win the European Champions Cup in 1967. Alison had been particularly touched by the tale of the Forgotten Lion, John Fallon, the unused substitute that day (only one sub was allowed in those days). They soon became friends and, together, came up with the idea of building a desperately-needed school while, at the same time, giving recognition to Fallon. And so, 'The 12th Lion School' project was born.

A forgotten lion roars

The object of this project is two-fold: to build a school for desperately poor children who are presently taught under trees and whose families have lived in fear for over 30 years, and to name it after the 12th Lisbon Lion as part of a campaign to finally have him recognised as a football ‘Great’.

A boyhood fan, 'Big John' played for Celtic for 13 years winning medals and cups. And on that special day, the 25th May 1967 in Lisbon, he was the 12th man and received his winner’s medal… only for it to be taken off him in the dressing room and handed to the Chairman of Celtic. And this was only the beginning. As the eleven other players went on to become legends for generations of Celtic fans (even to this day, we sing the ‘Lisbon Song’ on the 67th minute of every game), John was forgotten.

Today, he goes to watch every single match, home and away, as a simple fan. This campaign will, rightly, focus on giving John the recognition he truly deserves as the '12th Lisbon Lion’. With the agreement of the organisers in Western Equatoria, the new facility will be known as: ’The 12th Lion School’.

Our dream is to build them a school.

Much planning has gone into this project and land has been donated by the local region. With your help, we will not only provide a place for these 500 children to learn but, at the very same time, this will form part of a campaign which will finally see a man in his 80s given his rightful position in Celtic history.

Alison Tunga now dedicates his life to the wellbeing of the community's children. Our fundraising target is £89,395. The budget includes the costs of excavation works, concrete structural work, wall, door and window materials, a roof covering, and painting and decorating.