Lost Boy of Sudan John Dau speaks at University of Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. - June 26, 2013 - PRLog -- Columbia, Mo. – Each year the highly selective Missouri Scholars Academy, which is an enrichment program for 330 of Missouri’s best and brightest high school students, takes place at the University of Missouri (MU) each summer.  No one anticipated, however, that this year’s Academy would involve a moving speech by a renowned humanitarian activist, John Dau, one of the lost boys of Sudan.

As a result of MSA Teacher Brian Stuhlman’s relentless effort and energy, the thoughtful programming of the Missouri Scholars Academy, and the generosity of the MU Vice Provost for International Programs Handy Williamson among others, for the first time the entire MU community got a chance to hear John Dau’s story of survival, struggle, and triumph first hand.  

Born into a loving family and thriving agricultural community in South Sudan, John Dau had a happy childhood taking care of family animals and learning all aspects of farming.  Dau, however, received a shock when the northern militia attacked his small, rural village in the middle of the night.  Running after who he believed was his father, Dau realized that he ran after a neighbor to perceived safety in the jungle.  That safety, however, turned into a nightmare of multiple migrations – first east to Ethiopia, then west to Kenya, and then finally across the ocean to a small community in New York that provided refuge and hope.  It also involved many episodes of near starvation, beatings by the militia, travel at night, threats from lions and hyenas, and periodic severe dehydration.

Yet each step of the journey gave Dau hope that he would in fact find happiness again.  On his journey east to Ethiopia, incredible optimism helped him create a legion of lost boys and girls that grew to number 25,000.  First, there were 20 boys, then 27, then 1,200 divided into families of 50.  Two or three boys died each day of cholera, malaria, and typhoid.  By the time Dau and his fellow lost boys made their way to Ethiopia, they received food and clothes from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Program.  Life was on the mend in this period of Dau’s life.  

Unfortunately, Sudan’s problems finally spilled into Ethopia in 1991.  The nearly 27,000 lost boys and girls were sent away.  The Ethiopians sent troops after the children and tried to shoot them.  Only 18,000 managed to get across the border.  The Christian Sudanese Liberation Army then helped the boys and girls get clothes.  Unfortunately, the northern Sudan government sent aircraft to bomb the children twice a day.  The boys and girls then escaped to the interior of Sudan.  They now numbered 12,000.  They were attacked, and attacked, and attacked.  

In 1992, the lost boys and girls made their way west to Kenya.  Fortunately, the United Nations built the children a clinic and started a school.  Dau, who was 17, relished learning and was finally able to go to school.  According to Dau, he learned a precious lesson: “education is my mother and my father.”  The children took turns writing lessons with sticks in the dirt and took turns playing “teacher”, so that all would learn their lessons expertly through rigorous recitations.

In 2000, the Americans came.  The children were offered a chance to go to Syracuse, New York.  Dau signed up and settled into an apartment, learned that Americans wear different clothes in different seasons, saw snow for the first time, and worked three jobs to pay his bills.  Remarkably, he also went to school, earning his associates in 2004 and then his bachelor’s degree.  

But, that wasn’t enough.  He ran the Lost Boys of Sudan Foundation and raised $35,000 to help children in South Sudan.  He then set up a new foundation and raised $800,000 to build a medical clinic in South Sudan, a region which had never known this kind of medical care.  He set up the South Sudan Institute and now runs the John Dau Foundation.  He has raised over $1 million to improve the lives of those in South Sudan.  He brought his mom and sister to the US, has written two books, and has written movie scripts.  

But, that still was not enough.  Dau speaks to audiences around the world to share this story of hope and optimism, and, most importantly, the plight of children in wars across the globe.  He also leaves his audiences with valuable lessons.  He tells us: “Don’t let what happened in your life hold you hostage.”  And, last, he tells us: “When you become successful in your life, please give back to your community.”

Dau’s unique story shows us how individuals can overcome extreme obstacles to achieve personal and professional success.  Dau is truly an inspiration.  With a powerful sermon-like quality, his strong voice tells us that, in his life, “the light that is has demolished the dark that was.”  So, it seems, the light of hope, radiance, daybreak, generosity, and every other kind of salvation has destroyed the darkness of bitter evening cold, random beatings from soldiers, starvation, and death.  

For Dau, who narrowly escaped death on several occasions, it is clear that he is guided to light and by an inner light of hope, strength, and resilience.  He achieved things he never thought possible – fatherhood, non-profit leader, hospital funder, human rights activist, humanitarian, international leader, and so much more.  He is a living reminder of the many conflicts that have come before, which devastate families, communities, and children.  And, his most important gift?  Dau ensures that we will never forget.