Lost Boys: On The Pages And On The Screen

I remember when I was younger...much younger, my grandfather would always watch 60 Minutes. My eyes would roll back in my head as I would go and find something to do to occupy the hour of quiet. It makes me laugh every week when my husband and I yell “QUIET” at our kids when 60 Minutes is on. I know how they feel. This past Sunday though, a familiarity in their world popped up on 60 Minutes and I was very please when they sat up and took notice. 

Central Elementary supports the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan books and every year the kids read the books and vote on their favorite. One of the books last year was called “A Long Walk To Water” by Linda Sue Park. My daughter, Alexa, read it and told me that I had to as well. The story had two parts. The first part was about a young girl named Nya who lived in Sudan in 2008 and collects water for her family. The second part is about Salva who also lives in Sudan, but in 1985. Salva is a Lost Boy. He was driven out of his village when it was attacked by Islamic forces. He walks across Sudan and into Ethiopia to a refugee camp. After 6 years in Ethiopia, the refugee camp is shut down and all of the refugees in the camp are forced out at gun point. They were forced to cross the River Gilo. Thousands did not make it across. Many drowned and those who tried to swim either got shot or were taken by crocodiles. The refugees who crossed to the other side of the river walked over a thousand miles to Kenya. They crossed mountains and a desert with little water. They found their way to a refugee camp in Kenya where every week names are posted on a board of the people who have been picked to go live in the United States. When Salva’s turn comes to board the plane, he finds himself headed to Rochester, NY where he meets his foster family who help him acclimate to the U.S. way of life. I don’t want to give too much away about the book, but Salva does find out information about his family in Africa and does make a trip back to Africa. His story also merges with Nya’s as Salva creates an organization to raise money to build wells in Southern Sudan.

This past Sunday, 60 Minutes ran a piece on the Lost Boys of Sudan. Actually, it was more of an update of a past show, but they showed parts of the refugee camps in Kenya and the board where all the names where posted. It was interesting to see the things that were talked about in the book. The Lost Boys were between the ages of 5 and 11 when they were forced out of their villages. As their villages were attacked, they all just ran without a destination. They left their friends and families and had no idea whether any of them died or found safety. The boys just walked. They walked for miles and as they walked more boys would join the mass looking for a safe place to stop. They all ended up in Kenya. In 2000 the State Department decided to help the Lost Boys out and find places for them here in the U.S. They brought in over 4,000 Sudanese refugees and set them up in places all over the United States along with many volunteers to help these folks who had never seen stoves or TVs or any of our modern conveniences. Many refugees were successful. Some proudly became U.S. citizens. Some went to college. Some joined the military. There were some who also didn’t fare too well here and found themselves in jail or caught up in drugs. Sudan won it’s independence in 2011 and as families slowly came back they were able to reconnect  through Skype with loved ones that they thought had perished in all of the fighting.

If you were able to catch the 60 Minutes episode or even if you didn’t, then I highly recommend reading the book “A Long Walk To Water”. It’s geared towards children around ages 9-11, but I believe adults can get a lot out of the story as well. For more information about Salva’s mission to help his people to have clean water, go to www.waterforsouthsudan.org.