Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan
The Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan joined FreshMinistries to create a foundation that will help the Lost Boys and their families in the Jacksonville area, and their families back in Sudan.
Joan Hecht, founder of The Alliance, has worked on behalf of the one hundred plus young men currently living in Jacksonville who, as orphans, escaped one of Africa’s cruelest wars. They survived lions and crocodiles, snipers and militia gunfire, before finally reaching refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Thousands of refugee children died during the journey to safety.
The Alliance was established to meet the medical, dental, and educational needs of the Lost Boys and their families living in America, and also in Africa. Mrs. Hecht completed a book about
their story in 2005, titled “The Journey of the Lost Boys”. It’s a story of courage, faith and the sheer determination to survive by a group of young boys called the Lost Boys of Sudan.
Half of the profits from the sale of her book will benefit the Lost Boys and the people of Southern Sudan. You can purchase it at www.amazon.com more information, visit www.thejourneyofthelostboys.com.
Background
Sudan, a divided country, is made up primarily of Arab Muslims to the north and black Christian/Animists in the south. Following its independence in 1956, the northerners gained control of the country and sought to form a united Islamic Sudan.
This caused considerable conflict with the southerners, who worshiped God in a different way. A bloody civil war ensued and has raged for decades. More than two million people have died, many of them southerners. The survivors have often been raped, enslaved or simply driven away to fend for themselves in the wilderness.
The Lost Boys, so named by aid workers, became separated from their families at early ages following attacks on their villages. Walking in large groups for approximately three months before reaching the safety of Ethiopia, many died along the way due to starvation, disease or attack by wild animals.
Civil war broke out in Ethiopia, causing these children to flee once again back to Sudan. Many more died on that journey and survivors remained in the bush of Sudan, hiding for approximately two years before reaching the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. In all, the children had walked 1,000 miles by foot. In 2001, the U.S. government awarded refugee status to about 4,000 Lost Boys. About 130 are settled in Jacksonville.
Following their arrival, these growing youths needed instruction in the most basic requirements of daily life, such as how to flush a toilet, use running water and how to use electrical appliances, such as lamps and stoves.
While their progress has been tremendous, their struggles continue. While living in the camps, the Lost Boys received no formal instruction, and they know that education is critical to their survival in America. Indeed, becoming educated will help them change the future of their homeland.
The Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan remained a FreshMinistries program until the group acquired its 501(c)3 non-profit status. For more information, contact Joan Hecht at (904) 363-9821.
