On September 11 in Arlington, Virginia, John Bul Dau spoke about the torments he experienced in Sudan and about his efforts to help others in Sudan have a better life. Many persons at one time or another have agonized, “How can I go on?” Mr. Dau offered an unforgettable testimony of perseverance through dire circumstances, unfathomable injustices, and great suffering.
Mr. Dau immigrated to the U.S. five years ago as a young man. He moved from a Kenyan refugee camp teeming with tribal brothers with whom he had endured long, brutal treks and years of communal living, to apartment living and to working with a middle-aged woman in a factory in Syracuse, New York. Isolation and loneliness, that American nightmare, could have overwhelmed him.
Mr. Dau said that now, here in America, he is living the American dream. Here he has bodily safety, sufficient food, basic health care, and the opportunity to attend school. These are goods that he, like many persons around the world, lacked. But there’s more. Mr. Dau formed a foundation that built a 13-room medical clinic in Duk County, in the state of Jonglei in southern Sudan. His foundation is now working to fund and build five additional health and education facilities in Sudan.
Yorktown High School students, who hosted Mr. Dau’s talk, are contributing to the effort to build a school in Sudan. If you too want to contribute, go to the John Dau Sudan Foundation website.