Linda Sue Park helped Salva Dut share her experience as a “lost boy” from Sudan who returned home to build a well for his village.
Salva was eleven years old when he began the journey on foot with thousands of other children who were expelled from their villages after soldiers killed their parents. The violent reality included shootings, being eaten by lions and crocodiles, drowning and being kidnapped to be child soldiers.
The children traveled through southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. They lived in refugee camps for several years. Salva became interested in learning English, from what a humanitarian worker taught him. Finally, when he was young, Salva was one of the group that was allowed to come to the United States.
After a few years in the United States, Salva received the news that his father was still alive but very ill because he did not have clean water. Salva began his dream of reuniting with his father and finding a way to solve the water problem. With the help of many people organizing and fundraising, her dream came true.
Salva returned home and was reunited with his father. They told her that her mother was still alive, but that it was too dangerous to travel to where she was. He was only able to see his father because he was in a hospital.
Salva put together a team and drilled a well in the town. His term was that no one could be denied water. The townspeople had to unite for the benefit of all. Later, he began drilling wells in other villages.
The ending linked the fictional part of the story with its true story. The fictional story was about a young Nuer named Nya some twenty years later who benefited from the new well. She noticed that the man who gave them the clean water did not have tribal markings on his forehead. He assumed it was from his tribe. He asked someone and they said it was Dinka, not Nuer. He wondered why it would help them. She steeled herself to go up to him and said, “Thank you for bringing us the water.”
Girls were now able to attend school because they no longer had to walk to fetch water.
This story is precious to me because of the young Sudanese adults in my life. One is my friend and his family. The other is my daughter-in-law. My friend is Dinka and my daughter-in-law is Nuer. I love you both.
My friend’s dream is to build a school building for the children of his village. I want to help you. We will need a lot of help. I’m sure each of the “Lost Boys” has dreams. Although telling their stories is painful, one by one, we can help them build a better future for the next generation.
