Three Lost Boys at Duke

Other members of the class of 2012 will remember the story of the Lost Boys from Valentino Deng's story "What is the What." For those of you who don't know, "The Lost Boys" is the name given to around 27,000 displaced boys from the Second Sudanese Civil War.

Three of these guys are coming to Duke on Tuesday, March 24th, at 4:30 PM in the Fleishman Commons of the Sanford Institute for Public Policy.

Here's some biographical information of the three Lost Boys I'm "borrowing" from the nice people at the orientation office:

Samuel Anei - While in Kenya's Kaukuma Refugee Camp, Samuel was Captain of the Napata Secondary School Soccer Team and a volunteer for the Netherlands Olympic Committee.  Since coming to the Chicago area, Samuel served as President of CALBOS, Chicago Area Lost Boys Association in 2005 and as Secretary of the Young Christian Association.  Currently, Samuel lives and works in Illinois, and also attends community college, studying business. Lost Boys Rebuilding Southern Sudan is very important to him because he believes in the value of bringing secondary education to his homeland. Knowing that education of girls is especially important to helping a culture to alleviate poverty, Samuel envisions a day that Sudanese schools will not only teach literacy in math and reading, but also encourage both boys and girls participation in sports.  He recently participated in the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference in New Orleans where he was given the honor of introducing President Bill Clinton.

William Mou - William Mou is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan who has been given the opportunity of not only living in the United States, but also of becoming one of her citizens.   William lives in Carol Stream, Illinois, with his wife, Adut, who attends ESL classes, and their two children, Deng and Alor.   Employed at Excel in Elgin, William attended classes at Elgin Community College and hopes to continue with his schooling in the near future.  Besides serving with the Lost Boys Rebuilding Southern Sudan, his other volunteer activities include coaching soccer, which he has done for many years, starting in Kaukuma, Kenya¹s refugee camp.

Joseph Akoon - Born in 1980, Joseph spent much of his escape from Sudan traveling with Valentino Achak Deng, author of What is the What. They traveled thousands of miles together over several months and Joseph is referenced several times in the book.  Joseph and Valentino are from the same town in southern Sudan and bonded over their love of sports.  Joseph currently lives in High Point, North Carolina, with his wife and 11 month-old child, where he works and attends community college.