Salva Dut was one of the „Lost Boys of Sudan”. At 11 years old he was forced out of his village by the civil war between north and south in Sudan. He and thousands of other boys walked thousands of miles across the desert, facing attacks by lions, crocodiles and soldiers, and death by starvation and lack of water. Salva found his way to refugee camps where he lived for ten years. Eventually he was resettled in the US, where he started the nonprofit organization Water for South Sudan, which has been drilling water wells in South Sudan for over 10 years. Salva shares how with faith, hope and persistence he kept walking throughout his life. This allowed him to accomplish a great deal, and he encourages all to keep walking, even in the face of great challenges.
After Sudan’s civil war in 1985, many fled. Among those who fled through barren, war-torn southern desert were 17,000 children, mostly boys, some as young as five. They became known as “The Lost Boys of Sudan.” Salva Dut was one of those boys. As an 11-year old Dinka from southwest Sudan, Salva fled first to Ethiopia. Then later, as a teenager, he led 1,500 “Lost Boys” thousands of miles through the Southern Sudan desert to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Only 1,000 survived.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
