John Dau

John Dau

John Bul Dau is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan who was featured in the 2006 award-winning documentary "God Grew Tired of Us". Today, he is a father himself and a human rights activist for the people of Southern Sudan. In 2007, he founded the John Dau Sudan Foundation which aims to transform healthcare in Southern Sudan.

Background

Dau was born into the Dinka tribe in war-torn Sudan. In 1987, his village of Duk Payuel in Duk County, Jonglei was attacked by government troops involved in the Second Sudanese Civil War between the Muslim-controlled government in northern Sudan and the non-Muslims in Southern Sudan. The violence scattered his family, and Dau was forced to travel on foot for three months until reaching the relative safety of Ethiopia.cite news |url = http://johndaufoundation.org/John's%20Story/Johns_Story.htm| title = John’s Story | work = John Dau Sudan Foundation| accessdate = 2008-06-02| language = English ]

Dau stayed in a refugee camp in Ethiopia for four years, but when civil war broke out in the region, he was once again forced to flee. As one of thousands of “Lost Boys of Sudan,” Dau wandered hundreds of miles and faced disease, starvation, and violence, until arriving in Kenya. While living in the Kenyan Kakuma refugee camp, he attended school for the first time and earned a prestigious Kenyan Certificate for Secondary Education in 2000.cite news |url = http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0701/voices/voices.html |title = Interview with John Dau |work = National Geographic |accessdate = 2007-01-31| language = English ] In 2001, he was one of 3,800 young Sudanese refugees resettled in the United States and one of 140 young brought to Syracuse, New York.

Despite the initial culture shock – women driving cars, huge stores filled with food – Dau has succeeded in the United States and can proudly say that he is living the American dream. Not only was he able to bring his mother and sister from Sudan, but while working 60 hours a week as a security guard, he received an Associates degree from Onondaga Community College. He is currently pursuing a degree in Policy Studies at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Additionally, Dau is an experienced social entrepreneur. He has founded three non-profit 501(c)3 organizations. In 2003, he helped establish The Sudanese Lost Boys Foundation of Central New York which raised over $35,000 for books and medical expenses for Lost Boys living in the United States. In 2005, Dau was instrumental in founding the American Care for Sudan Foundation which solicited funds to build and operate the Duk Lost Boys Clinic in Southern Sudan. He has raised more than $400,000 for the clinic. Currently, Dau is the President of the John Dau Sudan Foundation which was founded in July 2007 to develop health facilities that currently do not exist for most of the populations of Duk, Twic East and Bor South Counties in the State of Jonglei in Southern Sudan.cite news |url = http://johndaufoundation.org/About%20Us/about_us.htm| title = About Us | work = John Dau Sudan Foundation| accessdate = 2008-06-02| language = English ]

Dau’s move to the United States and early experiences in the country are the subject of the film "God Grew Tired of Us", which won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.cite news |url = http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/movies/12tire.html?scp=3&sq=john+dau&st=nyt| title = After a Struggle to Escape Comes an Effort to Adjust |work = The New York Times |accessdate = 2007-01-12| author=Stephen Holden| language = English ] The title of the documentary is a quote from Dau discussing the despair he and other Sudanese felt during the civil war. cite news |url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/19/AR2007011901571.html |title = He Escaped Sudan, But Not the Tug of A Heavy Heart |work = The Washington Post |date = 2007-01-20 |accessdate = 2007-01-31| author=Neely Tucker |language = English ] His memoir, also entitled "God Grew Tired of Us", was co-authored with Michael Sweeney and released in January 2007 by National Geographic Press.

Dau’s command of the English language has helped assure that his voice and the voice of the Sudanese is heard in the United States and around the world. He has become a successful national public speaker, focusing speeches on his life story and the importance of perseverance against all odds. His moving talks also focus on the importance of human rights and on ending the tragedy in Southern Sudan.cite news |url = http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1-50X0U |title = Dau Speaker Bio |work = Keppler Speakers |accessdate = 2008| language = English ]

In his brief time in the United States, Dau has earned many awards for his public achievements and charitable work. He received a National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers Award and was named a Volvo for Life Award finalist in the Quality of Life Category in 2008 which carried a contribution of $25,000 to the John Dau Sudan Foundation.cite news |url = http://blog.syracuse.com/metrovoices/2008/02/two_central_new_york_doctors_l.html|title = John Dau Selected for Volvo Awards |work = Post Standard |accessdate = 2008-01-23| language = English ] As he continues to work to succeed in the United States he envisions a positive future for Sudan. He says, “I hope for my country to get out of war and secure a good government. I want Sudan to become a place where people are welcome and hope is restored.” Dau currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with his family.

References

External links

* [http://www.johndaufoundation.org/ The John Dau Foundation]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/emerging/jdau.html National Geographic Emerging Explorers] , John Bul Dau - Humanitarian/Survivor
* [http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/heros/hero2004/12895.html Volvo For Life Awards] , Volvo For Life Award Hero: John Dau
* [http://nppa10.org/?p=77 Between Two Worlds: A Personal Journey] , Photographs by Eli Reed of the Lost Boys of Sudan


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