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Get RSS Feed'Lost boy' relates tale of desperation to middle schoolers
* Bol Aweng tells Bexley Middle School audience of his struggle to survive as a child amid civil war in Sudan.
By DEBORAH M. DUNLAP
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With his 3-year-old daughter sitting restlessly in the audience, sometimes running to side, Bol Aweng began to unfold the tale of his life in Southern Sudan during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and his escape to a refugee camp in Kenya.
The seventh-grade Bexley Middle School audience hung on every word, drinking in his colorful illustrations of the events and the journey which finally landed him in Columbus at Ohio State University, where he earned a degree in digital art.
Aweng's visit last week was all part of the seventh grade's recent study of Africa, which included the book A Long Walk to Water, based on the nearly 35,000 "lost boy" refugees of Southern Sudan. Aweng spoke to two separate groups Dec. 5, in the school's Cassingham Theatre.
The students also were treated to an African dance performance Thursday, Dec. 8 as part of their African study.
The seventh-grade Bexley Middle School audience hung on every word, drinking in his colorful illustrations of the events and the journey which finally landed him in Columbus at Ohio State University, where he earned a degree in digital art.
Aweng's visit last week was all part of the seventh grade's recent study of Africa, which included the book A Long Walk to Water, based on the nearly 35,000 "lost boy" refugees of Southern Sudan. Aweng spoke to two separate groups Dec. 5, in the school's Cassingham Theatre.
The students also were treated to an African dance performance Thursday, Dec. 8 as part of their African study.
During his discussion with students, Aweng laid out the story of life in a Dinka village called Bor where he lived in a two-bedroom house with his father, mother and siblings. He told the students of the games he played with other children, and the clay cows they made for their "cattle camps" using soil gathered from the river's edge.
In Aweng's village, a man's wealth was not measured in money or gold, but in the number of cattle his family owned.
When Aweng was 8 years old, soldiers stormed his village, firing guns and dropping bombs from the sky.
"I did not know what was happening," he told the students as he recalled the painful memories.
He and many other children who ran away from the village met up with many more young boys and soon wandered Sudan looking for a safe place to find refuge.
"We were in the middle of nowhere," he said of his travels. They often had to fight off wild animals, and were forced for forge for leaves, roots and fruits for sustenance.
For years they walked every day, often without food or water. Many of the boys gave up, but not Aweng. Even when he and others were forced to cross a fast-moving river, taking the lives of some 2,000 boys, Aweng fought for his life and won.
Eventually, they settled in a refugee camp in Kenya.
"When I saw that sign welcoming us to Kenya, I hoped we were finally safe," Aweng told the students. There, he shared a mud home with several other "lost boys," attended school, and began his career in art by painting animals on rocks including zebras, baboons and elephants.
After nine years in the refugee camp, Aweng was chosen as one of many to travel to the U.S. where he would settle. His flight was in the air on Sept. 11, 2001, destined for New York City, but was forced to turn around because of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. He worried that he would find himself again in the middle of a war. But that was not the case, he said, and when he finally arrived in Nashville, Tenn., "It was so overwhelming ... so exciting."
He told the students of his adjustment to life in the U.S. -- of filling shopping carts with enough food for a party of many -- because he could. He told of his excitement in find running water in the airport's restrooms, a commodity that was so scarce in his country.
He laughed about his first experience with ice cream, how he threw it down because of its unfamiliarity and coldness.
"I took such a big piece, I could not feel my mouth!"
Aweng returned to his village in 2007 and was reunited with part of his family. While the occasion was joyous in some ways, he was shocked by their living conditions and lack of medical care -- particularly for pregnant women.
Aweng, along with other supporters, is raising money to build a clinic in his village of Bor, and has collected more than $23,000 so far. He hopes to raise another $30,000 by the end of the year.
Natalie Mroz, a humanities teacher at the middle school, called Aweng's visit a "wonderful addition" to the students' curriculum.
Seventh-grader Brett Lauerhass said Aweng brought their study of the area to life with his stories.
"You don't realize how much you take for granted," added Maggie Butler, also in seventh grade, "especially water."
In Aweng's village, a man's wealth was not measured in money or gold, but in the number of cattle his family owned.
When Aweng was 8 years old, soldiers stormed his village, firing guns and dropping bombs from the sky.
"I did not know what was happening," he told the students as he recalled the painful memories.
He and many other children who ran away from the village met up with many more young boys and soon wandered Sudan looking for a safe place to find refuge.
"We were in the middle of nowhere," he said of his travels. They often had to fight off wild animals, and were forced for forge for leaves, roots and fruits for sustenance.
For years they walked every day, often without food or water. Many of the boys gave up, but not Aweng. Even when he and others were forced to cross a fast-moving river, taking the lives of some 2,000 boys, Aweng fought for his life and won.
Eventually, they settled in a refugee camp in Kenya.
"When I saw that sign welcoming us to Kenya, I hoped we were finally safe," Aweng told the students. There, he shared a mud home with several other "lost boys," attended school, and began his career in art by painting animals on rocks including zebras, baboons and elephants.
After nine years in the refugee camp, Aweng was chosen as one of many to travel to the U.S. where he would settle. His flight was in the air on Sept. 11, 2001, destined for New York City, but was forced to turn around because of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. He worried that he would find himself again in the middle of a war. But that was not the case, he said, and when he finally arrived in Nashville, Tenn., "It was so overwhelming ... so exciting."
He told the students of his adjustment to life in the U.S. -- of filling shopping carts with enough food for a party of many -- because he could. He told of his excitement in find running water in the airport's restrooms, a commodity that was so scarce in his country.
He laughed about his first experience with ice cream, how he threw it down because of its unfamiliarity and coldness.
"I took such a big piece, I could not feel my mouth!"
Aweng returned to his village in 2007 and was reunited with part of his family. While the occasion was joyous in some ways, he was shocked by their living conditions and lack of medical care -- particularly for pregnant women.
Aweng, along with other supporters, is raising money to build a clinic in his village of Bor, and has collected more than $23,000 so far. He hopes to raise another $30,000 by the end of the year.
Natalie Mroz, a humanities teacher at the middle school, called Aweng's visit a "wonderful addition" to the students' curriculum.
Seventh-grader Brett Lauerhass said Aweng brought their study of the area to life with his stories.
"You don't realize how much you take for granted," added Maggie Butler, also in seventh grade, "especially water."
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