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John Dau is a survivor of a
14-year journey from his home
village in Duk County, Sudan in 1987 to his arrival in Syracuse, New
York in 2001. As a young boy he fled Sudanese government troops and
eventually arrived at the Kukuma refugee camp in Kenya in 1992.
During this journey of more than 1,000 miles, he led thousands of
younger children through violence and starvation. Selected to come
to Syracuse, New York along with 140 other "Lost Boys of Sudan" in
2001, John pursued the American Dream. He brought his sister and
mother to Syracuse and is now married with a daughter and son.
While working 60 hours a week as a security guard, he completed his
Associate's Degree at Onondaga Community College and started his BA
in Policy Studies at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of
Citizenship. |
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He now
speaks professionally
throughout the United States
and is President of
the John Dau Sudan Foundation based in Syracuse, New York. In 2006,
he was featured in the award-winning documentary,
God Grew Tired of Us,
and, with Michael Sweeney, wrote his first book entitled
God
Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir,
published by National Geographic in 2007.
As a human rights activist for the people of Southern Sudan, he has
lived a remarkable life of cultural adaptation. John has received
many prestigious awards, including
National Geographic's Emerging Explorers
award and was a
Volvo for Life finalist in the
Quality of Life category which carried a contribution from Volvo of
$25,000 to the John Dau Sudan Foundation. John was also named a
World Economic Forum Young Global Leader for
2008.
As a leader, John is an experienced social entrepreneur. He has
started
three 501(c)3 organizations. He
is an advisor for two of these organizations, the Sudanese Lost Boys
Foundation of New York and the American Care for Sudan Foundation,
both of which operate with independent boards. His primary effort
now is to build the John Dau Sudan Foundation into a financially
stable organization that supports the building and maintenance of
clinics in Southern Sudan. |
