On Jan 29 and 30, Daniel Majok Gai, from Project Education Sudan will give several presentations about the current state of the new Sudan at local schools in Salida as well as the Salida community center. Gai will be accompanied by his brother Bol and PES director Carol Rinehart. Gai recently returned from a year in Sudan where he was sponsored by PES in leadership training for the world’s newest country. Gai was one of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan,’ a term referring to the 20,000 boys who fled southern Sudan during the country’s civil from 1983-2005. Gai was six years old when he escaped attacks on his village and began the 1,000 mile trek to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Over half of the boys died along the journey due to starvation, disease and attacks by wild animals and enemy soldiers. Many aid workers consider the Lost Boys of Sudan the most badly war-traumatized children in recent history.
After several years living in the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya, Gai was selected by the United Nations to become one of the 4,000 refugees to resettle in the US. Since 2001, he has lived in Denver and became a US citizen in 2007. He recently graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a BA in Psychology. At UCD, he won the 2010 Rosa Park Diversity Student Award and worked as a Student Advocate at the Educational Opportunity Program.
In 2008, through the efforts of PES, Gai was reunited with his family. For more information about PES go to www.projecteducationsudan.org
Sponsored by the Salida Circus.
Schedule of PES events in Salida
Friday Jan 27
6:30 pm film “God Grew Tired of Us” (A History of the Lost Boys of Sudan)
John Held Auditorium
Free. Donations welcome
Sunday Jan 29
3 pm
Presentation by Daniel Majok Gai, Bol Gai and Carol Rinehart.
Salida Community Center
Free with refreshments. Donations welcome
Monday Jan 30
Presentation at local schools. All free. Donations welcome
8am – Salida High School
10 am – Crest Academy
11 am – Montessori
*All donations to PES are tax deductible.
I encourage everyone to attend one of Mr. Gai’s talks.
You’ll hear an unforgettable story.