Paul & Friends   Peace, joy, and unity among friends!

Come Hear the Lost Boys of Sudan’s Response to Darfur
At George Mason University
July 7-8

FAIRFAX, Va. – April 18, 2006 – The Lost Boys of Sudan will come together this summer July 7-8th at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, 20 years after war tore apart their families and forced them from their homes and villages, to reunify and confront the catastrophic ordeal occurring in Southern Sudan and Darfur.

“We realize that we are the future of Sudan; we know that we were brought out for a purpose
greater than ourselves. Therefore we, the Lost Boys of Sudan, are looking for help from the
American communities to further this great cause.”

“We need your advice on leadership and how to succeed.”
- Angelo Maker,
Hampton, VA

Sponsored by The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society – Peace with Justice and Voices for: Sudan Crossroads and United Methodist Church, in Ashburn VA, “Lost Boys: FOUND! A Time of Reunion, Vision, Advocacy & Hope” with the Lost Boys of Sudan stems from the passion of 5 Lost Boys of Sudan who are currently living in Virginia eager to reunite with their fellow orphaned refugees to create processes of dealing with the genocide in Sudan, of developing means of infrastructure and securing educational opportunities and providing economic growth.

A peaceful assembly is also planned outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

An estimated 20,000 children, mostly boys age 6 or 7 years old, were forced away from their homes and families when government troops systematically attacked villages in southern Sudan slaughtering many of the inhabitants, mostly civilians. Their villages were burned, their livestock was stolen and their families were massacred. Girls were raped, killed, taken as slaves or became servants.

“This tremendous disaster happened to me when my mama was cooking, and I was playing with
my lovely young brothers who died on the day I will never forget,” said Angelo Maker, one of 3700
Lost Boys currently living in the United States.

“On that afternoon, the enemy attacked our village and started randomly shooting, leaving dozens
of people dead, including my two brothers. My mama grabbed me and ran in the middle of the firing.
Five minutes later she was shot in both legs while holding my hand and trying to keep me safe. I
remained there helpless, just crying and screaming while she was bleeding badly, but I couldn’t help
her because I was only 7 years old.

I remained there for the rest of the night trying to wake her up until I fell asleep beside her body.

Walking thousands of miles in the Sub-Saharan heat through lion country and crocodile infested waters, the Lost Boys began a journey to an Ethiopia refugee camps to escape one of the bloodiest wars of the 20th century.

Eating mud to thwart off dehydration and hunger, they walked for months and months accruing over a thousand miles in bare feet that became so blistered they wrapped grass around them. Over half never made it to the camps; many were eaten by wild animals, some drowned, many were shot, others died from disease, insects, starvation or simply fatigue.

Miraculously, thousands survived the ordeal and in 2001, the United States government welcomed more than 3,700 “Lost Boys” into its borders and settled them into 38 cities throughout the country. Their goals were to begin new lives, and seek peace, freedom and education.

“Lost Boys: FOUND! A Time of Reunion, Vision, Advocacy & Hope” will reunite these boys who suffered such horrors and intense hardship so that they may speak on the tragedies in Southern Sudan and Darfur and strategize a way to return and rebuild. The conference will address issues such as:

• Genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and the need for multinational peacekeeping organizations in that region.
• The need for infrastructure development, educational opportunities and economic growth in Southern Sudan. This crisis is at a critical juncture as the peace process in Southern Sudan is foundational to ending the genocide in Darfur.
• Political action. A peaceful assembly is planned outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC.
The conference begins at 9 a.m. on July 7th and concludes at noon on July 8th.

Maker currently lives in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, and with other Lost Boys to inform others about the tragedy of Sudan and formulate ways of bringing aid and development back to their homeland.

“Lost Boys: FOUND! A Time of Reunion, Vision, Advocacy & Hope” will give Maker and other Lost Boys living in the United States an arena in which seek solutions to the question that has plagued them since their arrival in 2001,

“Has the world forgotten we are here?”

For more information go to:
www.lostboysgathering.org

Press Contact:

Jill King
KING1234@adelphia.net
703.401.0818