In 1987, an an estimated 30,000 unaccompanied children fled religious and racial persecution during the civil war between Northern and Southern Sudan. Two of the boys who fled, Malek and Ajak, arrived in Sioux Falls in 2001. They are part of what has become known as "The Lost Boys," children who were orphaned by the warfare in Sudan.

"As the fighting began, our elders fought back," said Ajak. "But when the elders were no longer left or able to fight, then everyone scattered. The next step was for the soldiers to come and get the children. The armed forces believed that if they could convert the children, it would make their army stronger."
Malek was only six when he fled from his village with his cousins. Ajak was five when he fled and took his two-year-old cousin with him.

Donna Magnuson, director of the LSS Refugee and Immigration Program said, "The lost boys have been mistakenly called child soldiers. Many of these children are not. In fact, one of the things about the lost boys and why they are lost, is that they did not want to be child soldiers. They did not want to be part of the war and that is why they fled."

The boys were among 18,000 children who fled to neighboring Ethiopia. It took Malek and Ajak exactly a month and a half to get to an Ethiopian refugee camp. As they traveled hundreds of miles on foot, the boys felt great fear and uncertainty. Escaping children suffered the loss of their family, starvation, drowning, attacks by wild animals, harsh weather and harm from soldiers.

The boys found refuge at an Ethiopian camp for four years. "As the war broke out in Ethiopia, we were forced out,” said Malek. “We ran to Pochala, a city in Sudan on the Gilo River. During that time, many boys were shot by the Ethiopian government, or drowned in the rough, crocodile-infested waters of the Gilo River."

Their search for safety continued, as the boys traveled from one refugee camp to another, until finding refuge at Kakuma, Kenya, where they have lived for the last eight years. "The people of Sudan say, children belong to everyone," said Ajak. "That is how we survived. We had help along the way. But mostly, we had to take care of each other." Since he was one of the older boys fleeing from war, Ajak became a caretaker for his younger cousins as they fled from one camp to another.

Fortunately, organizations like the United Nations, UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and others were there for the children of Sudan. Although their help was minimal, they offered a safety net for the children through guidance, food, medicine, and education.

Although the children were safer at the camps than experiencing the war surrounding them, they were still subject to harm and suffering. Ajak says, "When in Kakuma, we only ate yellow corn for eight years. Sometimes we would get salt, oils and maybe some lentils." Sadly, the camps had more food and medication than the people around them did. "Local people would come at night, steal our food, shoot us, and run away. The people in Kenya and Southern Sudan continue to suffer from great despair. There is no rain, no livestock, no crops."

The opportunity for education provided stability in the lives of the boys as they moved from one refugee camp to another. With all that the boys endured, education remained important, because, "if people are educated, problems might pass. Despair could be stopped," says Malek. "Education is most important to guide us and to give us our humanity. Education leads to progress." Ajak added, "If we stayed alive in Kakuma, the education gave us hope for a better life."

In 1998, the United Nations and the U.S. Department of State began talks to find a safe haven for these children. Of the 3,800 young children who will be allowed to enter the United States in the coming years, eleven are now living in South Dakota. An estimated 16,000 remain in the Kakuma refugee camp today.

LSS is providing the boys with a variety of services to make the adjustment to living in a new land easier and less frightening. Through the help of many resources, LSS is able to provide secure, safe housing and rent assistance for the first 30 days. Their home is furnished with basic household items, food and toiletries. LSS will manage their cases until they become self-sufficient.

Through a government-funded program, LSS will provide cash assistance and access to health care services for up to eight months. Orientation and educational classes are provided to help make the transition easier. Community volunteers and LSS mentors are also a phone call away.

Malek and Ajak are now young men with the characteristics American parents can only hope for in their children – an inner strength, resourcefulness, kindness, respect, an understanding of right and wrong and a strong spiritual belief.

Ajak is interested in pursuing the seminary. He brought religious books, the Bible, and songbooks from his native Dinka tribe. The church is one similarity Ajak has seen between American and Sudanese societies. However, in Sudan, "people had to walk through four large gates to enter the place of worship. And they would worship together with thousands of other people."

Malek also sees a land of opportunity. He is interested in studying medicine, economics, sociology and agriculture. "Without agriculture, there is no backbone to a country. We all depend on the food that is raised." His philosophy is shared by many people in this state dependent on agriculture.

Both boys are very happy to have found a safe haven in South Dakota. They feel very lucky to have an opportunity to practice their faith and to learn. However, they are solemn when they think of so many others who were killed in the war. They also worry about those who remain in Southern Sudan and continue to endure great suffering because of their race and religion.