Who Are the "Lost Boys" of Sudan?

The Lost Boys of Sudan were among nearly 16,000 boys (ages 5 to 11 at the time) forced to flee from their southern Sudan villages in 1987, when Islamic militants from northern Sudan attacked their villages. Most women and girls were killed or captured; villages burned, and parents shot. In an instant, the young boys were forced to become men in order to survive.



The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State described the conflict as "One of the longest-lasting, bloodiest, most brutal wars on the face of this earth."

The Lost Boys trekked for years up to Ethiopia, back to Sudan, and finally to a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya. Many thousands were killed by soldiers or lions and other wild animals. Others drowned or were eaten by crocodiles as they crossed rivers. Still more died of starvation and disease. The Lost Boy's who managed survive spent 9-10 years of their lives in the Kakuma Refugee Camp.

Given only one bowl of food a day, life in the refugee camp was very hard; and with no parents to protect them, many lost their lives in the camp.

In 2001 the U.S. finally stepped in and resettled approximately 3,600 Lost Boys to the U.S. Today, the "Found" Men, (now ages 18-27), with the help of the CFLBS are focused on pursuing a higher education and training for meaningful careers. There are now 72 Lost Boys and one Lost Girl living in the Denver/Boulder area working and/or going to school. Some work two jobs and send money back to help brothers or family members still in the Refugee Camps or Sudan.

Meanwhile in Sudan, civil war and slavery is still very much a reality in their homeland-- a major concern for all of them. The situation in the Kakuma Refugee Camp where many of their brothers still are is deteriorating with starvation and disease. There is now a fragile peace agreement between the North and South, but the current genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan continues to be real threat to a permanent peace for all of Sudan.