Article Contributed on: 11/14/2008 10:59:06 AM
Arok Garang speaks with a thick accent, but he wants people to hear his story about Seeds of Hope, an effort that will help send children who survived the civil wars in Sudan, Africa to school.
Garang said, "With the help our partner Missio Lux in Seattle, Wash., we were able to put 32 orphans at the Root Academy boarding school in Nakuru, Kenya. The challenge is how to keep them in school, because we have no money for next semester and beyond."
Garang, a 26-year-old Denver resident, was born in southern Sudan to a family of farmers that raised cattle. He lived with his mother, father, three brothers and five sisters.
When he was 8, his village of Paliau was attacked by northern Islamist soldiers.
"We had been told by our parents if we heard gunfire to run. My mom woke us up in the chaos of the attack, holding some of my brothers and sisters to take us to safety. I ran in a different direction."
He recalled later finding out that his family had been killed. He managed to survive and now tells his story of hardship, poverty and disruption as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a group so named by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Garang said he and his cousins walked thousands of miles between 1988 and 1992 from Kenya to Ethiopia and back, often under conditions of starvation and poverty.
For nine years their home was a refugee camp in Kenya until 2001, when they were relocated to Denver.
"The process to bring us here began in 1997. It was very slow."
Since then, his older cousin has graduated from University of Colorado at Boulder and he graduated last year from the University of Colorado, Denver with a bachelor's degree in economics.
Garang now lives with two of his cousins in a two-bedroom apartment. They have stayed together since the devastating attacks.
Although Garang received help from The Colorado Friends of the Lost Boys of Sudan to help pay for books, he wants to help the children who remain in Kenya as orphans with no education.
Kim Johnson said she became aware of his story through a friend in Seattle, who formed Missiio Lux, a faith-based organization that is helping Arok tell his story and raise money for the orphans who attend Root Academy. Johnson is helping coordinate Garang's appearance at Applewood Community Church on Nov. 25.
Johnson said, "I am so anxious for them to get their stories out there. They need to be able to tell people what they've been through."
"We are messengers to tell America these children need education, so they can go back and build villages," Garang said.
Garang said there are 32 children at the Root Academy who are able to live there during the school year, but require other housing and care during the time school is not in session. He is looking for sponsors and funds. Sudan is still dangerous, Garang said because the war in Darfur continues.
"Raising money is hard. I have been to Cherry Creek High School and the Cherry Creek Amnesty International Kids raised $1,250, which will pay for five kids for a semester. They hope to continue that pledge, but there is no guarantee."
Garang was recently laid off from his job as an inspector at Coorstek in Golden and is looking for a new job. He was applying for a variety of jobs for his income, but hoped to go back to school and get a master's degree.
"I can tutor in math, I am good at math," he said.
Garang hopes to spread the word about the orphans at civic organizations, businesses or church groups.
"My mission is to help educate the orphans of civil wars in Sudan. Thousands of children have lost their parents."
He said providing them with education was the way to help them succeed in the future and hoped they would return to their villages, rebuild them and prosper. After 19 years of war, he said people are just starting to rebuild the economy.
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Garang will appear and speak at Applewood Community Church in Golden at 7 p.m. Nov. 25. For more information, e-mail kimfromoz@hotmail.com or call 303-469-5904. The Applewood Community Church is located at 12930 W. 32nd Ave., Golden. To contact Garang about to speaking at your group, e-mail arokg@yahoo.com or kimfromoz@hotmail.com.