I remembered our teachers in Ethiopia telling us that the United States was very far away and life there was very different. I was happy to hear that my brothers and I would have a new place to live, but I was also very afraid. I wondered if people in America would accept me, a lost boy with nothing but a few tattered schoolbooks. I thought it might be better to stay in Kakuma.
I went to the forest to be alone and think about all the things Tom had told us. I also remembered my father’s words: Your heart and mind are strong. There is nothing you cannot do.
When I first heard those words, I did not understand them. Now I knew them to be true. My heart was strong with faith and the love of my brothers, and my mind was filled with wisdom from books and the many changes in my life. I was no longer afraid. I would find the strength to make a new life. I would find a new future.
Mary Williams
Ever since Mary Williams (1967– ) heard about the lost boys of Sudan, she knew she had to help. Williams started an organization called the Lost Boys Foundation. She then wrote a fictional story based on the real events of the lost boys. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the Lost Boys Foundation helps the Sudanese boys (now young men) receive college educations. Williams says, “I’ve never met a lost boy not interested in bettering himself and his country.”