WORK IN PROGRESS
THE Personal Effectiveness E-zine January 2007

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Have you ever considered something wrong in the world, felt badly about it, and decided that you could do nothing about it because you are just one person? Or because it was too far away?

Have you ever thought of yourself as powerless because of lack of education, or background, or means?

Let me introduce you to Salva Dut.

Dut is one of the men sometimes known as the "lost boys" of the Sudan. Aged eleven he fled the wartime attack on his community, not knowing if his parents had lived or died. Gathering together in groups, the young boys first trekked north-east to Ethiopia, and then, turned away, they headed south-west to Kenya, a journey of around a thousand miles. The journey took years, as they struggled to be neither shot nor captured to be forced into an army - on either side. Just children, they had to avoid wild animals, find food and water, and, in short, to stay alive in the most dire of circumstances. Not all succeeded - hundreds died along the way. At long last the survivors reached Kenya and a refugee camp that would accept them instead of turning them away. Dut was one of the lucky ones, for he was among less than four thousand who were, after years had passed, admitted to the United States. He arrived here in 1996, aged 21 and knowing almost no English. How he came to my hometown of Rochester I do not know. I have not met him, but I teach part-time at the community college where he first studied. While studying he also worked up to three part-time jobs at a time. I may have seen him, for I see them in the college from time to time, the "lost boys." They have a different look from others. They have seen and lived in a different kind of hell. They have every excuse in the world for failure, but most of them choose not to fail.

Dut did not fail. He worked and he studied - but he did not forget. He reached back to his homeland and tried to discover whether his parents were still alive. Finding no trace, he believed they had been killed. When at last a cousin in the Sudan discovered that Dut's father was alive, but in hospital, Dut's local church raised funds for him to return. He discovered that his father was gravely ill, his body riddled with parasites from drinking contaminated water. The village where Dut's mother lives was off limits because of the war still raging, but at least he knew now that his parents were alive.

He returned to the U.S. fired with a new ambition, to bring drinking water to his people. Not only is the currently available water likely to be contaminated, but the scant supply is often far from the villages and reaching it can involve walking for miles. Leaving the village puts each individual at risk for attack, death, rape or torture by the militias who rampage the area.

Since that time, driven by this passion, Dut, now 30, has become a powerhouse, an eloquent speaker, a fund-raiser, an administrator. He founded Water for Sudan and in 2005 returned to Sudan to have five wells drilled. Problems in 2006 led to the drilling of only two wells, and the realization that organization of the work would be easier if it were not necessary to hire drilling equipment. Water for Sudan has now bought its own drilling equipment, which reduces the cost of drilling each well by almost half. Dut now spends part of each year drilling wells and, when the rains come and drilling is not possible, he returns to the U.S. to do fund-raising. Recently, students at a local high school, Penfield High, raised $8,000. They donated $5,000 - the approximate cost of drilling one well - ro Water for the Sudan, and the rest will go to challenging other local high schools to meet or beat Penfield's fund-raising effort. Local Rotary Clubs have become involved, but more is needed.

Each year, on arrival in the Sudan, Dut is greeted by representatives of many villages, each seeking his help, far more than he can drill wells for. He does not make the decision on where to drill, but asks those representatives to decide among themselves where that year's well's should be drilled.

His childhood was spend in poverty,war, and fear. He fled his home aged eleven and lived through horrors most of us can hardly imagine. He ended up in a foreign country where he did not speak the language. Now he saves hundreds of lives every year. (Did I mention that it is estimated that, worldwide, 6,000 people die EACH AND EVERY DAY as a result of contaminated water?)

So... each of us is just one person... the problems of the world are too huge for us to have an effect... we feel powerless... Now that we know about Salvas Dut, can we really say that we are powerless? He saw a need, and determined to help fill it. If there is just one woman who can get water for her family without fear of rape, what he does would be worthwhile, but there are hundreds, for each well supplies around three thousand people.

Your turn.

Where is your passion? What moves you when you read of suffering, ignorance, starvation? What can you do? You have more power than you know - until you try.

Water for Sudan
http://www.waterforsudan.org/

Lost boys of Sudan
http://www.redcross.org/news/in/africa/010814lostboys_a.html

http://www.stpaulsec.org/waterforsudan.html

http://tinyurl.com/upnsq

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Disclaimer -The contents herein are solely the opinions of Work in Progress owner, and should not be considered as a form of therapy nor advice. There is no guarantee of validity or accuracy. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought.

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PLEASE! Any re-use of this material should include the words "Copyright Diana Robinson 2006. For more information visit Diana's web site http://ChoiceCoach.com or contact her at Diana@ChoiceCoach.com."

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