Lopez Lomong / Photo Courtesy of Sudan Sunrise
Like so many of those touched by the conflicts in Sudan, “Lost Boy” and Team Darfur member Lopez Lomong has quite a story. It is one of great hardship and endurance, yet also of accomplishment and hope. When Lopez was six years old, he was kidnapped while attending a Catholic mass in his native Kimotong, in the south of Sudan. He eventually escaped from the government-supported militia that had abducted him and ran to the Kakuma refugee camp. Lopez ran for two or three days to the camp that would be his home for the next ten years.
He later resettled in the United States to attend high school and later went on to attend Northern Arizona University, where he enjoyed success as a middle distance runner. He made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field team to compete in the 1,500-meter event. His trip to Beijing would include one other task however: carrying the United States flag at the Opening Ceremony.
Lopez is again thinking of the Kimotong Reconcilation Church, the site of his abduction almost twenty years ago. He intends to help rebuild the church with the help of Sudan Sunrise, an organization founded to promote reconciliation between Christians, Muslims, and all Sudanese, and members of the Darfur Students Association at the University of Juba. The church will also double as a community center and provide food and clean water.
Lopez’s project is slated to begin this November. So far, he has raised $21,368 of the $129,412 required for the church’s reconstruction. Please help Lomong reach his goal and support this project aimed at fostering peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians in Sudan. Projects like Lopez’s will be especially important ahead of the referendum planned for January 2011 as they will strengthen Sudanese civil society.
