Original “Lost Boy of the Sudan” To Visit Columbia State
Paul Manyok, one of the original “Lost Boys of the Sudan” will speak on June 23 at 7 p.m. at Columbia State’s Lewisburg Campus.
Manyok just returned from a Peace and Reconciliation Conference in the Southern Sudan and will tell his incredible survival story and his inspirational vision for the future.
“His message is a motivational presentation for all to hear,” said Tom Hallquist, instructor of communications at Columbia State. “During his most recent visit to the Sudan, his car caravan was ambushed and three of his friends were killed. Even though the peace conference suffered a setback, Paul is still leading a coalition to initiate further peace talks.”
Manyok is an Anglican Pastor, chairman of the Peace in 2010 Conference and director of the Nashville Lost Boys Foundation. He lives in Nashville with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Abigale.
“I knew very little about the lost boys, but I did find that it is one of the most incredible stories in history. I found they don’t look back, they forward to the future…but it is a story that has to be told,” added Hallquist.
The story of “The Lost Boys” is one of history’s lesser known and darker tales from the recent past. There were thousands of children who were orphaned, displaced or simply cut loose during the second Sudanese civil war that occurred and devastated Sudan between 1983 and 2005. This long, complicated struggle undermined a generation of children, obliterating families, educational systems, human rights, and the ability to stay alive.
“The Lost Boys” are so named because refugee groups worked to relocate them to various countries. Less than one-sixth of the remaining Lost Boys found their way to the United States. There are larger numbers of these lost children in other countries. America has taken only a small number of these refugees.
For more information contact Tom Hallquist at (931) 540-2640 or thallquist@columbiastate.edu.
Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg, and Clifton. As Tennessee’s first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest education system in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.