Image source: Thejovshow.wordpress.com
Dave Eggers is one of my favorite authors. He is wry, observant, and brilliant with language. Until about a year ago, all I had read by him were works of fiction. Then I stumbled upon What is the What, an autobiography of a young Sudanese man name Valentino Achak Deng, one of the lost boys of Sudan.
Deng was born in a small village in Sudan, before the civil war. When the war hit and soldiers ransacked his village, killing his friends and family, Deng set off alone across the plains. He joined up with a group of hundreds of orphaned children, and together they tried to outrun the militias, hunger, fever, and death. The story is terrifying and is told from the perspective of the young, intrepid child. It is made all the more compelling by his unique character and bravery—an unlikely hero and survivor who found opportunity in the heart of desperation.
Image source: Guardian.co.uk
Through years of interviews and a deep friendship, Eggers managed to capture Deng’s voice, and the publicity the book brought to the plight of the lost boys, many of whom are now living in the U.S., has rallied great support for them and their families. But the thing that inspires me most about his story, is the work Deng is now doing to rebuild Sudan in the wake of the decades-long civil wars.
Image source: Cresltutors.blogspot.com
He has founded the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping the members of the southern Sudanese diaspora in the U.S., rebuilding southern Sudanese communities, and improving U.S. policy toward Sudan. While it does not currently offer volunteer opportunities directly, it does provide a wealth of resources for those interested in getting involved in the effort, from domestic fund-raising opportunities to volunteer travel programs in the affected region.
Image source: Flickr.com
Simply surviving the genocide is an incredible victory for a child, alone and without any money or resources. The hardships Deng faced—the loss of his close friends, the desperate living conditions, the violence all around him, and the constant hunger—must have taken an enormous physical and emotional toll. To experience that as a child, to survive, to find passage to the U.S., to build a life, and then to create an organization to help others… it is a miraculous story that speaks to Deng’s perseverance, courage, tenacity, and cleverness as well as to his compassion, selfless love of his people, and deep desire to make the world a better place. I was deeply touched by his story. I recommend it to everyone I meet. I can’t think of an individual I’ve never met that I admire more.