Great News!!

Once in a while I am sent on a photo assignment with the Burlington Free Press that truly touches my heart. Jacob Nyinger Majok, 28, and Alex Pial, 26, came to this country in 2001 as refugees from Sudan. They were two of the many “Lost Boys of Sudan” who were resettled here in Vermont.

In 1987, a civil war drove an estimated twenty thousand young boys from their families and villages in Southern Sudan. Most no more than six or seven years old, they fled to Ethiopia to escape death or induction into slavery and the northern army. They walked a thousand miles through lion and crocodile country, eating mud to stave off thirst and starvation. Wandering for years, half of them died before reaching the Kenyan refugee camp, Kakuma. The survivors of this tragic exodus became known to the world as the “Lost Boys of Sudan.”

Quoted from www.lostboysofsudan.com

On July 18th I was so fortunate to be able to document such a heartwarming event when Majok and Pial received their United States citizenship in the U.S. District Court in Burlington with their friends and loved ones watching.

Mariana Lamaison Sears, a friend and journalist from the Burlington Free Press, reported on the exciting event that took place at the U.S. District Court in Burlington. You can read Mariana’s article here.

A few days ago, Mariana told me some wonderful news!! A man had seen the lead story photograph (below) and read Mariana’s article and was so inspired by this...

“Majok said citizenship means "a lot of things" for him, particularly the possibility of bringing his wife from Sudan. He is not planning to do that right away, he said; he needs to save money for the cost of travel.”

...that he decided to donate all of the money required for Majok to bring his wife to America. How awesome is that?!?

P.S.
Local journalist legend Candace Page, of the Burlington Free Press, wrote this article about the Lost Boys in 2001, get out your hankies!

Jacob Nyinger Majok receives a hug from a friend following the citizenship ceremony.

Majok holds the flag he was given during the ceremony.

Alex Pial places his hand over his heart during The Pledge of Allegiance at the end of the ceremony.