This story was originally published in our 2018 Fall Newsletter.
Simon became one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” at the age of 6. He literally ran from his country, along with an estimated 20,000 other young boys, to avoid being killed or conscripted into the army in the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1987.
These “Lost Boys” walked more than a thousand miles, wandering in and out of war zones, and spent the next four years in dire conditions. Thousands of boys lost their lives to hunger, dehydration, and exhaustion. Some were attacked and killed by wild animals; others drowned crossing rivers and many were caught in the crossfire of fighting forces, half of them dying before reaching Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, a sprawling, parched settlement of mud huts, where the survivors lived for eight years under the care of refugee relief organizations.
In 2001, as part of a program established by the US Government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 3800 Lost Boys were allowed to resettle in the United States.”
Simon was one of those boys. Simon arrived in Burlington, attended Burlington High School and received his diploma from BHS in 2004. He then returned to Africa and married Mary, who he had known for a long time and who was living in a refugee camp in Kenya. Sadly, she was not allowed to emigrate with Simon when he returned to the U.S., so they remained apart.
Simon moved to Texas and worked for the Tyson meat company from 2006-2011. He started his petition to bring his family from Africa to this country, but he had to have a sufficient amount of money in order to have his petition accepted. In 2011, Simon, Mary and their children were able to move to Vermont, a place that the family considers “home.”
Simon works at the UVM Medical Center, and Mary is a resident care associate at a senior care facility. They are currently living in a small apartment where they fear for their children’s’ safety. Cars, including theirs, have been broken into and their daughter was frightened by other kids who had knives.
Having grown up in frightening and dangerous circumstances, Simon and Mary understandably want their children to be safe. “I am looking forward to having a home where our children can play outside safely in the back yard,” said Mary,
“Owning our own home will make a big difference to the safety of our family,” Simon added, “And we are so excited about having the responsibility to maintain and meet certain standards with our new home during our lifetime. We will also save money for our children. I will be happy to pay our mortgage for 30 years!”
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