walkSUDAN

I just finished interviewing Roy for the High Plains Article on the walkSUDAN event coming up on Saturday, Oct. 4th. Of course we've heard of the Lost Boys - they went to Oak Grove with Erik. It was horrible - boys as young as 4 and 5 forced to walk thousands of miles to get help. Civil war, death, loss. But then what? One of them, Machien went to Fargo South and played soccer with Roy's son, Jeremiah, my nephew. Roy helped Machien get into Concordia, where he's a professor. Roy taught a class called Celtic Christianity, which Machien took. They studied the book, "How the Irish Saved Civilization." When Rome was falling, the Irish saved the precious manuscripts and took them back to Ireland, so civilization was saved through these manuscripts. Roy posed the question: If the US is the modern-day Rome, who's the modern-day Ireland? Machien came up to Roy after class and answered, "Sudan." So began the journey to build the first library in the south of Sudan, where there is none.

Jeremiah started walkSUDAN to raise awareness for the Lost Boys and Sudan, and to raise money to build the library. Our whole family is going to walk (and donate money). I wouldn't miss this for the world - as many Lost Boys as can come will be there. A woman who walked in one of the other walkSUDAN's said the boys chanted (I personally can't wait to hear that). Why get excited? I have no idea, but I really care, and want to help spread the word that this great event will be here in less than two weeks.

If you want more information, you can go to www.pacodes.org. Roy and Machien started that organization right here in Fargo. Who knew? I didn't know, and Roy's family! But now I'm educating myself, and I'm so proud of this good work going on right here in our beautiful community. Why should we care about something happening halfway around the world? Roy told a good story from a Pakistani mystic poet - the poet said that if East and West look into a mirror, they see their opposites, but they are still part of the same body. What affects one of us affects all of us - that is why we should care.

What's neat is that they're starting at Roosevelt Park at 8:30 (right by NDSU), then walking over to MSUM, and ending up at Concordia, joining all three colleges in a show of unity and connection. I don't know - this whole thing is just making me all warm inside, and I can feel the excitement building. I'm going to be there - come join me!