David Nyuol Vincent in Bega, ‘The Boy Who Wouldn’t Die’
Episode 20, Dec 15, 2019, 12:01 AM
David Nyuol Vincent, was a Sudanese refugee who survived famine, wars and 17 years in refugee camps to build a new life in Australia, is September of 2019 he visited Bega at the invitation of Bega Valley Quakers and the Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast.
David was a little boy when he fled southern Sudan with his father, as war raged in their country. He left behind his distraught mother and sisters, his village and his childhood.
For months David and his father walked across southern Sudan, barefoot, desperately searching for safety, food and water. They survived the perilous Sahara Desert crossing into Ethiopia only to be separated.
David was taken in and trained as a child soldier, surviving the next 17 years of his life alone in refugee camps.
Life was a relentless struggle against starvation, air bombings and people determined to kill him and his people.
In 2004 David was offered a humanitarian visa as one of the 'Lost Boys of Sudan' and was resettled to Australia.
Traumatised by what he had seen and endured, he went about the slow and painful process of making a new life for himself-a life away from hunger, away from guns, away from death. A life where David is determined to improve the plight of his people both here in Australia and back in South Sudan.
Working with journalist Carol Nader, David told his story in the 2013 book ‘The Boy Who Wouldn’t Die.’
David is committed to achieving peace for his people near and far, and its work supported by Bega Valley locals.
Locally, Bega Valley Quakers have supported David’s peace work, helping him attend training and education in Switzerland as his advocacy and community work grows.
In September, David visited Bega to thank people for their support and share his story. Money raised from David's lecture at Bega High School went towards his ongoing peace work.
David was a little boy when he fled southern Sudan with his father, as war raged in their country. He left behind his distraught mother and sisters, his village and his childhood.
For months David and his father walked across southern Sudan, barefoot, desperately searching for safety, food and water. They survived the perilous Sahara Desert crossing into Ethiopia only to be separated.
David was taken in and trained as a child soldier, surviving the next 17 years of his life alone in refugee camps.
Life was a relentless struggle against starvation, air bombings and people determined to kill him and his people.
In 2004 David was offered a humanitarian visa as one of the 'Lost Boys of Sudan' and was resettled to Australia.
Traumatised by what he had seen and endured, he went about the slow and painful process of making a new life for himself-a life away from hunger, away from guns, away from death. A life where David is determined to improve the plight of his people both here in Australia and back in South Sudan.
Working with journalist Carol Nader, David told his story in the 2013 book ‘The Boy Who Wouldn’t Die.’
David is committed to achieving peace for his people near and far, and its work supported by Bega Valley locals.
Locally, Bega Valley Quakers have supported David’s peace work, helping him attend training and education in Switzerland as his advocacy and community work grows.
In September, David visited Bega to thank people for their support and share his story. Money raised from David's lecture at Bega High School went towards his ongoing peace work.