WAUKESHA – One of the “lost boys of Sudan,” John Bul Dau, who fled his African village, naked and on foot, to find safety in Ethiopia and then back when he needed to seek refuge from new attackers, will give this year’s Distinguished Lecturer presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha Thursday, March 8, at 7:00 p.m. in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. It is located in the Fine Arts Center on campus at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha.

Dau was interviewed for the book, God Grew Tired of Us, published by National Geographic, and appears in the recently released movie with the same title. People magazine, which ran an article on him in January, began its title with “He walked 1,100 miles to flee war.”

The documentary by Christopher Quinn, originally released and honored with several awards at the Sundance Film Festival, tells of the terror, starvation, dehydration, disease, violence, exhaustion, weather extremes, and natural dangers faced by the Dinka, such as Dau, and other Sudanese villagers, whose numbers were decimated as they ran away first from Muslim invaders and then, later, from weary hosts. Those who survived ended up in refugee camps in Kenya, and a few were selected to emigrate to the US. Dau was sponsored by a church in upstate New York and arrived in 2001.

His troubles began when he was 10 years old. Now 34, he is a student at Syracuse University. In addition to studying, he has been raising money for books, medical care for “lost boys” in the US, and a medical clinic in his home town.

Sponsored by the UW-Waukesha Lectures & Fine Arts Committee, the program is open to the public. Tickets are $6, and all seating is general admission. For information, phone (262) 521-5258, or (262) 521-5494 for ticket sales. Theatre doors and box office will open a half hour before the presentation.

UW-Waukesha has the largest enrollment among the 13 freshman-sophomore University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses. For information about programs, admission, or financial aid, contact the Student Services office at (262) 521-5200 or visit the Web at www.waukesha.uwc.edu.

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