I Kept Walking | Salva Dut | TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet

I would like to tell you about my walk that originated from Africa some years back and the power of the water to in our life as well Africa is a very big place with many countries some people always say that Africa is a country but it's not really a country it's just a pleasure continent and when I was young I was just a naked boy in Sudan South Sudan was part of Sudan which was the largest country in Africa and the people in the north were fighting people in the south and the world last for 21 years and we lost everything we just trying to survive and keep walking walking letting me all around the world and brought me back again I just keep walking putting one foot in front of the other and has made all the difference in my life completely has a boy my life was very simple tending cows Goods sheep do a little hunting also when I was 10 years old I went to school and my sisters were just busy collecting water for our family each day and when I was 11 years old and at his school my village was attacked and the civil war of Sudan came all the way down to South Sudan to my little tiny village and I ran for my life with other many boys and we never looked back we were called The Lost Boy but we weren't really lost we were the walking boys and our enemy was targeting the boys because the enemy thought if the boys grow up someday they will become the soldiers and fight and we were the victim of the war we walk through the desert in the extreme temperature of over 100 degree with no water or food sometime we avoid crocodile when we crossing the rivers avoiding lions when we are in the savanna or in the bushes avoiding soldiers when we are in the open my uncle would just kill in front of me by another tribe while I was just looking in there very close range but I kept walking I learned that if you keep persisting and keep walking and walking and ever ever give up you will accomplish so many thing in your life under any terrible circumstances when we arrived to our first refugee camp in Ethiopia their boys were separated and we were put in the orphanage camp because we didn't have people take care of us and imagine just boys alone take care of themselves it's not that easy life and our number grew and increased because the civil war was still going on in Sudan and the number of the boys and that often camp became 17,000 boys helping themselves alone I was elected to lead 1,500 boys and we worked thousands and thousand of mile in three countries in his app is Africa for many many many years finally when we reach to our final cabinet in Kenya in my group alone 500 boys were dead and only one thousand had made it with me to a refugee camp in Kenya I didn't know what my war would possibly do for me or what my future health I just wanted to go home and be with my family the family that I thought I will never see them again just have a normal life with my family and go to school that's what I would just their import looking for but do I have a choice I have to keep walking the Welcome that I knew that exactly what my parent my dad uncle wanted me to do I wondered what my life would possibly do what is my future what could I do I have no choice I have to keep walking and sit there in there of it you can life in refugee camp is so harsh completely you eat one meal a day you have no place for bathroom you have no freedom to go you have no any choice conditions are terrible you sleep in the place that's so crowded with sick people who are throwing up but you have to be there you cannot go anywhere and keep walking until when I was 22 years old the news that I thought was just a glimmer of my future life came through my name was elected to come to America has a political refugee imagine to fly a plane in the first time in my life was a scary coming to the country that has so many things that I never had when I was a child was a very challenging country that has so many thing that people take water for granted you eat anytime you want you have so many cars electricity nice houses and fancy stuff whatever you can imagine and when I arrived to America I was taken in by a wonderful family righteous in New York and my walk totally took a new turn in this chalk and culture I heard to learn everything just starting walking to my room knowing how to switch on the light was a challenge microwave my laundry and all those little things the thing that you guys don't even think about it going to the grocery store having a difficult choice what food can I take and what food could I leave was very challenging I have to learn everything find a job going to school sometimes I fail my grade and I keep walking do everything for myself in order to fit in in this culture was not that easy but I have to keep walking keep learn and keep persisting when I was 27 years old in America about five years in America another great news came to me my father was a life the father that I thought he was dead long ago and he thought it was I was dead too I didn't see him for almost 16 years and I didn't know where he was I said I have to go and see him prove the help of my friend and my near family I managed to go back and when I arrived to the compound of my dad in South Sudan my dad couldn't realize me completely because I was growing up becoming man after I did introduction my father realized that I was one of his lost son and we were so emotional and the reunion was so wonderful but there bad news it was very very very sick and the doctor told me that if your dad keep drinking this dirty water he might not survive and when I came back to America my dad took the water and put in my forehead which is a sign a simple sign of peace and life in pink a tradition when I came to you as I said I have to do something no matter what I have to go back and help my people and my country even though I love my new country and I love my new family I have to go back I started a nonprofit called water for South Sudan it took me four years to collect 50,000 that I was looking forward to go back and drill it well when I collect that I purchase all the equipment that I need and I went back home what I drill the first well in my dad is the village I could see immediately the power of the water what water do in our life life is very hard and difficult in South Sudan many girls like you women have to work miles and mile hours and hours in extreme heat all the time each day just to collect water to survive imagine that and when you drill the well their life change automatically if school is getting built and you will see the young girl that walk hours and I was helping oportunidad to go to school with the boys together a woman that have to work hours and hours have extra time to cook a healthy food for her family do another business to run to earn more money for her family gutting around the well clinic is coming market is coming in and the entire community thriving and because of just little seed that we put down their seed of drilling well trigger so many things in entire community and you could tell the water is the foundation toward a human development to do work there in South Sudan is very difficult we have enough water deep under the ground but you cannot go that deep and we do it because we have this powerful rig that could go 300 feet deep one time when we are drilling a well in my father's village one of the elders man came and said watching us could not even believe that we will get the water from that dry land and when he saw the water coming out it's AG people always been dying while we are just sitting right on the top of the water imagine that if we didn't have that powerful rate to get away deeper to do the work that is extremely difficult because the country has nothing they have no factories they have no payroll they have no gas station they have no grocery store they have nothing completely and we have to go to another country and buy all the supply that we need to bring them in and to do it is very difficult we have to season there we have rainy season rainy season you cannot do anything about in 10 muddy and you cannot drive you cannot drill the only time we have to drill is dry season for six months only in extreme heat of over 120 degree my team always gets sick it but I myself had malaria sometime we get malaria Haiti stroke and diarrhea and all sort of thing that happened but we keep walking because we knew that what we doing is changing lives to the better I have some of the Lost Boys and bi team today were driving trucks working together making a difference to these people and sin we start drilling we drill enough well that are serving a quarter of million people today in South Sudan and because of the people all around the world and especially their children that who work hard to raise fund to water for South Sudan all together we just drill one well at a time and one step at a time South Sudan or Sudan has been fully involved in so many conflict since I was young they had the first war that they forward would not that makes us wouldn't become independent and South Sudan yet is still in their own Civil War today and we have so many people sitting in a refugee camp was suffering like the time I was suffering the refugee camp the war I said is power struggle admits lack of education because these people are not educated and their tribal issues and what we did we have other good people from other tribe who are doing a good work like me and we get together and we go to a tribal area to drill it well to teach these people that fighting will never get us anywhere but working together will take us way further we need to look at each other has one people working together that's what we need and each individual always face its own difficult today in South Sudan people who are drinking clean water and the new nation of the world and all the tribes and the leaders and I myself we are walking together trying to build a country that might stand tall and proud someday I still have difficulties in my life and people always ask me and said Salva how did you overcome all these challenges and these difficulties and I said because of three thing having hope faith and persevere and you can accomplish anything in your life my message to you keep walking no matter what how things are difficult keep walking you will find people that could join you in your walk and you may become a leader and many of you when you look back together you will see how far have you come and how much you accomplished together I urge you to keep walking just take a step even in spotting step when you need it and when you fall down please remember me and keep walking you will get there thank you very much [Applause]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 615,860

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, United States, Global Issues, Africa, Civil War, Global issues, Grit, Personal growth, Refugee, Water

Id: mWlNdnFicLE

Length: 13min 47sec (827 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 21 2016