Thomas Madut was born in Sudan and fled as a refugee at a young age to escape violence, becoming separated from his family. He walked over 1,000 miles to reach safety in a refugee camp in Kenya, where he was reunited with his brother but remained separated from the rest of his family for over 15 years. Through sponsorship, he immigrated to the United States and attended high school in South Dakota before going to Dakota Wesleyan University on a track scholarship. There, he shared his story with a local Rotary Club, whose member anonymously donated for Thomas to be reunited with his long-lost family in Kenya. The emotional visit reunited Thomas with his parents and siblings after over 15 years, though he

1. WESLEYAN TODAY • 11
wt feature
By Lori Essig
lost
...and FOUND
In my years at Dakota Wesleyan, I’ve crossed paths with many
students, and some have become friends. But it’s less common
to come across a student whose story affects me deeply and
personally. Thomas Madut is a student who has
made a profound impact on me with his constant smile, his hard
work and determination, and his endlessly happy, upbeat atti-
tude.
While those traits may not be unique, they are remarkable con-
sidering Thomas’ life experiences.
Family Portrait
Back Row (l to r):
Thomas
Sarafino, father
Ajok, mother
David, brother
Front Row (l to r)
Malong, cousin
Abace, cousin
Theresa, sister
Manylie, brother
Simon, brother

2. 12 • WESLEYAN TODAY
Thomas Garng Madut was born in Turalie,
Sudan, in 1985. When he was little more
than a toddler, his childhood was interrupted
by a government-sponsored attack on his vil-
lage. In their haste to escape, families were
separated, and many people were murdered.
“We just started running away,” said Thomas,
“and we ran on different paths.”
Thomas was one of many refugees looking
for safety, but he found no family members
among the group of fellow travelers, many of
whom were also children.
“You are tied to those who grab your hand
to help you,” he said. “They become your
family.”
For a year and a thousand miles, Thomas
walked, heading from the Sudan to safety in
Ethiopia. That safety was short-lived. When
civil war broke out in Ethiopia, the little lost
boy and thousands of other refugees again
began another deadly trek. On this journey,
thousands died of starvation, dehydration,
genocidal murder and wild animal attacks.
Eventually, Thomas and others arrived at
their new home – a refugee camp in Kakuma,
Kenya.
It was in Kenya that Thomas made an excit-
ing discovery: his brother, David, had sur-
vived and was in the same camp. It became
clear that they were the only members of
their immediate family who had survived.
When they arrived at the camp in Kenya,
there was no shelter, not enough food and
many children – “Lost Boys,” named for Peter
Pan’s band of boys who protected and relied
on one another – who were on their own
like Thomas and his brother. The children
huddled under trees for their only protection
from the hot, dry, windy climate. It was nearly
a year before they even had plastic sheeting
to drape on trees for a bit of protection.
“It was difficult,” said Thomas. “There was
not enough food, and people died. We had
no medicine. We tried to build mud houses
to get out of the sun and wind.”
In spite of the difficulties, the refugees
worked together and became a community.
“It was like a town,” Thomas says. “They
tried to build a school, but we had to learn to
write on the ground in the dirt.”
Hunger was a serious issue; most expected
to eat no more than once a day. “We were
there physically, but not mentally,” he says.
“You cannot learn when you are hungry and
all you think about is food, your family and
going home.”
But boys will be boys everywhere, and to
pass the time and alleviate the depression
and boredom, the children would fashion a
soccer ball out of rags and play soccer, or
use rocks and sticks to play golf. They would
play until sunset.
Thomas said he and David did not realize un-
til several years had passed that they would
not be going home. In 1997, about seven
years into their ordeal, the United Nations
began registering the refugees, taking names
and estimating ages. Through a process that
took several years, Thomas and David were
made aware that they would leave the refu-
gee camp and relocate to the United States,
Australia or Canada.
“I wanted to get out of there,” said Thomas.
“There was no future in that camp. I looked
at the positive side and was excited to come
to the U.S.A. with its freedom and wealth. I
would be able to work, make myself better.”
Through the immigration process, Thomas
and David were separated for the second
time in their lives, and David went to Canada
while Thomas remained in Kenya. Soon af-
ter, Thomas was bound for the United States.
The trip itself was a culture shock: first, the
city of Nairobi, then air travel, then Amster-
dam and New York City. The colors and
technology were overwhelming for the boy
from a resource-starved refugee camp. But,
“it was almost heaven compared to what we
were used to,” according to Thomas.
Once they reached the U.S., he and the other
Lost Boys were divided into small groups
to be sent to different parts of the country.
Thomas and three others were headed for
South Dakota, where they were to be spon-
sored by Lutheran Social Services.
Thomas chuckles when he talks about his
first home in Sioux Falls. He and his friend
Peter William were 15 years old, the other
boys only slightly older when they moved into
a two-bedroom apartment. Remembering
what it was like to be a teenager in a new
country with modern conveniences and little
adult supervision obviously brings back fond
memories.
On Sept. 16, 2001, Thomas and Peter Wil-
liam moved in with their new foster family,
Cherri and Doug Johnson. Cherri had been
an LSS volunteer who regularly picked up
refugees at the airport and took them to buy
shoes, watches, hats, gloves and winter
coats if they arrived in the winter. The
Johnsons’ children were grown, and they wel-
comed Thomas and Peter William into their
lives and their home.
Throughout his time in Sioux Falls, Thomas
stayed in contact with his brother, David, in
Canada. Neither of them held out hope that
other members of their family were still alive
... until a phone call in 2002.
A Sudanese case worker in Sioux Falls who
had become a friend, had the opportunity to
travel back to Africa, and through a twist of
fate, that trip changed everything.
“We got a phone call from Kenya one night,”
says Thomas, “and he (the case worker)
said, ‘Thomas, I’m here with your dad right
now!’ We all started crying. He told me the
rest of my family was OK.”
lost
...and FOUND
Thomas Madut

3. WESLEYAN TODAY • 13
From that time on, Thomas and David were
able to be in limited contact with their family.
Political unrest and a lack of resources made
the idea of a face-to-face visit unlikely, how-
ever. Thomas went about his life as a high
school student with a sense of relief about his
family, now in Kenya.
During his years at Lincoln High School in
Sioux Falls, Thomas enjoyed a great track
career, something he attributes to a favorite
PE teacher – Mrs. Butch – and to his 2,000-
mile trek across sub-Saharan Africa.
When he graduated from high school in
2005, he was recruited to run cross country
and track at Dakota Wesleyan. It seemed a
good fit, and there was comfort in the proxim-
ity to his family in Sioux Falls.
It was during his sophomore year at DWU
that the Mitchell Daily Republic contacted
Thomas and several other Lost Boys who
were attending DWU. The resulting news-
paper story caused a remarkable string of
events.
The local Rotary Club invited the young men
to present a program about their journey at a
weekly meeting. In the end, Thomas was the
only one of the Lost Boys whose schedule
allowed him to attend the meeting.
During his presentation, he mentioned his
brother in Canada whom he had not seen
recently, and his family in Kenya, separated
from Thomas and David since they’d fled for
their lives as little boys.
Following the meeting, one club member ap-
proached me, a fellow Rotarian, to offer a gift.
“I have been blessed,” he said, “and I cannot
imagine not seeing my children for 15 years.
I would like to pay for Thomas and his brother
to go home to visit their parents ... but I want
to do it anonymously.”
The news was unbelievable to Thomas.
“I just kept saying, ‘wow, wow, wow,’ because
someone out of nowhere just wanted to
help,” he said.
Nearly a year later, in the summer of 2008,
Thomas and David made their life-changing
trip home to see their family. In addition to
their parents, brothers and sister, Thomas
and David met two brothers who were born
during their long absence.
“It was so emotional, seeing my family,
and them seeing both of us,” said Thomas.
“There was a time when they didn’t even
know we still existed. We just said, ‘Mom,
we are back.’ It was like dreaming. Is this
real? Is this happening to me? I couldn’t
get enough of my family; they couldn’t get
enough of me. We cried many good tears.”
When the young men arrived home, their fa-
ther was extremely ill, unable to move around
on his own. During their time with him, he
began to recover, and Thomas credits his
father’s better health to seeing his long-lost
boys.
Thomas and David spent a month reconnect-
ing with extended family and friends, living in
their village, visiting the market and the local
school. They were local celebrities, sharing
clothing, gifts and the unfamiliar technology
of a digital camera.
Thirty days and hundreds of photos later, the
young men found themselves saying good-
bye to the family that they had once doubted
still existed.
“When we were leaving, I wished I could just
take them with me,” said Thomas. “Seeing
them, and then leaving them was sad. It was
very hard for my parents to see us leave.”
Thomas knows it could be a very long time
before he sees his family again, but true to
his nature, he is focused on the positive. He
just finished another successful track season
by earning All-Conference honors with a
seventh-place finish at the Great Plains
Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and
Field Championships. Last fall, he qualified
for the NAIA Men’s Cross Country National
Championships and finished with a personal
best time. In addition to his successful track
and cross country career, he has served as
a member of the DWU Student Association
Senate, a resident assistant and was recently
elected president of next year’s senior class.
Through all of his involvement, he has
continued to work in Sioux Falls at Sunshine
Foods, and on weekends he works at Al’s
Oasis in Chamberlain, where he has become
a familiar face to regular visitors.
As a human services major with a minor in
physical education, Thomas thinks he could
share his life lessons with others. He would
like to stay in South Dakota.
“Because of what I’ve been through, I wonder
what would have happened if there had been
nobody to help me,” he said. “I want to give
back because I know what it feels like to
need help.”
“All good things have happened to me here.
Maybe God planned it out, all these con-
nections. That is what makes this a special
place to be.”
The Market
A colorful outdoor market near Thomas’
family home
To view photos of Thomas’
journey to Kenya, visit
www.dwu.edu/wt
Cross Country
Casey Collins, DWU assistant coach
Thomas Madut
Patrick Belling, DWU head coach
Cross country photo by Donald Simmons