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John Dau, one of Sudan’s “Lost Boys” and head of the John Dau Foundation, visited Xavier Jesuit Academy (XJA) on Oct. 28-29, sharing his story of survival, education and service with the school community.
Dau’s harrowing 1,000-mile journey was chronicled in the acclaimed 2006 documentary “God Grew Tired of Us,” a film commissioned by the United Nations. After arriving in the United States in 2001, Dau dedicated himself to serving the community he left behind. Through the John Dau Foundation, he has since built 19 health facilities in South Sudan,
including the Duk Lost Boys Hospital.
He now teaches at an academy in northern Virginia, where he lives with his wife and children. Introduced to XJA by a mutual benefactor, Dau delivered a keynote address on Oct. 28 to 165 XJA supporters and donors before meeting with students the following morning.
Speaking to the assembled supporters, Dau emphasized the transformative power of education and grassroots community building. “Education is my mother and my father,” he said, recalling the mantra that sustained him through years in refugee camps. “It is through education that you can find everything.”
In anticipation of meeting John, students read “A Long Walk to Water,” which tells the story of Salva Dut, a fellow Lost Boy whom Dau knows well from their years searching for safety. When speaking with the students, Dau challenged listeners to take personal initiative in building communities of support around themselves: “Start with yourself as a person
who can build that community. Then it grows to two people and later five. Before you know it, you may be 50 or even 100 people.”
Dau’s life story embodies the determination he preached. Violently separated from other members of his family in 1987 at age 12, John was forced to flee on foot when their village was attacked by the Sudanese army in a campaign of genocide during the country’s
brutal civil war. “John’s message resonates powerfully with Xavier Jesuit Academy’s mission of forming ‘Men for Others’ through faith-based education,” said Father Nathan
Wendt. “We could not have asked for a better representative of our ideals. It was a true blessing to have him join us for these special events.” These events at Xavier Jesuit Academy were sponsored by the Albach, Wells and Dauer group at Morgan Stanley and by Prestige AV and Creative Services.
First published in The Enquirer, Sunday, November 9, 2025
