In 2003, former "Lost Boy" of Sudan, Salva Dut, founded Water for South Sudan in Rochester, NY. Salva's story began in 1974 when he was born in a rural village in southwestern
Sudan to a tribe of
Dinka people. When Salva was 11 years old, in 1985, Sudan was wracked by the
Second Sudanese Civil War. During this war, the "militia killed, plundered, burned, and raped their way through a huge swathe of Southern Sudan from 1985 to 1989". During this time, millions died and millions more were displaced, fleeing to refugee camps in
Ethiopia,
Kenya and other neighboring countries. When the fighting reached Salva's village, he was separated from his family and joined thousands of other children, mostly boys, known as the
Lost Boys of Sudan who had to seek safety on foot in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. After living in refugee camps for 10 years, Salva received an opportunity to move to the US in 1996. Several years after living in the US, Salva learned that his father was still alive in Southern Sudan but was suffering with disease caused by waterborne parasites. Hearing of his father's illness inspired Salva to help both his father and his country by bringing clean water to those in need. That was the beginning of Water for South Sudan. Salva's story is told in the
New York Times bestseller
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Two years after the founding of WFSS, in 2005, after over two decades of war, the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. This was the culmination of peace negotiations to find a comprehensive, lasting solution to the conflict that had divided north and south Sudan. After the truce was declared, the semi-autonomous
Government of Southern Sudan was established for that region. ==Operations==