African Soul, American Heart

Deb Dawson’s Extraordinary Quest to Shelter Orphans in Sudan

WRITER: KRISTY (MAKI) OLSGAARD

PHOTOGRAPHY: DEB DAWSON AND ASAH

Deb Dawson’s life was full with a husband, three biological sons between them and three adopted daughters. After retiring from the helm of a local insurance company and earning her MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1999, she was trying to publish a memoir. Until she met Joseph Akol Makeer, a Lost Boy of Sudan.

“Joseph said after 22 years of civil war, South Sudan had depopulated much of the country,” Dawson said. “But a peace agreement had been signed and people were returning. An orphan himself, he wanted to make a movie about orphans returning from the refugee camps to encourage people to help.”

While pursuing her MFA, Deb made four short films. Initially, she thought she’d pass the project off to other filmmakers, but it turned out she had the passion to see it through.

“In December 2007, our small team flew to Kenya and filmed at Kakuma refugee camp where Joseph had lived for 11 years. Then, we chartered a mission plane to land in Joseph’s village of Duk Payuel, Jonglei State. There we interviewed children, elders, chiefs and pastors. Our 25-minute documentary, African Soul, American Heart, won awards at film festivals,” Dawson said. “More important, we learned that orphan girls are the most vulnerable children in a village. These children really needed help.”

Dawson and a team of dedicated volunteers began to develop plans and raise money for these “throw away children— girls that no one is going to help. They are malnourished, uneducated, often sold as a wife at puberty in exchange for a dowry, and frequently die during childbirth,” Dawson said. They formed African Soul, American Heart (ASAH), a nonprofit dedicated to sheltering and educating orphan girls in the Republic of South Sudan.

DEB DAWSON WITH THE GIRLS WHO HAVE CHANGED HER LIFE, AND WHOSE LIVES SHE HAS HELPED CHANGE FOREVER.

Dawson and several ASAH board members have traveled to Duk regularly since 2007, sharing their expertise with villagers and working tirelessly to acquire land and raise money to build the ASAH Boarding School for Orphan Girls.

The school opened in February 2012, and currently houses and educates 12 girls, ages 10 to 17. “Four girls from the neighboring village, Patuenoi, will join the school when we complete more housing after the rainy season,” Dawson said. “Our goal is to house and educate 50 orphan girls.”

Today, the school nurtures, feeds, clothes and educates girls through primary school (8th grade). “As our students graduate, we will provide secondary school education as well,” Dawson said. “Our intention is to educate 50 young women through trade school or college, so that they will have valuable skills to help their country develop.” Chiefs there want ASAH to serve all the villages in Duk County, so each village will reap the benefits of what these educated young women will bring back to their communities.

ASAH EDUCATES GIRLS THROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL (8TH GRADE).

“Imagine the impact 50 educated women will have in their villages, their state and their country,” Dawson said. “They will change the lives of those they touch, and together, they will change their world.” Around the world, it has been shown that when you educate women, you educate a community.

Dawson recently returned from her seventh visit to Duk, bringing supplies, hope and love to the girls. “This is a remote village and there have been many challenges, but every time we hit an obstacle, we manage to get through it. It’s been an extraordinary experience,” Dawson said. “Besides educating and tutoring them, we teach additional skills like sewing, crocheting, gardening and cooking something beyond sorghum, so when they graduate, they’ll have marketable skills that can help support their families.”

Dawson is passionate about helping these girls, “because no one else will,” she said. “My personal goal was to publish a book, and perhaps one day I will do that. But these people need help right now. By doing what we’re doing, they will have an opportunity for the future.”

Ordinary people do extraordinary things. Sounds like good material for another story.

Deb Dawson will be recognized for her humanitarian efforts and accomplishments at Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Distinguished Alumni Celebration to be held Sept. 28 during the university’s 2012 homecoming celebration.

As a gifted photographer and writer, Dawson beautifully showcases the people of Sudan through video, pictures and writing. Read more about African Soul, American Heart: www. AfricanSoulAmericanHeart.org and www.africansoulamericanheart. blogspot.com. You can also watch videos on YouTube.