May 2015
COMMUNITY NEWS The Flour Peddler
RenfrewCollingwoodCommunityNews.com
A global journey into local food
by Paul Reid
Nearly a decade ago, William Kolong came to Canada – one of the famous ‘Lost Boys of Sudan.’, a group of over 20,000 boys of who were displaced during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) and walked to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Countless numbers died along the way due to starvation, dehydration, sickness and disease, some being killed by wild animals or enemy soldiers – but William survived. Years later, William was sponsored as a refugee and came to Canada, where he landed a job on a maintenance crew at Metropolis mall (Metrotown). It was during this time that he met and was supported by Pastor Hergesheimer at Collingwood’s First Lutheran Church. William also became close friends with the family, including the two Hergesheimer brothers, Josh and Chris.
The brothers in South Sudan.
s y Da 1 M d y3 ’t o n o a e o w M sid D g ll i n 2 1 ert In One of the original ‘Lost Boys of Sudan,’ William Kolong C o a y Ins at home in Aweil with his M daughter, Aweki. All Photos is
s
courtesy of The Flour Peddler
Here is the original Flour Peddler, Chris, on one of his peddle powered grain milling devices with brother Josh. Above, the brothers in South
One of the brothers, Chris, had started a farmers’ market business called the Flour Peddler. For years Chris worked on developing, demonstrating and using a peddle powered grain milling device. It was during a demonstration at a Metrotown mall in 2009 that William saw the grinding device for the first time. In the book, Chris remembers William striding towards him in his Metropolis uniform with all his keys jingling, saying “this pedal mill is a great idea, especially for places with no electricity.” William suggested bringing the bike-mill to his village in South Sudan. In 2013, Chris was accepted into the PhD program at UBC in the Faculty of Land and Continued on page 2
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