by Jeya Verschuren and Elyse Ng (Gr. 9)
We are so grateful to have had the once in a lifetime opportunity to interview the inspiring Salva Dut. He was an extremely interesting person who was very kind to us, and offered many insights into his life and foundation. Contrary to what people may think, Salva is just a humble man who saw something that needed to be done and did it. He has shown students at TIS that we can become leaders and create change. We hope that by sharing his insights and passion, we will be able to influence other young people like us.
Salva Dut founded Water for South Sudan, a charity that drills wells to make safe water accessible to rural communities in South Sudan. He hopes to keep building and improving his organisation so that he can continue helping people who can’t help themselves. He says that when you first start a charity, you always face challenges in the beginning, but staying focused will help you to achieve your goals. During these challenges, seeing young girls in South Sudan achieving their dreams motivates him to keep going. With his perseverance, Water for South Sudan has built 349 wells, and helped over a million people. Speaking of perseverance, as he was walking with the Lost Boys to Ethiopia, he felt very frightened and worried whether or not he could make it. Fortunately, he received the opportunity to go to America. Going to America was of course very different from what he was used to. It was a drastically different culture and he needed to learn how to adjust and fit in.
We were impressed by how passionate and personal his answers were. It’s rare to see such a genuine individual who follows their passions rather than for profit and publicity. We admire the fact that he was willing to share the story of a very tough time in his life, and TIS is grateful for the opportunity to know his story. His message inspires students at TIS to never give up and to always strive for what you believe in because it could help so many other people.