Do you know about The Lost Boys Foundation? A few weeks ago I walked into Dr. Xiao Mei Zhao office for a treatment and she asked me when I was coming in again then I said I was going out of town that it might be two weeks... then she asked what do I do and I said I was an independent journalist. She then asked if I would write an article about her foundation. Of course, I said! Then she told me about it and I have to share their story with you because they need your help TONIGHT! The Lost Boys Foundation of Nashville was created in the fall of 2004 by photographer Jack Spencer and a small group of volunteers, after witnessing first hand the tragic circumstances many of the young men still face in the Nashville community. One such circumstance was the death of Pel Gai, a much beloved young man, who was the victim of a murder in a Nashville nightclub. Since there was no money to bury Pel, a group of the Lost Boys, along with Spencer and a few others, raised the $5,700 that was needed to bury him. It was this event that inspired Spencer to make a difference in the future of the Lost Boys of Nashville. “The irony of Pel’s death confounds me, Spencer says.” “They have seen such terror, grief, loss, sadness and horror only to come to our land of opportunity, and then senselessly murdered.” Four of the boys sent to Nashville have been killed in the few years they have been here. In 1987, a civil war drove an estimated 20,000 young boys from their families and villages in South Sudan. Most were six or seven years old. Wandering for years, they walked more than a thousand miles, half of them dying before reaching a Kenyan refugee camp. The survivors of this tragic exodus became known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. There are approximately 150 Lost Boys residing in the Nashville area. The Foundation’s mission is to the reunification and living enhancement of the Lost Boys of Nashville by working with the Lost Boys and their leadership to create and fund a community complex. In order to make this happen the Foundation is hosting a series of fundraising events. The proceeds will go to the Foundation, whose commitment is to the reunification and living enhancement of the Lost Boys of Sudan who have made Nashville their home. Dr. Xiao Mei Zhao is an accredited practitioner, researcher, and professor. She was involved in numerous treatments and projects with both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine (WM) for twenty years in China. She also worked as a doctor in treating of HIV/AIDS in Africa for two years, along with conducting medical research of HIV/AIDS in Germany and Holland. She is the author of 7 books and has published more than 50 articles in Chinese Journals and newspapers. She has received both domestic and international awards on her various medical researches. She has been certified by NCCAOM for acupuncture and TCM and WM sine 2000 and is licensed in the state of Tennessee for acupuncture. She has an office in Green Hills. In 2013, Dr. Zhao traveled back to Africa and reunited with her Chinese counterparts in Dar es Salam Hospital, Tanzania, after twenty years of absence. She then traveled to South Sudan with Dee Flower and gained a better insight into why the Lost Boys Foundation is so important. She has been an active member ever since honoring the Foundation’s commitment to enhancing the lives of the Lost Boys who have made Nashville their home. If you missed the amazing story by 60 Minutes on CBS, here is a link to it. Please watch & share: youtu.be/s4I0y0sak8Y The foundation is hosting a series of fund raisers. On of them takes place tonight at Whole Foods Market at Green Hills 4021 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215. Reserve your ticket here: thelostboysfoundation.org/event/the-lost-boy-foundation-2015-fundraiser/
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 18:34:19 +0000
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