After Walking Hundreds of Miles for Survival, a Refugee Turns to Running
Macharia Yuot will be running in the New York Marathon against our English 100’s own Matt Hooley this weekend for a chance to compete in the Olympics. Yuot, a senior at Widener, has won six Division III titles for track and cross country. But Yuot’s does not come from a running background. Actually he is more use to walking. Yuot walked an estimated 500-700 miles from Sudan to Kenya in order to stay alive. He is apart of what we know as the “Lost Boys of Sudan”. A group of 25,000 children who had to flee Sudan to escape from Arab Muslims who were murdering tribes they came across. Throughout this strenuous journey, half of the children died. Yuot found temporary shelter in Kenya until the US government decided to take care of numerous “lost boys”. Yuot moved in with a family in Philadelphia and began to run track in high school. He started to have success with running in college, and then started competing in marathons. The article talks about a trip Yuot made back to his ol
d home in Sudan and saw his family. Yuot talks about how he can see the world in a different view, and realized how well he has it in America. Yuot is not expected qualify for the Olympics, but he will be satisfied just to meet the goals he has set for himself.
This is a truly amazing story of how one’s life can change so drastically. Yuot had to sacrifice everything he had in his old life. One day he just had to pick up and leave it all behind. I could not even begin to fathom having that kind of courage. Not knowing what each day will bring, whether or not you will starve to death, be murdered, or killed by animals. I also cannot imagine how it would feel to come to a place that is everything your old life was not. I think the hardest part would be knowing that I was in a better place while my family was suffering. But on the other hand, If I was the family members I would want my son, or brother, or whatever, to be living the best life possible. The most moving part of the article is the description of his trip back home. I wonder what is was like for the family, who probably did not know if he was even alive, to see him in the shape he was in. He must have seemed like an entirely new person. I am sure he will never forget the
horrible events of his past, but now he can try and focus on a future that is bright and promising. I hope he does well in the marathon on Friday, even though Matt is going to kick his ass.
2 comments:
Yuot's story is incredibly moving. At the young age of 10, Yuot left his family behind and walked some 500 miles through intense heat and terrible danger to survive. Over half the boys Yuot was with died from heat, animal attacks, starvation, or worse. After going through so much Yuot was brought to the United States where he became a division III cross-country champion. He went on to run in the Olympic trials in New York City. Although he did not qualify, i feel Yuot has already achieved more in his lifetime than most people ever will. I admire his strengths because i dont think i could ever accomplish what he has. I hope the best for Yuot and also for his family still left in Sudan.
I could not imagine being in Yuot's position at such a young age. Being away from your family at 10 years old would be hard enough, but to have to walk 500 miles just to survive seems near impossible. It's really inspiring to see how far Yuot has come in life. I'm sure he never thought he'd actually make it as far as he did. Even though he didn't make the Olympic team, he has so much to be proud of. He has inspired many people with his story of survival.
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