'Lost boy of Sudan' visits Vance, Enid Published Sept. 18, 2013 By Senior Airman Frank Casciotta 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A former "Lost boy of Sudan" toured Vance Air Force Base Sept. 12 while visiting Enid, Okla. Lopez Lomong came to Enid to speak about the value of resiliency at Northern Oklahoma College. "We thought he had a great story to share and thought it would be good for the community to hear," said Molly Helm, the marketing director for Wymer Brownlee, the company that sponsored Lomong's visit. Lomong, an Olympian and public speaker, was kidnapped in Sudan at the age of 6 and forced to become a child soldier in that country's civil war. "Vance is such an asset to the community and we wanted to show him that the relationship between the base and the community is a good thing I wanted him to see all aspects of our community," said Helm. "I want him to walk away saying Enid is great and has a cool base." The lost boys are children who were captured and converted into child soldiers during the Second Sudanese Civil War that lasted from 1983 to 2005. Lomong was kidnapped while attending church. During his captivity he and four others from his village had an opportunity to escape. The boys had a three-day run to a refugee camp across the border in Kenya. Lomong spent the next 10 years in a refugee camp near Nairobi until he was able to move to the United States through help from Catholic Charities. In 2000 he saw the Olympian Michael Johnson run in the 2000 Summer Olympics and decided he wanted to become a runner.