Two Michigan college students who were once among the thousands of "Lost Boys of the Sudan" who were displaced or orphaned during the country's civil war between 1983 and 2005 will speak at Northwestern Michigan College next Thursday, April 17.

Mading Mojok and Daniel Mayen will speak a noon at NMC’s Milliken Auditorium. They were driven from their homes in 1987 and were among a group that walked more than 1,000 miles to Ethiopia. Sudan’s Liberation Army conscripted them for military training and they became active soldiers at ages 12 and 14.

They later found refuge in Kenya where they attended school. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees help them move to Lansing in 2001. Currently, Mojok and Mayen attend Mid-Michigan Community College and Central Michigan University, respectively.

There is no charge to attend the event, which is sponsored by NMC’s Center for Instructional Excellence.