Donato "Dominic" Raimondo
Donato’s home village is in the Loudo area of Southern Sudan in Africa. He is a member of the Didinga tribe, a group that lives in the mountains and hills in the southeastern part of Sudan near the borders with Kenya and Uganda. For centuries the Didinga have lived in small groups scattered throughout the hills. They live in family compounds rather than gathering in concentrated villages. They raise corn, beans, leafy green vegetables and sorghum (similar to sugar). Current estimates of the Didinga population range from 50,000 to 100,000.
Donato was forced to leave his village at about 6 years old because of the Sudanese civil war. He and many other children referred to as “Lost Boys” spent the following 10 years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. When Donato came to Utah, he brought with him the skills and knowledge to make traditional Sudanese clay bulls. He started a non-profit with fellow Sudanese refugees to help educate non-Sudanese people about his culture.
Donato still has family and friends living in Kakuma. He visits them as often as possible.
"If I ever went back to my village, they would ask what I have done, and what I have brought to them. I couldn't just help my remaining family and be happy, because, there are many others that are struggling. So I thought the best thing for me to do was build a school for the children to be educated so that they can have a successful future and my village could have the structure to move forward."
-Donato "Dominic" Raimondo