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. 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. "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. 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. The foundation is hosting a series of fund raisers. In 2005 the Cumberland Gallery and Park Cafe hosted events where we raised over $25,000 from tickets, donations and Jack’s print sales from his Lost Boys portrait series. We want to express our sincere gratitude for the community's good will and support. We are on our way to making a big difference in the lives of these young men who just need a chance to have a chance.
