Who is John Bul Dau from Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan and what is their importance?

John Bul Dau had the traditional Dinka name, Dhieu-Deng Leek. He was baptized at the age of four or five and was given a name from the Bible. The boy spent his early years in a very rural setting and was raised in the Dinka tradition. Soldiers attacked his village, and he was separated from his parents. A neighbor led him to safety, and he ran away. After battling wild animals, illness, hostile tribes, soldiers, and starvation, this character spent his growing-up years in a series of refugee camps where he found himself in charge of 1,200 young boys as part of the Lost Boys in the camp.