Jacob Acier, a “lost boy of Sudan” now living and working on Vashon, will give a talk about his flight from Sudan, his life in refugee camps and his resettlement in the United States at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 13, at the Vashon Methodist Church.

Acier, 24, fled his traditional Sudanese village when he was a small child, joining a stream of people — many of them young boys like himself — trying to escape the civil war that has ripped the fabric of his country.

He spent many years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya before arriving in the United States, knowing virtually nothing about modern-American culture, in 2002. Last fall, he moved to Vashon after getting a job at Pacific Research.

Recently he discovered that his mother, whom he has not seen in 17 years, had survived the war and is currently living in a refugee camp in Uganda. Acier’s goal is to make a trip to Africa to help her. He is being supported in this effort, and in adjusting to his new life on Vashon, by a group of Islanders called Jacob’s Ladder.

Donations can be made to the Jacob Acier Group at an account set up at the Vashon branch of Bank of America.

Those attending are requested to bring a tray of snacks to share. The gathering is sponsored by the Methodist Church and Havurat Ee Shalom.

Call Nancy Vanderpool at 463-7776 for more information.