You are invited to meet Deng Adut and Ben Mckelvey when they introduce Songs of a War Boy.

Deng Adut's family were farmers in South Sudan when a brutal civil war altered his life forever. At the age most Australian children are starting school, Deng was conscripted into the Sudan People's Liberation Army. He began a harsh, relentless military training that saw this young boy trained to use an AK-47 and sent into battle. The things Deng saw over those years will stay with him forever.

Deng was rescued from war by his brother John. Hidden in the back of a truck, he was smuggled out of Sudan, into Kenya, and was eventually brought to Australia as a refugee by the UN. Whilst working in a local service station, Deng taught himself to read and started studying at TAFE. In 2005 he enrolled in a Bachelor of Law at the University of Western Sydney and became the first person in his family to graduate from university.

Join us to hear the inspiring story of a man who has overcome deadly adversity to become a lawyer and committed worker for the disenfranchised, helping refugees in Western Sydney where he now has his own law practive, the AC Law Group.

Meet Deng Adut and Ben Mckelvey at 6.30pm on Thursday November 10th, 2016.

Bookings are essential and can be made online by following this link, or by phone on 9979 2112.

Cost is $ 12.00, $ 5.00 of which will be credited against any purchases made on the evening.

About the authors:

Deng Adut is a lawyer working in Western Sydney and uses his spare time to help other Sudanese refugees. He gave the 2016 Australia Day address, was painted by Nick Stathopoulos for the 2016 Archibald Prize, and has been nominated for Australian of the Year in 2017.

Ben Mckelvey is a freelance writer and editor who has filed for Good Weekend, GQ, Voyeur, Rolling Stone, The Bulletin, Cosmo, Cleo, SMH, The Age and West Australian newspapers. He has edited Sport & Style and Juice magazines, and worked at the SMH as a Senior Feature Writer. He has been embedded with the ADF in East Timor and Iraq and has worked independently in Iran and Afghanistan.

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