Font Size

Colorado & Denver News

E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Boulder Fire Victims Endured Hardships In Africa

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

Recipient E-mail:*
- Your Name:*
- Your E-mail:*
Add a Message:
Send me a copy of this e-mail.

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

Print Share + Comments

Nov 17, 2008 8:19 pm US/Mountain

Boulder Fire Victims Endured Hardships In Africa

Reporting
Paul Day

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 2: Susan Moi, 21, was one of two women severely burned in a Boulder apartment fire Saturday night, Nov. 15, 2008. Moi is a refugee from Sudan.
CBS
Click to enlarge 2 of 2: The blaze started at about 7 p.m. at the Fairways Apartments located at 5620 Arapahoe Ave.
CBS

Close

numSlides of totalImages

Two young women are in critical condition after a weekend fire in Boulder. One of the victims is an African refugee who has already survived the hardship of Africa's longest civil war.

This terrible fire at the Fairways apartment complex nearly killed Susan Moi. Her roommate, Cecilia Achuka, was not home when the blaze broke out.

"I haven't talked to her because she can't even talk," Achuka said of Moi. "Her condition is real bad and what I know is she will have to undergo some surgeries."

Achuka and Moi are both survivors of the longest civil war in Africa.

"We don't know where are parents are," Achuka said.

Separated from their families, they were forced to flee their homeland. They ended up in refugee camp in Kenya.

"We were in Kenya and were living with a German nun," Achuka said.

The story is familiar to Fairways resident Lado Jurkin. He's also a refugee and serves as a community leader to 70 recently arrived Sudanese in Colorado. Sponsored by the Quakers and other groups, the Sudanese refugees made their way to Boulder where another group is helping them with rent and utility bills.

"I used to work for a very small construction company but due to the situation right now, I lost my job. So I'm still looking for another job," Jurkin said.

Achuka is among 16 women refugees dubbed "The Lost Girls of the Sudan." But she told CBS4's Paul Day she doesn't like that description.

"I don't think I'm lost," she said.

Achuka is just 21 years old. She's employed as a housekeeper and attending classes at a community college.

Four Sudanese girls, including Mio and Achuka were burned out of their apartments.

Additional Resources

For those who would like to help out the Sudanese victims of the Boulder apartment fire, get more information from the link below.

Community of Sudanese and American Women/Men

Curious & Controversial News

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here

Your Name
Your E-Mail * Will not be displayed with comment
Suggest Link * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
Your Comment

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login

Password:

Forgot Password | Register Here

Close Window Flag Comment

You are flagging the following comment:

Username:
E-mail:
Reason:

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.