Friday, 23 March 2007

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt donate to a clinic in Sudan

Couple put towards the first medical facility

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have donated $100,000 to help build the first modern medical facility in Duk County, Sudan, PEOPLE has learned.

The Duk Lost Boys Clinic is the brainchild of John Dau, director of the non-profit organization Direct Change's Sudan Project and himself one of the "Lost Boys" of the Sudan.

His story is featured in the documentary God Grew Tired of Us, which Pitt executive produced.

Pitt and Jolie, who donated the money through their Jolie-Pitt Foundation, first learned of his efforts to build the clinic at the film's Hollywood premiere in January, according to a statement from Direct Change.

The clinic, set to open in the spring and serve more than 150,000 people, is located in the village Dau fled as a boy during Sudan's civil war in the late 1980s.

"Words cannot express my gratitude and the gratitude of the people of Duk County," Dau said in the statement. "Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt demonstrate the American spirit of generosity. Hopefully, their donation will inspire others to join with us to rebuild southern Sudan."

Jolie, 31, has a personal connection to the troubled African nation: As a goodwill ambassador for the United Nation's refugee agency, she recently traveled to Chad, where she met with refugees from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.