Jok Nhial

Jok Nhial was born and raised on a farm in a small village in Southern Sudan. He learned to write by drawing with his fingers in the dirt. In 1991, at the age of six, he was separated from his family by one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars, which left millions of people dead. Jok spent the next few years traveling between refugee camps within Southern Sudan. In 1996, he left Southern Sudan for Kenya with the rest of the people who escaped the war and settled in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. In 2001, he was amongst 3,500 “Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan” granted asylum by the U.S. Jok resettled in Tacoma, WA. Despite having to learn English and adjust to a foreign culture, he excelled in high school and earned a scholarship to attend college. In 2008 he graduated from Gonzaga University with a double major in Sociology and Political Science. He also received the Multicultural honor for academic achievement and was recognized by Gonzaga’s Comprehensive Leadership program. Jok now tutors students at Tacoma Urban League. He also teaches them anger management, conflict resolution, and cognitive skills. Jok has not returned to return to Africa. He has not seen his mother, father, brothers, or sisters, or met his nieces and nephews. All the money he earns as a tutor is saved to visit his family. But that is not the only reason Jok is determined to return to Sudan. After graduating from Gonzaga he founded Liliir Education Project: www.liliireducationproject.org The mission of this non-profit organization is to offer educational opportunities in the small villages of Sudan where school supplies don’t exist. Jok’s goals are to construct a community building where teachers can be trained. Eventually he would like to open schools in Sudan, which has the second lowest literacy rate in the world, next to Afghanistan. Jok is making progress. He has been approved by Washington Charities to begin accepting donations and has filed to become a 501©3 charitable organization.