The Power of Resilience and Hard Work

The war had been hard on his family. His uncle was a soldier and his father dropped out of the fighting. The military went from house to house to pick children for battle, who were sometimes as young as five. Families nominated young boys for battle, and Abraham’s stepbrother was chosen.

Abraham pursued an education amid the turmoil but admits he didn’t have a mission and never knew why he had to attend school. In his community, children who went to school were hailed as role models. This motivated him to one day attend university and become successful. His path to education was marred by economic barriers. While in primary school, he had trouble paying his school fees. He would also sometimes go two or three days without eating.

Despite these challenges, Abraham excelled academically and received a bursary from the African Education and Leadership Initiative (AELI), an American organization that supports brilliant students in South Sudan. This was a turning point for Abraham because he now had support to complete his high school education. Unfortunately, barely a week after Abraham finished his Senior Four education, war broke out in December 2013, and he was separated from his family, who were living in Bor, while Abraham was living in Yei at the time. Abraham fled to the Ayilo refugee settlement in Uganda while his family did the same to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. With the support of the Red Cross to make phone calls, Abraham reconnected with his family in Kakuma refugee camp. Abraham spent over ten years in a refugee settlement in Uganda.

One fateful day, Abraham received a web link from a friend in Kenya to apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the African Leadership University in Rwanda (ALU-Rwanda). He applied, was selected, and says he is now in a very happy place.

Abraham counts his story as unique because of the community he joined at ALU-Rwanda. During the war, there were fights among ethnicities, but at ALU, he is in the same space with individuals from different backgrounds with whom he would otherwise have been fighting. As far as Abraham sees it, they are now all one.

Abraham combines his time as a student with his role as Executive Director and Co-Founder of Mukrot Institute of Technology, focused on training young refugees on web development. Abraham wishes to use the skills, network, and knowledge he has gained to make a positive impact in his country after school.