Jok Nhial’s degree from Gonzaga University is a long way from his early education days of classes under a tree, writing in the dirt. Nhial is one of the roughly 27,000 Lost Boys of Sudan — boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned during the country’s civil war, which began in 1983. The boys survived in large numbers, making epic journeys lasting years across the borders to international relief camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, evading thirst, starvation, wild animals and disease.

Nhial’s early days in Southern Sudan were marked with unrest. Sudan was locked in a civil war between the northern and the southern parts of the country for more than two decades, until a tenuous peace accord in 2005. Tensions still run high in Sudan. As part of the peace accord, the South will vote soon on secession on Jan. 9.

Nhial grew up in the height of the war. By age 6, he was separated from his family. He left his home, family and village. His own government was responsible for the devastation.

“At that time, if you are a boy, they will probably kill you if they find you,” Nhial said.

Nhial spent several years in refugee camps, many of which were broken up every few months so the government could tell the international community that its citizens were at home, not in refugee camps. To break up the camps, the government would attack, Nhial said. Nhial and others would spend weeks, even a month or more, traveling to the next camp.

“You can go a day without water,” Nhial said.

He said he was lucky: In Southern Sudan, there is a lot of vegetation, and they were able to eat leaves to survive. Nhial ended up in a camp in Kakuma, Kenya. Then in 2001, Nhial’s life changed. Along with more than 3,000 other boys, he was given the opportunity to come to the United States. Nhial came to to Tacoma, along with his brother, whom he had found in a refugee camp, and they were put in the foster care system. He arrived on April 3, and faced a difficult adjustment period.

True, life was easier, but back in Sudan things were familiar — the language, the food, the people. Here, things were very different.

“The most difficult was in high school, being with people who only spoke English,” Nhial said.

The people were different, too. Nhial got lost the first time he rode a bus. He tried asking for help but eventually stopped — no one wanted to answer.

“At first you think Americans are mean,” Nhial said. “Then you realize that isn’t the case, it’s just the ‘don’t talk to strangers.'”

Nhial made his way, graduating from Tacoma’s Foss High School in 2004, then from Gonzaga University in 2008. After graduation, he first moved back with his American family, then moved with a friend from back home to Federal Way.

It was in Federal Way that he began his work on the Liliir Education Project.

Liliir

Nhial knows that it is through education that the people of Sudan can create a better life for themselves.

So Nhial created a nonprofit program called the Liliir Education Project. The nonprofit has its roots in a community service project he created while at Gonzaga, as his legacy project, where he raised money to send school supplies to his hometown, Alian.

The goal is to bring schools to the region.

Where Nhial was born, schools are just a cleared area under a tree, and only for first through eighth grades.

Once students finish eighth grade, Nhial said, the only options are to go into business or roam the streets. There’s a high dropout rate because many students feel that just going to eighth grade isn’t worth it.

“If they go to high school, there are more opportunities,” Nhial said.

The high school for those students is far away in Sudan’s capital. For those unable to move to the capital, there is no opportunity for more education. Nhial wants to bring the school to them, building a high school in his village as well as several buildings in the region to serve as the elementary schools.

Those are the long-term goals.

First, Nhial wants to get the nonprofit under way, working on scholarships. College is out of the price range for most residents of the country.

“If we do that, they will do good things for their family,” he said.

To put a student through four years of university in Sudan, it will cost $15,000 including tuition, books and all living expenses, he said.

“It’s expensive, but compared to what I paid for Gonzaga?” Nhial said.

As part of the scholarship, the students agree to go back home and teach for two years. Currently, most teachers aren’t even high school graduates themselves.

Get involved

The Liliir Education Project is still in the early stages. Nhial is looking for donations as well as more volunteers to help with fundraising or ideas.

“Helping is much welcomed,” Nhial said. “We’ll have something for him or her to do.”

To learn more, visit www.liliireducationproject.org.

Learn more about the Lost Boys of Sudan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_of_Sudan