From child soldier to teacher: Ador's story

Ador Riak Nyiel was one of the 20,000 boys in South Sudan who were orphaned or displaced during the civil war that devastated the country from 1983 to 2005. Government troops and government-sponsored militias systematically attacked villages in Southern Sudan, and during the long subsequent upheaval, he lost both parents. He survived by living on the streets until, at age 13, he was recruited by the South Sudanese Liberation Army. After three years he managed to escape.

 

“There was a huge group of us,” he remembers. “We walked for weeks—starving,thirsty and exhausted. We were finally picked up by the UNHCR (United Nations refugee agency), crowded into the back of a truck, and taken to Kakuma refugee camp.”

 

After adjusting to Kakuma, he decided to begin his education, despite having never gone to school. “Coming from the bush as a soldier and trying to fit in was hard,” he says. ‘Everything was new. I didn’t fit in. I was a tall 19-year-old sitting in the back of the classroom with students much younger and smaller.”

 

The classroom was packed with 95 students and led by recent high-school graduates of the same school. “Even if you could hear, you couldn’t participate,” says Ador. “Those of us keen to learn studied after school, reading as much as we could, trying to catch up.” With determination and perseverance, Ador managed to complete his primary school certificate. He was 21 years old and had finally found his calling in life—to help others improve their lives and their country through education.

 

Remaining in the camp, Ador enrolled in high school, taking as many workshops offered by the U.N. and aid agencies as he could. By the time he left Kakuma, he had 27 training certificates, many from the IRC. Ador excelled in special-needs educationand became a sign language interpreter, and by 2005 he began to work full-time with the IRC teaching sign language. Soon he was head of IRC’s special needs education department.

 

In 2007, an American visitor to the camp offered to pay for Ador’s university education, and Ador was able to leave Kakuma to study at Daystar University in Nairobi. After earning his degree in 2010, Ador returned to South Sudan and is now a teacher and school administrator at Malek Academy, a private secondary school.

 

“So many people cannot access education,” he laments. “And the education that is available isn’t adequate or relevant. I believe peace will only come when we have equal rights and equal opportunities, and that means equal access to quality, relevant education for everyone.”

 

Now 32, Ador explains why he enrolled in the University of Nairobi graduate program: “Education has been a healing part of my life and brought me to where I am today. My dream? It's improving education for refugees. And I want to give back to honor the many people that helped me. It’s that simple.”

 

Rescue Gifts help the IRC provide critical assistance to refugee families around the world. This holiday season, choose one of our Education Gifts for a  teacher or someone else special on your holiday shopping list.  Gifts include School Supplies, Teaching Supplies, and a New Classroom.  Add a personal message and we’ll send the recipient a beautiful card.