Opiew Ablla
My name is Opiew Ablla. I was born in the beautiful grasslands of southeastern South Sudan but grew up across the border in the Ethiopian village of Gog. My people, the Anuak, are herdsmen and farmers who have lived in villages along the banks of rivers in this rich, fertile border region for many generations.
There is no record of my birth or of how old I am, so I don’t really know when I started school, only that I was old enough to walk the two hours there and back. Although very eager to learn, this late start combined with a lack of schoolbooks and supplies made obtaining a good education very difficult. Sadly, these difficulties continue in Gog today.
When I was in the eighth grade, soldiers fighting the war against the communist regime came and it became no longer safe to stay in my village or in the town of Dima, a place in the mountains I would go to mine gold. Leaving Ethiopia behind, I with many others went south to Kenya. Staying at first in a refugee camp in Walda , I was quickly moved to another camp in Ifo, where I stayed for six months. It was here that I was given the opportunity to immigrate to the United States and soon found myself living in South Dakota. In 1996 a chance to attend a Job Corps training program brought me to Salt Lake City, Utah where I live and work today.
Since moving to Utah I have been very fortunate. I continue to have employment, to have a nice home and most importantly, to have met and married my wife, KelliAnn, in 2004. We have welcomed three sons into our family, our youngest in August of 2011. Now that I have children of my own, it is exciting to see them learn and grow. With my oldest in kindergarten and learning to read, I have been able see how important it is to start teaching children when they are young. I have begun to think of the children of my village, where conditions have not improved since my childhood and the necessary school supplies and resources are still not available. I have begun to dream of the day when my sons could return to Gog and read to the children there. I have realized that I want to help the children of my childhood home obtain a good education.
By providing them with schoolbooks and supplies, by improving their school buildings and building a library we can make a big difference in the lives of these children and in the lives of their families. In reality, there are many needs in the village of my childhood, availability of clean reliable water and basic medical supplies to name just two, but I believe, by beginning with the children, by providing books and improving literacy, we will lay a strong foundation for improving the lives of the people in this community for many years to come.
Opiew Ablla
My favorite quote: It takes a village to raise a child
There is no record of my birth or of how old I am, so I don’t really know when I started school, only that I was old enough to walk the two hours there and back. Although very eager to learn, this late start combined with a lack of schoolbooks and supplies made obtaining a good education very difficult. Sadly, these difficulties continue in Gog today.
When I was in the eighth grade, soldiers fighting the war against the communist regime came and it became no longer safe to stay in my village or in the town of Dima, a place in the mountains I would go to mine gold. Leaving Ethiopia behind, I with many others went south to Kenya. Staying at first in a refugee camp in Walda , I was quickly moved to another camp in Ifo, where I stayed for six months. It was here that I was given the opportunity to immigrate to the United States and soon found myself living in South Dakota. In 1996 a chance to attend a Job Corps training program brought me to Salt Lake City, Utah where I live and work today.
Since moving to Utah I have been very fortunate. I continue to have employment, to have a nice home and most importantly, to have met and married my wife, KelliAnn, in 2004. We have welcomed three sons into our family, our youngest in August of 2011. Now that I have children of my own, it is exciting to see them learn and grow. With my oldest in kindergarten and learning to read, I have been able see how important it is to start teaching children when they are young. I have begun to think of the children of my village, where conditions have not improved since my childhood and the necessary school supplies and resources are still not available. I have begun to dream of the day when my sons could return to Gog and read to the children there. I have realized that I want to help the children of my childhood home obtain a good education.
By providing them with schoolbooks and supplies, by improving their school buildings and building a library we can make a big difference in the lives of these children and in the lives of their families. In reality, there are many needs in the village of my childhood, availability of clean reliable water and basic medical supplies to name just two, but I believe, by beginning with the children, by providing books and improving literacy, we will lay a strong foundation for improving the lives of the people in this community for many years to come.
Opiew Ablla
My favorite quote: It takes a village to raise a child