My name is Deng Mayen Dhieu, and I was born on 1st January 1980.  I was raised in a Christian family.

In 1987, my village was attacked by armed militias.  Because my family was Christian, the Muslims called us names, beat us, and sent us away.  Our local church was burned, and the portrait of Jesus Christ and the Bibles were burned.  This was the day I was separated from my parents.  We walked for about two months to Ethiopia, where we sought help as refugees.  Our first day in the camp was one of the best we had had in the three months.  Food was provided to us by the locals and the Ethiopian government.

Our stay in the camp gradually started deteriorating, and the help from the Ethiopian government and from locals began dwindling.  Life in the camp was now becoming miserable, considering that some of us in the camp were below ten years and had no parental care.  Many young boys lost their lives due to hunger, diseases and exposure to the harsh climate.  I can remember vividly one of our Pastors, Rev. Paul Deng Chol, gave pastoral care to us minors.  He was the first pastor to preach to me the word of God.  In the camp, I met my cousin who had also fled with her children to Ethiopia, and she accommodated me.  This family had all its members called by Christian names and after supper they would have prayers with other refugees.  This made me decide to follow Jesus Christ as my savior, and therefore I was baptized.

In the beginning of August 1992, the government of Kenya decided to take us to Kakuma Refugee Camp where we set up grass thatched houses.  Life in Kakuma refugee camp was good for spiritual development.  Churches were being erected where people worshipped.  I became involved in church activities such as visiting the sick and elderly and spreading the word of God to others, which strengthened my faith in Jesus Christ. The people who did not accept the word of God in the beginning began to respond to it positively.

My experience at camp opened my eyes, and I knew that with an education I would be able to help these people in a better way. I would acquire the right skills and be better placed to improve the lives of refugees such as myself.  I’m enrolled at Daystar to study accounting.  It’s my hope to finish and go back to work with church organizations to help the needy in Sudan.

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