James Nguen

James came to Canada as a refugee on September, 2001, fifteen years after he was forced to leave Sudan at the age of seven. His story provides a psychological, social, political and cultural context for the understanding of the refugee experiences and the impact of conflict on human populations. From Sudan to Calgary, he has endured and overcome incredible hardship that is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Escaping death narrowly, James lost his father, stepmother and four siblings within the span of a few hours that saw him transformed into a refugee. As a result of war, he has endured unspeakable conditions in the Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya, burying friends at the age of seven, resorting to eating leaves for survival, witnessing friends collapsing and then falling prey to wild animals when he and his fellow lost children could not protect them.

James was orphaned by war and lived alone for twenty years without knowing whether any of his family was alive. In 2005, he learned that his mother was alive and recently reconnected with her only to discover that she was going blind from Trachoma, a disease that could be prevented by access to clean water. All this has prompted him to work tirelessly in helping others by advocating for the Sudanese refugee population in Calgary, provide safe drinking water to villages in South Sudan and contribute to the expanding the thoughtscapes of all that meet him.

James Nguen at TEDxCalgary 2010