Upon hearing of his father’s murder at the hands of the Sunni People Liberation Army, 6-year-old Sudanese Dau Jok grabbed one of his father’s rifles and nearly shot a man he believed to be a member of the opposing army.
Today, the College sophomore and varsity basketball guard heads the Dut Jok Youth Foundation named for his father — which aims to fight destitution and violence in post-war South Sudan by encouraging sports and academics amongst its youth.
A group of 50 to 60 students, teammates and faculty braved a cold, rainy Wednesday night to attend the Foundation’s inaugural awareness event in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall.
“Education is much more powerful than violence,” Jok told the group. “Kids in South Sudan don’t have the opportunity to fail like we do at Penn. Our goal is to teach them the value of a true education.”
SEE ALSO: Dreams from his father
VIDEO: Profile of Dau Jok
Jok spoke about his time in Sudan and urged others to fight for their passions. “I feel like this foundation is one of the most efficient ways to bring change,” he said. This summer, Jok and several of the foundation’s members will return to his Sudanese hometown, his first time back since he left the country in 2001. In various cities around Southern Sudan, Jok hopes to begin to build water wells, basketball courts and, eventually, a secondary school. In addition to building sports fields, his organization hopes to incorporate an after-school sports initiative in which they will educate the Sudanese youth about sex, the spread of HIV and violence.
His foundation hopes to raise $65,000 through events, grants and private donations. Already, the organization was a recipient of the $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace award last spring.
College senior Monica Amoo-Achampong said the event inspired her to get involved with the organization. “Dau’s story helped me understand his drive,” she said.
Members of Jok’s foundation were selling bracelets and about 50 attendees signed up for more information. “The event made progress, as our goal is to promote recruiting and awareness,” Jok said.
The event concluded with a performance by the African-inspired a cappella group, The Inspiration. The group sang in both Swahili and English about human nature and hope. “We were happy to help out with such a great cause,” said College junior Jordan Lowe, business manager for The Inspiration. He added that the group has been speaking with Jok about potentially recording a song in Sudanese Arabic.
College junior Zach King, who runs the managerial side of the foundation, has already made plans for the foundation’s next event: a school-wide EA Sports-sponsored Fifa 2011 tournament in honor of the Year of Games.
This article has been updated to reflect that the name of the a capella group that sang at the event is The Inspiration, not Pennspiration.
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