Class XV (2017-2018)

1. Ashuein Alor

Sponsor District: 5550

Host Club: Rotary Club of Redcliffe Sunrise District 9600

Ashuien left his home country, South Sudan in 1983 when civil war broke out, and his village was destroyed. He fled to Khartoum as an internal refugee, and worked odd jobs to support himself while attending school in the evenings until he graduated from high school. Against all the odds, he qualified to apply for University admission at the Cairo University in Khartoum. 
In 1989, he was forced again to flee as a refugee to Egypt in 1993. There, he returned to university and graduated in 1996 with a law degree. While in Egypt, he received protection from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and was granted asylum in Canada in 1999 as a landed immigrant.
He volunteered with his Sudanese community in Winnipeg and joined the University of Manitoba to study Social Work. After graduation, he worked with New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults and Families, an organization that provides social programs and employment for youth involved with the justice system as a Case Manager for youth and families from war-torn countries.
He supported the African Communities of Manitoba to coordinate a research project funded by the government of Manitoba. This project was aimed at helping with the integration of African newcomers in Winnipeg. He is also a leader in his community and is past President of the Federation of Aweil Communities in Canada.
He is committed to contributing to peace and conflict resolution through the use of the ideas and energies of young people, and has extensive experience working with immigrant groups from war-torn backgrounds.