At age 3, I became one of the Lost Boys – the 20,000 children who were displaced and orphaned by the civil war in Sudan. My father had been killed and I was separated from my mother and sister. For 13 years, I lived in refugee camps along the Ethiopian border. Hunger, fear, and abuse were part of my daily life. At age 17, I received a chance to leave it all behind and emigrate to the United States. I am one of the lucky ones and I vowed to not take that for granted and help others. I started the Humanity Helping Sudan Project to aid refugees like me and then founded a company called 734 Coffee to help fund educational programs for these refugees. Jay and I come from very different backgrounds but we both feel like the lucky ones and Jay’s fight for gender equality is his passion and I salute him for it. We now help each other in common cause, as we have become valued advisory board members of our respective organizations.
| – | Manyang Kher, Founder at Humanity Helping Sudan Project |