Meet an inspirational athlete and a talented wordsmith …
Mangar Makur Chuot
Mangar Makur Chuot is an Olympic sprinter currently living in Perth. From what is now South Sudan, he lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for nine years before being granted asylum in Australia in 2005.
Mangar met his trainer, Lindsay Bunn, at the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and Indigenous Program for Athletics Western Australia, which provides training and mentoring to some of WA’s most disadvantaged communities. Due to his endless commitment and extensive training, Chuot won the Australian national 200 metre title in 2014.
Bunn says, “considering everything he’s been through, his ability to focus out on the track and learn new things and take himself to a much higher level is probably the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen in an athlete.”
Chuot also gives back to the community by regularly attending clinics in Broome, where he and Bunn nurture the talents of Aboriginal children. While he considers himself an Australian, he will be representing South Sudan in their first Olympic team later this year in memory of his father.
Abe Nouk
Abe Nouk is a spoken word poet, MC, author, and founder and director of recording studio Creative Rebellion Youth.
Originally from Sudan, Nouk was illiterate when he arrived in Australia in 2004. He taught himself to read and write using audio books, and soon discovered his talent for poetry.
In 2013, he came third in the Australian National Poetry Slam and published his first collection of poetry, Humble.
His second book, Dear Child, was published the following year. Nouk’s work explores his struggles fleeing Sudan, the isolation he experienced as a newly arrived refugee, and his love for his adopted country.
To listen to a selection of his work, please click here: http://redroomcompany.org/poet/abe-nouk/
Jesika Ha’angana
