Resilience and appreciation
Thon was born in, Jonglei State, South Sudan. Having fled Sudan as a child, he taught pre-schoolers and worked as a Counselor for Jesuit Refugee Service and Lutheran World Federation in a Kenyan Refugee Camp.
He was resettled in the United States in December, 2000 by Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service (LIRS) and thrived in a foster home in Michigan. Chol earned a 2006 Bachelors in Organizational Communication and a 2008 Masters in Social Work—Policy, Planning, and Administration Concentration from Western Michigan University. A member of Phi Alpha Honor Society and Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society. Chol was an honor guest speaker at Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Monterrey in Mexico, for the 2013 edition, entitled “Conflict and Cooperation Scenarios”. Chol is a currently a doctoral student. Chol is currently a Career Pathways Specialist for the government of Washington, D.C., and a former Youth Advisory Council Member to D.C.’s Child and FamilyServices Agency, which named him youth leader of the year in 2010. In 2008, he was an intern for United States Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. He has served as the Executive Director of the Sudanese Community of West Michigan and the Director for Development, Planning, and Social Services of Bor Community—USA from 2010 to 2012. Also in 2010, Chol was a representative to an Inter-religious Prayer Service for Peace in Sudan. From 2011 to the present, he has been the Public Relations Personnel for the Ambassador Group (AG) Members of South Sudan. During the 2010-2011 South Sudan out-of-country referendum, Chol helped to identify eligible South Sudanese voters. As an advocate for refugees in America, Chol has testified before the United States Congress, spoken at the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s National Consultations, and served as a state of Maryland Delegate to UNHCR’s Refugee Congress and currently serving as UNHCR Refugee Congress Advisory Board Member, Mid-Atlantic Regional Representative. Chol has shared his experiences and recommendations with the United States Congress and the Obama administration through advocacy opportunities with Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service (LIRS) and the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). LIRS honored him in 2011 with the Spirit of Welcome Award, and he was recently nominated to the LIRS Board of Directors. Chol is also an ordained Minister at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.A. — by The Rev. Thon Moses Chol , United States posted: Thursday, 5th June, 2014
