Changemaker Emmanuel Jal: From War to Peace

Imagine a boy born in Sudan. When civil war breaks out in his country, and his mother is killed by soldiers, he is recruited into the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and trained to fight. He fights for several years, until he finally runs away at age 11 and is adopted by a British aid worker who smuggles him into Kenya. Shortly afterward, his new mother is killed in a road accident.

Imagine the likely outcome for such a child. What’s the probability that such a boy will grow up to be an advocate for peace, a leader of a movement, an icon for an end to genocide? Most would say quite unlikely indeed.

So here’s some inspiration for today. Watch this boy, Emmanuel Jal, now a young man, as he sings in his music video, “We Want Peace,” and consider what you can do to actually create a more peaceful world with Emmanuel Jal as your inspiration.




Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDx talk: "The World Becomes What You Teach"

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