A South Sudanese graduate at the Mandela Fellowship Program has been named the 2022 winner of the Billion Acts of Kindness peace prize.
2018 Fellowship Alumnus Jok Abraham Thon and Bullets to Books – a project created by Jok and Reciprocal Exchange Participant Gail Prensky – are one of the 2022 Peace Jam Billion Acts of Kindness Peace Prize winners.
Abraham Thon is praised for pioneering what is called Bullets to Books, a project which fosters peace and unity through education and cultural exchange.
Abraham, who had been a refugee in Uganda for much of his life, returned home to build Promise Land Secondary School in Juba.
He reportedly set the foundation out of bamboo and mud with his own hands.
The school receives some of the highest academic scores in the country and has so far graduated 700 students, with over 400 of them now in Universities.
Jok is also notable for starting multiple projects and workshops focusing on the use of storytelling to help communities overcome trauma and building peace.
As part of this opportunity, Jok participated in an online dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and young peace builders. The dialogue was organized by International Campaign for Tibet, PeaceJam, and the documentary Never Forget Tibet.