Sudanese Makes Life in Pittsburgh

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has been ebbing and flowing for decades and with the recent moves in Khartoum to eject international aid organizations, the situation could be coming to another peak. While much of the focus now is in the Darfur region of that country, Pittsburgh has played host to refugees from the southern portion Sudan for nearly all of the last decade. In 2001 John Awouk landed in Pittsburgh with nothing more than the clothes on his back. He fled his home in 1987 as a 7-year-old and lived for years with other “Lost Boys” in a refugee camp in Kenya. He was greeted at the Pittsburgh International Airport by a representative of Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh who took him to a furnished apartment with enough food to last him until he could receive food stamps. Catholic Charities helped him find a construction job and continue his education. Awuok is now working 35 hours a week at a local food store, just weeks from graduating from Point Park University and is volunteering with the refugee office that once helped him. Listen to more about his life and the support services he received.