From Lou Ariik Village, South Sudan to Melbourne, Australia – Ariik’s story so far.

Mawien Ariik (known as Ariik) was born in 1989 in the village of Lou Ariik, South Sudan. At the age of 8, Ariik learned that his father (Ariik Dut) had died in the South Sudan war along with millions of others, while fighting for the freedom of his people. This sad loss sank deep into Ariik’s mind and he found himself asking what he could do to continue to help the people who were freed through his father’s efforts, and to ensure they were not in vain.

Ariik was raised by his mother Abuk Tong with his other siblings (1 brother and 3 sisters). When war broke out, young males were a target so Ariik spent most of his time with his father during that time. When his father died, Ariik was looked after by his father’s friends, who took him to Uganda resulting in his being separated from his mother. He ended up in a refugee camp there and later transferred to Kenya where he lived for six years.

In 2005 Ariik he made his way to Melbourne, Australia under an Australian Government Humanitarian visa. Ariik is currently a Business Banker with CBA at Highpoint.

In 2019, Ariik became a member of Rotary Central Melbourne and he will share with us how his journey has shaped plans to assist the people of Lou Ariik.

This promises to be an interesting and entertaining program.  Ariik will tell his story through an interview with Brett Jones.