Offutt Airman shares his personal journey with local students

  • Published
  • By 55th Wing Public Affairs
BELLEVUE, Nebraska --  An Offutt Airman shared his personal journey of resiliency with a group of students at Leonard Lawrence Elementary School on March 24 in Bellevue, Nebraska.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Deng Pour, a chaplain's assistant with the 55th Wing Chapel, met with nearly 60 sixth graders and spoke about growing up in South Sudan.

"It was such an honor to have Deng visit our school," said Melissa Hansen, Lawrence Elementary School counselor. "I can't imagine going through what he did, but yet he's here sharing his story with us."

Pour was one of four million Sudanese who were displaced from their homes and forced to flee as civil war broke out in the 1980s. In order to survive, he walked hundreds of miles from village to village with his family.

"I knew a little bit about the struggle of the South Sudanese, but to hear from someone who lived it, was quite extraordinary," Hansen said.

The purpose of the visit was to help the students learn first-hand about diversity and resilience. Pour provided them a real-life example of someone who had many opportunities to give up, but refused to.

Hansen taught the students a little bit about the history of South Sudan and the journey thousands had to make prior to Pour's visit.

"I was so proud of their attentiveness and they asked him some very good questions," she said. "I'm so thankful he had the courage to share his story with us and I'm sure it will inspire many of students."

Pour's journey took him to Ethiopia to a refugee camp, and then when the government toppled there, back through South Sudan and eventually to Kenya. He battled extreme terrain, starvation, dehydration, and wild animals.

After living for five years in a refugee camp in Kenya, Pour's aunt adopted him and he moved to the U.S. to be with her.

Following high school, Pour joined the Air Force in 2006 as a way of giving back to his adopted country.

"I want to give back to the country who has rescued thousands of South Sudanese by letting them come to America," he said. "I'm representing something greater than myself."

As a chaplain's assistant, Pour manages and implements support of religious observances and coordinates religious observance requirements for the 55th Wing.

In addition to his role at Offutt, Pour has also made some very deep roots in the local area working closely with the Sudanese community in South Omaha. For the past two years, he has served as the vice chairman of a local committee and volunteered more than 1,150 hours while mentoring more than 225 refugee children to resist drugs, gangs and alcohol.

Pour will be moving in May to serve a year-long assignment in South Korea.

"The day I told (the local Sudanese community) I was leaving, everyone in the group was in shock," he said. "They wanted to know if there was something they could do to help keep me here."

The students at Leonard Lawrence Elementary School will also miss Pour as he continues on his Air Force journey, but there's no doubt he's left his mark on them during his visit.

"This is something they'll never forget," Hansen said. "Deng is truly an inspiration to us all."