From Refugee Learner in Kakuma to Community Impact in South Sudan Clinic – Chol Lual Ngor’s Journey of Impact and Leadership
Chol Lual Ngor – Cohort IV (2024) Alumni – My Journey From Refugee Youth to Nurse & Emergency Health Professional
My name is Chol Lual Ngor, from South Sudan and I grew up as a refugee in Kauma, Kenya. Life in displacement was full of challenges & opportunity again—limited healthcare, preventable emergencies, and the constant reality that a simple skill could mean the difference between life and death. I often saw situations where timely First Aid services could have saved lives, and that experience shaped my dream: to learn First Aid lifesaving skills and serve my community.
The situation remain me long time ago when I was a young boy my father felt ill and we had to travel for days from Panrieng to Kauda in Nuba Mountain to access medical assistance………….. Upon reaching there I started seeing miracles, because many people were being brought very sick to the point of death but miraculously doctors play their magic of healing and the person wakes up like they never felt sick. I promised my dad that day that I wanted to be a doctor when I grow up to understand the miraculous mechanism of drugs in the body. Those are the things that motivated me to do medical……….and now I am helping my community in South Sudan.
Growing up as a refugee, access to quality healthcare was limited, yet the need was great. I often witnessed preventable injuries and emergencies where timely first aid could have saved lives. This reality motivated me to pursue medical and first aid training—not just as a course, but as a calling to serve.
Training with Community Vitality Solutions CBO
In 2024, I joint Community Vitality Solutions CBO first aid training in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, as part of the 1‑Year Medical and First Aid Training Program (Cohort IV). This was more than just a course—it was a turning point.
The program gave me practical, hands‑on skills in emergency response, patient care, infection prevention, and basic clinical support. It also taught me discipline, empathy, and leadership. I realized that refugee youth, when given the chance, can be trained to professional standards and trusted with critical healthcare roles……….. can serve their community well
After completing the program, I returned to South Sudan to just visited my family and was fortunate to secure a position at Pamir Primary Health Care Center in Jamjang County, Ruweng Administrative Area. Today, I serve as a nurse and counselor in the ART and TB Clinic. Every day, I use the exact skills I learned in Kakuma—assessing patients, responding to emergencies, and supporting critical care.
What I learned in the training is what I live now in the clinic. It prepared me not just for exams, but for real life.
Community Vitality Solutions CBO changed my life. It gave me the opportunity to serve my people with skill, dignity, and purpose. My journey proves that when refugee and marginalized youth are empowered, they become health professionals, leaders, and lifesavers.
“The training gave me confidence, discipline, and real skills that I could immediately apply in emergency situations,”.
Beyond technical knowledge, the program strengthened my sense of responsibility and leadership as a future health worker. It showed me that when Marginalized refugee youth can be trained to professional standards and they can contribute positive impact in their community.
