James Bol Chol is a man who has beaten the odds.  At age twelve, Bol Chol was a “Lost Boy,” who fled Sudan during the Civil War (1983-2005) and walked hundreds of miles to Ethiopia. In 1991, they were pushed out of Ethiopia due to another war and forced to walk to Kenya, where they found shelter in the Kakuma refugee camp.  At the refugee camp, there weren’t many adults to be in charge of all the children. Twelve year olds, such as Bol Chol, were in charge of other kids their age. Bol Chol recalls the responsibilities he had as a leader.

“I was able to make the decisions; who is going to find firewood, who is going to cook, and who is going to go to school in the morning,” Bol Chol said.

Another responsibility he had was distributing five articles of clothing to thirteen kids. When he finally got the chance to come to America, instead of losing sight of  where he came from, he remembered his time living in an Ethiopian refugee camp. Bol Chol still remembers all those people that didn’t have shoes and clothes, and wished he had been given more clothes to distribute. Even as an adult, James believes “The beauty of human beings is in clothes.”  

Bol Chol is now the president of Clothing World for Needy People or CWNP. The CWNP is a nonprofit organization that works hard to help refugees in need of clothes and those stranded in small villages, specifically in Eastern Africa. Bol Chol collects clothes at his home and when he has enough money to return to Africa, he will take the donations with him.

“It is important to me because it is the life that I went through when I was young. I know what it means to those that need clothes” Bol Chol said.

There are so many families without clothing resources in Africa and the CWNP will take donations from any household or business, no matter how small. The amount of people without the basic need of clothes is growing continuously. The CWNP’s goal is to collect at least 200,000 clothing items and focus on giving to Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. Their goal is not only to receive clothes, but to raise global awareness about the growing problems across the world, specifically in Africa. Donating to the CWNP is a great way to give to the community and help out those less fortunate.

To find more about The Clothing World for Needy People:

Check out the website: http://clothingfortheneedy.org

story by lydia kasem, video by lydia kasem, graphic by emma kopplin