Writing Poetry Heals Engineering Student
By Doris Wang
Athiann Makuach Garang is a civil engineering student with a passion for poetry. Athiann was born in Southern Sudan and left home with his uncles at the age of seven to escape a civil war. Arabs from the north had attacked his village and he witnessed the killing of his uncle and the abduction of women and children. They journeyed by night to avoid detection.
Athiann Makuach Garang
Photo submitted
"My feet could not carry me but still we carried on. Our souls needed peace and safety,” Athiann writes.
The Garang family walked for four months to cross the border into Ethiopia and they were placed into refugee camps. A change of government in Ethiopia forced them back into Sudan. After traveling from one refugee camp to another, they were finally granted permits to come to Canada.
It was in refugee camps where he started writing poetry about his experience and about his family. Apart from his skills with words, Athiann excelled in many other subjects in camp schools. He was recognized for perfect attendance, excellence in sports, and honours in mathematics, chemistry, geography, history and physics. He also showed an interest in civil engineering at an early age. Athiann, along with his cousin, won first prize in the Kenya National Science Congress when they designed a cooking oven from oil barrels and tin cans. Athiann also worked with a Peace Education Team and volunteered with the National Council of Churches of Kenya.