WAU – “Our path may be set, but we can choose peace to inform our futures.”
A few years ago, Makol Makuang found himself tied to chains in a prison cell in Wau after a money-related dispute escalated.
Today, he walks through the nearby prison farm with a smile on his face as he prepares to tell his story to the inmates he came to support.
“It’s better to inspire others than just concentrate on one’s own path. To me, life is not about being rich - it’s about inspiring others,” shares the young father.
An important part of his journey of realization was his transfer from Wau central prison to its farmland just outside the main town. As one of the 60 low-risk prisoners transferred there on a quarterly basis each year to cultivate farmland and benefit from skill trainings, he learnt a lot about livelihoods as well as life.
“Being on the farm and able to feel useful every day during my sentence changed everything for me. For three months, I learnt all about how to fertilize soil, cultivate seeds and prevent cattle from destroying produce, especially beans.”
The long, lonely evenings also taught him all about second chances.
Chances like meeting the “love of his life” as he calls his wife, soon after his release. A peace advocate herself, the two decided to break cultural traditions and build their future on Makol’s new skills:
“I always knew that there are some of our traditions that I don’t want to continue myself. For example, I don’t need a second wife. Instead, I want to save our income to pay for our children’s education.”
They developed a farm around their house where they now cultivate ground nuts, simson, and other vegetables. Carefully and curiously observed by their 9-month year old son.
Makol didn’t just want to change his own future but also those of others.
Accordingly, when prison farm director, Atong Major, reached out to him shortly after his release to ask whether he was interested in becoming a prison officer, his response was immediate.
Absolutely!
“I think we all have the power to let our actions be part of the changes we want to see, especially when we get an opportunity to let our choice of peace inspire others to choose the same. It takes a new generation and a new attitude to life to change this country’s future.”
By Jaella Brockmann
