Lual Mayen had never seen a computer until he was 17 years old. That’s because he was raised in a refugee camp in Uganda. Now, he is the Founder and CEO of Junub Games, and creator of an innovative video game that brings players into the life of a refugee. Lual’s hope is that the game, called “Salaam”, which means “peace” in Arabic, will help people have more empathy for refugees.
Lual Mayen has received prestigious Global Gaming Citizen awards from The Game Awards and Facebook Gaming. He speaks to people all over the world about his story, which begins with his parents being forced to leave everything they know and love in South Sudan, and risk their lives walking 250 miles to Uganda with no guarantee of refuge.
It was his parents’ demonstration of strength and courage that gave Lual the determination to walk three hours a day just to charge his computer, and to teach himself how to code.
Tune in to this episode of Stories of Transformation to hear the full story of Lual’s parents’ treacherous journey, what it was like for Lual growing up in a refugee camp, how he got his first computer and what inspired him to start coding and create games for peace, and more.
For full show notes: https://www.baktashahadi.com/podcast
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/lualmayen/
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Produced by: Dana Drahos
Edited by: Joseph Gangemi
Digital Marketing by: Katherine An
Theme music by: Qais Essar
Artwork by: Masheed Ahadi
Additional Music (In Order of Appearance) by:
Can’t Be Touched — Suraj Nepal
Oh Endless Day — Philip Daniel Zach
Glass — Claudio Laucci
Rhea — Yehezkel Raz