Gabriel Bol Deng gave the following keynote address at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice 2012 in Washington, DC.

At the age of 10, Gabriel Bol Deng fled his home village of Ariang in South Sudan in 1987 after it was attacked by North Sudan Murahileen militiamen. He fled, not knowing the fate of his parents or siblings. After his escape, Gabriel embarked on a harrowing, four month journey across the Nile River and the untold miles of desert, surviving disease and paralyzing hunger to reach Ethiopia. While at refugee camp in Ethiopia, Gabriel first learned English by writing on cardboard with pieces of charcoal. Four years later, he fled from violence again, leaving Ethiopia and traveling cross country to Kenya, where he lived and continued his primary and secondary education. It was in the refugee camps that Gabriel first realized the importance of literacy education.

In 2001, Gabriel came to Syracuse, New York under the U.S refugee resettlement program. In 2007 he graduated from Le Moyne College with a Bachelors’ Degree in Mathematics education and Philosophy. He was named the Student Teacher of the Year by Le Moyne College. It was education that gave Gabriel the hope for a better future and inspired him to found HOPE for Ariang foundation with the mission of promoting peace in South Sudan by educating its children, empowering women by providing economic opportunities, beginning with Gabriel’s native village of Ariang. He believes education not only offers a brighter future to the children of Ariang village, but also is the key to achieving lasting peace and sustainable development in South Sudan.

In May 2007, Gabriel returned to South Sudan after 20 years to look for his family, a journey documented in an Award- winning documentary, Rebuilding Hope.

The film has received several awards and has been shown at various film festivals all over the world in cities like Tokyo, Paris, London, Mumbai, and New York City. Author Alice Walker (“The Color Purple”) remarked “Rebuilding Hope is a deeply moving study in loss and suffering, in courage, in wisdom of the meaning of Life as Humans, that seems as old as the continent of Africa.”

Gabriel now speaks about his life story and the mission of HOPE for Ariang in schools and organizations throughout the United States and around the world. His dream of building a school in his native village of Ariang is now being realized. The construction of the school was completed in May 2011.

The school is now educating 500 children, including 130 girls. Over 400 villagers including women were employed in the construction of the school. Hundreds of children were fed as a result of their parents’ involvement in the construction of the school.

Fresh drinking water is now available to more than ten thousand people for the first time ever in Ariang and surrounding villages. This is only the beginning, however. “A school is not a building,” Gabriel reminds us. He is now working towards sustainability of the school. His immediate goals are constructing a brick fence to protect school property and provide sanctuary for learning, supporting further education for teachers, and promoting entrepreneurship through micro-finance program among the villagers, especially women so that they can generate income for their families as well as providing ongoing funding towards the school’s operating expenses. Ariang School is a beacon of hope for hundreds of children and their families in Ariang.

Rev. James Martin, S.J.

The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author and Editor at Large at America, the national Catholic magazine.

James Martin was born in Plymouth Meeting, PA, and was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1982, where he received his bachelor’s degree in economics (B.S. Econ.) with a concentration in finance. After working for six years in corporate finance with General Electric in New York City and Stamford, CT, he entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1988. 

During his Jesuit novitiate in Boston, Martin worked at a hospital for the seriously ill in Cambridge, Mass.; in a hospice for the sick and dying with the Missionaries of Charity in Kingston, Jamaica; and at the Nativity Mission Center, a school for poor boys, in New York City. In 1990, he pronounced his simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. From 1990 to 1992, he studied philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, and worked in an outreach program with street-gang members in the Chicago housing projects, and at a community center where he helped unemployed men and women. For his “regency” assignment, he worked for two years with Jesuit Refugee Service/East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, where he helped East African refugees start small businesses, and co-founded a refugee handicraft shop called The Mikono Centre; and for one year as an associate editor at America in New York City. In 1995, Martin began graduate theology studies at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry), in Cambridge, Mass., where he received his master’s degree in divinity (M.Div.) in 1998, and his master’s in theology (Th.M.) in 1999. While in Cambridge, he worked as a chaplain at a Boston prison. After completing his Jesuit studies, he was ordained a Catholic priest in June 1999 in Chestnut Hill, Ma. On Nov. 1, 2009, he pronounced his final vows as a “fully professed” Jesuit in New York City.  

Father Martin is the author of several award-winning books. His most recent book is “Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life,” (HarperOne, 2011), which was named as one of “Best Books” of 2011 by Publishers Weekly. In February his e-book “Together on Retreat: Meeting Jesus in Prayer,“ was published by HarperOne.  Father Martin is also the author of: “Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints“ (Paulist, 2006), “Searching for God at Ground Zero“ (Sheed & Ward: 2002); “In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience“ (Sheed & Ward: 2000, 2010); and “This Our Exile: A Spiritual Journey with the Refugees of East Africa“ (Orbis: 1999, 2009), winner of a Catholic Press Association award. He is the editor of “Celebrating Good Liturgy“ (Loyola, 2005); “Awake My Soul: Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions“ (Loyola, 2004); and “How Can I Find God?: The Famous and the Not-So-Famous Consider the Quintessential Question“ (Liguori, 1997, 2004) and co-editor, with Jeremy Langford, of “Professions of Faith: Living and Working as a Catholic (The Come & See Series)“ (Sheed & Ward: 2002). His books have been translated into Spanish, German, Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Korean, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Slovenian. His DVD “Who Cares about the Saints?” was released by Loyola Press in 2009, and many of his talks and lectures are available on the web. 

Besides articles in Catholic publications like America, Commonweal, U.S. Catholic, Catholic Digest and The (London) Tablet, Father Martin has written for, among other places, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, O Magazine and other newspapers and websites, including Slate.com, The Huffington Post and The New York Times’s and The Washington Post’s websites. He has commented on religion and spirituality in the national and international media, and he has appeared on all the major radio and television networks, and in venues as diverse as National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and “All Things Considered,” PBS’s “Newshour,” Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” and Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” as well as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, The History Channel, the BBC, Voice of America and Vatican Radio. Father Martin maintains an active presence on his public Facebook page and also on Twitter.

For his various ministries, Father Martin has received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree (D.D.) from Wagner College in New York 2007, and honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees (D.Hum.) from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia and from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Ct., in 2010; from Le Moyne College in Syracuse in 2011; and in 2012 from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, St. Louis University and Immaculata University in Immaculata, Pa. He has also received Fordham University’s Gaudium et Spes Award, the Ignatian Volunteer Corps’s Madonna della Strada Award, the Loyola Institute of Spirituality’s Writers’ Award, and the Religion Communication Association’s Scholar of the Year Award.

Besides his editorial, publishing and media work, Father Martin has been invited by Catholic dioceses and archdioceses to address gatherings of clergy and laity, has spoken at colleges and universities across the country, has taught at Boston College’s Summer Institute, and leads seminars and directs retreats at retreat houses. On Sundays he assists at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City.

Special thanks to Ignatian News Network for putting together this fantastic overview of the 2012 Ignatian Family Teach-In!

Nestor Pimienta, a senior political science and urban studies double major, had that opportunity with Tutoring Tomorrow Today (TTT), the program that he helped create at LMU. The program was cast into national prominence when Pimienta was selected to be one of the main speakers at the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice (IFTJ) – a national Jesuit conference that took place this past weekend in Washington, D.C.

When interviewed for the Loyolan’s Sept. 6 issue’s “11 Burning Questions with a founder of Tutoring Tomorrow Today,” Pimienta explained that TTT is a student-run program that provides subject-based tutoring and mentoring for the families of the Facilities Management workers and the food service workers on campus.

The program began last year after being awarded $5,000 through ASLMU’s Inspiration Grant, which funds a project designed by a team of three or more students who, according to the Nov. 7 Loyolan article “ASLMU introduces new scholarships,” “wish to make a long-term impact by initiating a project that can be carried on for a number of years. … The Inspiration Grant aims to provide inspired students with funds to realize their dreams of a more socially just and sustainable community.”

According to Pimienta, by connecting LMU students as tutors and mentors with the campus workers’ families, TTT aims to build genuine relationships.

“Being chosen as one of the main speakers for the conference has the potential to change thousands of lives across the country,” said Pimienta, highlighting the future impact this national recognition will have for TTT.

Including Pimienta, there were seven main student speakers at IFTJ. Each 10-minute presentation had a similar format and was presented to over 1,200 people from Jesuit universities, and even some high schools, across the nation.

According to Ignationsolidarity.net, the event aims to bring members of the Ignatian family together “in the context of social justice and solidarity to learn, reflect, pray, network and advocate together.” The theme of the 2012 conference was “Imagination Reform: Moving Beyond the Margins,” which, according to Pimienta, relates to TTT since the program moves marginalized groups of people beyond the margins. He explained that TTT is imagination reform because it forces our campus to redefine the notion of what community is.

Alex Abbasi, a senior theological studies major and a friend of Pimienta’s, also attended the conference and joined Pimienta during his speech. Pimienta explained that Abbasi is a big part of the vision of TTT and that he is passionate and committed to making this vision a reality, so he wanted Abbasi to speak with him on behalf of the program.

While discussing his feelings about presenting his vision in Washington, D.C., Pimienta did not seem nervous at all, but instead seemed passionate and humbled about really wanting to make the most out of this unique opportunity.

“I feel very, very excited,” said Pimienta. “Think about the countless lives that can be impacted over the next few years. I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity, and I’ve been preparing as much as possible to make sure that what I’m speaking about resonates with the audience.”

The goal of their speech is to demonstrate how TTT fully embodies all of the Jesuit ideals.

“I think this is a perfect opportunity, and is crucial in order to expand TTT over the country,” explained Pimienta. “The goal is to have at least one other institution to be inspired by us to start TTT.”

Pimineta was pleased with the amount of positive feedback he received. According to him, students and representatives of Jesuit organizations kept coming up to him and Abbasi wanting to know everything about TTT.

“I just want LMU to continue to be a great model for and with others, and [a place] other institutions that want to start TTT can look upon,” said Pimienta. “The next step for TTT is to welcome more support at LMU and from any other institutions that expressed interest so that the program is successful nationwide.”

To view Pimineta and Abbasi’s speech in its entirety, click here.

The Teach-In is an opportunity for Egan and Walsh and members of the Ignatian family (28 Jesuit universities, 25 Jesuit High Schools, Jesuit parishes, Jesuit volunteer communities and many other Catholic institutions) to come together in the context of social justice and solidarity to learn, reflect, pray, network, and act for justice.

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Updated 10-1-12