Happened today. It was a strike on a market shops and pharmacy for those who have been the and i visited confident after many times together with my team. Those who know the city and its layout can clearly say it was a civilian infrastructure, and there was no military base anywhere near school, which is a judge in the state of georgia is expected to decide whether donald trump is 18 Co Defendants will be tried together will separately on charges of election meddling the hearing would also give a snapshot of how much evidence prosecutors have against the form of us President Trump and his Co Defendants are accused of trying to over time. The president ial Election Results in georgia in 2020 Severe Weather is causing catastrophic floods in bulgaria. Increase in, in tech a. At least 12 people have been confirmed that several. Im missing full costs of predicting more right. In the coming days. A powerful storm is sweeping across southern brazil and its killed at least 31 people. Heavy rain for this cause, fighting and several cities more than 3000 people reflect the homes. Rescue efforts are underway. Simmons, democrats and republicans tongue go. 6 soldiers have been trying, in a Court Martial for their involvement, the beginning of 56 protest as the defense lawyers off the Constitutional Court to stop the proceedings. They say the trial is it politically motivated. Frequently does a propose new global taxes to Fund Climate Change action. The coal came, its in the declaration at the end of the 1st after Climate Summit and i robi proposal. So just rich nations, to fulfill that purchase, to support african states in that fight against effects of climate change. Go today with headlines, more news coming up right after generation support. Now, to develop drugs for humans, scientists conduct test on animals. Monkeys are in high demand, but a Global Associates have led to assuming black markets. 101 east travels to cambodia. Whistle blowers excludes electrical government involvement in smuggling monkey based on our new all thing is one of the worlds most eye clinic basketball players for the 9 season he played to the chicago was becoming the full top school. Right. And its history and a to time and the a full stop to me if youre not growing consistently, youre just in your comfort zone, right . Especially of an athlete. When somebody tells you youre good and you let that get to you, youre not going to last falling in south to don. Dang and his family was forced to flee. What became africas longest civil war. Was less over 2000000 dead and 4000000 dislikes. During this time lisa to suss in ages and then in the u. K. Way possible career 1st began late to represent in Great Britain the and then pick games. In 2011 south saddam became an independent country. A new building is now president of its boss. People federation, and one of its coaches are where we are the team affectionately known as the bright start is now qualified to that 1st as a welcome dang. Hes also set up the foundations that provides development and humanitarian support. The way my story was, i felt that it was important that i give back. I felt that it was part of what i had to do well, come to generation support. Im in my am ronnie and im here in times in the was south of dawn. Its saying in bucketfuls, after 1045, i come to speak to the whole thing about his remarkable life story. How his experiences are shaped as well. Do you hope alls people is changing . Lives in south to don acosta. So thank you so much for joining me. On generations thought, we come and find you here in tons in, in your head with the sa sit on Basketball Team. How much time do you spend on the african continent at the moment . Right now, probably 6 to 7 months. Im splitting my time, but im spending a lot of time. Mostly in south sedan. Im why did you decide to focus on what to do . S it on the boss, people in south to don and the african continent for jeopardy. I just believe that is going to play a big role of being the youngest nation thing. Sports has a way of bringing everyone together or the young diaspora be inspired to see me go back to south sedan and see the changes that were making, but also basketball in general is growing in the confidence. So this, ill sit down Basketball Team has made history by qualifying for the possible outcome. What do you think that may in such a Young Country now is huge. I think obviously is the biggest space to walk up. We did it with such a short time in the way that we did it by winning the majority of our games. I think it made everyone a believer, even though this is basketball, is very inspiring because we always want it to be on a stage where everyone see, you know, the positive and, and the talent in and what we can achieve as a nation. So, you know, being so young, this is something that were going to celebrate for a long time. I want to talk to you a bit about your background and how that informs the manuals today and the work that you were doing with the team. And as a young man, you know, you were a refugee with your family and i wanted to know how your experience as a refugee kind of shaped your core values in terms of your priorities today and how you look at, well, obviously weve been through a lot a lot of us had to flee home and grow up elsewhere, but we keep we keep our values and our culture, which kind of helps with the still being connected with whats going on in sedan or south sedan. Um, you know, i played a big part in just following up and, you know, the whole piece process of getting our independence. I remember i was playing in chicago and 2011 when we were getting our referendum to be able to vote. Part of that, what we did was give buses for every south Student Needs community in the us to be able to go and vote. So ive always felt that, you know, even though im always, ive always believed that i will return. So i understand that you have had 9 siblings that you left the country. You and i think its really interesting that when you finally went egypt, 2 of your brothers, that a famous and b a player who was full say from sasa. Don, can you tell me a bit about that experience and how that impacts it on you . When i think back to growing up in egypt, we had a, as a Community Church that we used to go to with all of the south sort of nice community. The refugees mostly with me. Uh and when my nubile, who was at the time planted a m b. A wanted to spend some time in egypt and spend some time with the refugees there. The south side of nice community. He started teaching basketball as a tom, i really had no interest in basketball. I was, i was too young, so my brothers were the ones that were being taught and spending time with me, new and slain other clubs and they created a team. And when my new less, my brother took it upon himself to kinda teach me and my friends everything that he learned. And it was some serious extreme training which im very thankful for later down the line. But because of that, he never had the knowledge of it. So he took that knowledge of basketball from the new and kind of pass that on to me. Its quite amazing though, seeing what you do and to actually do and to see that somewhere f as a back in your story. That investment, you know, it wasnt directly fit in to you but into your family and it trickle down. Do you think that that inspired your help trying to feed for what you did laser, i dont wanna overstate that, but i was curious when i read it. No, i think it definitely did. I never knew that ill be in a position where im helping people. I just knew that i wanted to succeed somehow, but because of my culture, because of my parents because of my family because of people like me, new, i just felt that that became my life. I believe thats what im supposed to do. And off the agent finally went to the u. K. And you said that the u. K. Was the pay for it will began. You said this country put us in the pots and you nice and you made great use of the opportunities that were given to you, that how do you feel when you get to the way the climate has changed towards refugees in the u. K. Now, since you are living that, you know, for me as a refugee, and i always try to explain people because when i was in a you, as and i was still playing. The same thing was happening with the board as with mexico or you know, any other refugees that were coming in or even in europe or not follow those things. And i think the public is just not being taught or being educated about whats going on. You know, for us, for example, as soon as we got to egypt, i was 5 years old. I know that my family, as for political asylum, we didnt get out of egypt till i was almost 11. Um now and the other side of it. I dont blame anyone for crossing borders. I just believe that, you know, as a parent knows anyone, you have to do the best you can do for a better life after you. You and you k, you then went to the United States age 14. Id like to know or for year how it was being african in the states in the ninetys for example, when after go didnt have the same level of like the Global Cultural capital that it has. Now for example, like now everyone knows about after be Everybody Knows much more about african athletes for example. So im just interested if it was something you thoughts about at the time, oh no, really . No, i photo bided all the time. To me, it always bothered me that everything that was said about sudan, south sudan, everything was always negative, even growing up, i was inspired to one of succeed because i want to put my country in a map or i want to tell people not only themselves to the needs, but im african, i remember going to school all the way africa was for trade was always about the movies and a pass or the story thats always being towed and still being use of the advocate always needs help. And i think i carried it with a chip on my shoulder because i always felt that, you know, im from some way that deserves you know, uh, better recognition for say, can you feel like you still have that chip on your shoulder of it . Or have you got rid of it, is it still feeling a lot of what you do in a positive way or what do you think youve managed to deal with that in a different way . No i, i think its, its there, but im excited because of what i see in the confidence im inspired by when i go to orlando and i come to terms and a when i go to move forward to mozambie, not everything is perfect there. But i see now people are more comfortable with saying, you know, im in times in a and i just to see the animals. Im going there to enjoy the country. Im going there because the people are nice and they kind of inspires me because now theres more to africans than just, you know, what you see in the movies. And when youre in the United States, you pay for some of the biggest seems me and be a way for the like chicago was uh, miami. He any like is. And i wanna ask you in a personal level, what is your greatest success in your career . In terms of play, i think, i think for me the biggest thing was getting drafted. Uh, cuz for me it was a quick turn around. I was almost 11 when i got to the u. K. Within 8 years i was being drafted and being given probably, you know, one of the biggest contracts, and for me thats, you know, the quickest turn around, but also it changed my whole familys life and a lot of things happened the right way for me to be able to be drafted, so im always thankful for that moment is refreshing to hear that as well because we know support is very, very powerful, but so often the focuses on things like money and, and the focus is on things that i guess take the attention away from the power really kind of have to change peoples lives and you returned to it. And also i was done in 2010. But last year away. How did you maintain your relationship and what was your relationship . Like with off that on to when i was drafted in 2004, i started my foundation logged in foundation. I didnt know what i was doing, but i felt that the way my story was and how everyone talked about my story. I felt that it was important that i give back not that i didnt want to, but i felt that it was part of what i had to do and it was fine. So when i set up my foundation, i didnt know what im doing. So i started working with every organization that i could work with, and i could name a bunch like unicef, you and hcr, well full program. Anyone who came up to me and said theyre doing something himself. So then i volunteered to help. After a while, i realized that are actually, ive learned a lot and i wanted to do my own. And how did you find your way back from visiting him when hes and you started for foundation, but now coaching the sausage on to you. What was that jenny . Honestly, i never thought that ill be coaching. Im not really coaching. I am kind of part of the coaching staff. I just really lives in case you know, i fill in when the coach is kinda caught up and i guess i am an assistant coach. But honestly, i started doing my basketball camps, i started doing it in a u. K. I started doing in australia, started doing it in the us, in south sedan. And i kept, you know, we kept this simple database where we kind of not only held the players with basketball, but we wanted to see how many plays we can get to get a scholarship by using basketball. The goal was how to get them into college. And then become whatever they can become from that later on down the line. When i retired, i realize that most of the plays that are playing now. I literally knew them since they were young. So it made my transition easy to get involved with basketball in south students. And is it true that youre essentially funding this . Ill sit on team at the moment i was, i was so when, when i took over as the president of Basketball Federation in south sit in, the idea came as nobody was there to take the position. And i knew the potential of what we can do in basketball. So when i took over, there was no funding. This really nobody had the vision of you know that south. So data will be capable. Going to walk up that well, well have an opportunity to go to the olympics even play an arrow basket for our people back home that didnt exist. That would take crazy amount of work to achieve that. I believe otherwise, i really believe that we had the talent. I believe that we are one of the best teams in africa. I believe that we can dominate in basketball or just like how can you dominates in track and field, just like if you, if youre does or just like jamaica doesnt sprint. And so i decided to put my money where my mouth is, and really funded to just show people that we can, you know, be out there. And we can be as good as everyone. And when we did that and you know, the players and everybody in my federation really surprised me by what we were able to accomplish and where we are now with just 3 and a half years us. And you mentioned about finding the little Thing Foundation in 2005. Could you just explain 3 clearly what was the thought process behind and what is it now for you . Yeah, no. When i did it, it was just help. Uh help. Uh south said it needs an african, however, i can uh, there was no plan to where beside help. So when i worked with all these organization, it went from, you know, food to malaria nets, to doctors without borders. Um, now when you look at my foundation, this part of my foundation that focuses on sports, this part that focuses on health. This pause that focuses on famine. Any organization that wants to deliver fluid somewhere in south sudan, you know, would jump in and it will be a part of that. You know, um, last year we gave up 3300. 00 plus which is a walk is came out because i was able to team up with an organization that you know, wanted to do that. So i can just say that this one thing that we do, but this a lot of things that we do very well. How is times changed . Well, is the foundation having to do now the maybe was different in the case when you were younger is, can i be very honest with this . Yeah, go ahead of for me, one of the reason i stopped working with a lot of organizations is because i, i feel that a lot of things are being very repetitive. And a lot of people keep on crossing the borders because we are doing the same thing over and over again. And part of it is because a lot of organization, im not pulling down certain things as sustainable or things that can uplift, you know, what i mean by that is you can go anywhere in africa and see a lot of refugees or a lot of, you know, people, it displays in those places the displays. They are being given things that they keep coming back for. But in africa theres a lot of lands, uh and a lot of opportunity to create jobs, even if you are. And i hate to call out anyone. But if you are you at a, c, r o, well full program, it takes teaming up with people that know what they doing in terms of like, lets say agriculture. Right . Is the easiest thing. You could employ applicants agriculture. But if im, or if im a refugee or if im displaced and i know for a fact that if i can really become good at, you know, or i can show up every day in the field and, and work right. Theyre going to pay me more. So i can take care of my family that makes me feel better, but instead in a lot of ref, as you can, you just come in in the morning and you were given food. Youre waiting until you get a political asylum to go somewhere else. But you continue staying in the same way, but yeah, your display, so you dont, you can go and get a job. You cant, you can just leave. Right. So youre not stable enough. And i think i, the best system is been there because organizations are going to keep on asking for funding. Right. But i think funding can be as in, in to do Something Better with it instead of just funding to give you can just keep on given and keep on repeating the same cycle, right, because people want to better their lives. But if youre going to help, you have to show somebody how to better their lives. You can just keep treated. No, im giving them something just to survive for today, but they come back tomorrow. When im sitting off, is it you is very powerful and i can see that you have a strong conviction. Was that thing inside you thats pushing you to keep doing all this stuff . Im. Im a product of an opportunity. So maybe i see life that way on when i give an opportunity. Im given an opportunity more than just just showing up. You know, theres individuals till today, right . That will come to africa and build a Basketball Court. Just build a Basketball Court, then they will go back and share a story of how they build a Basketball Court. Right. But the problem with that is couple years later, theyll go back to that Basketball Court and see that the whole Basketball Court is messed up or this whole. So theyve got to paint it, or they got to renovate the whole thing again. Right . So in a way it provided somebody something just for a little short of time for fun, right . But now this individual that build a Basketball Court and they build programs within those programs, they put people in there that actually teaching those individuals and those kids the right way to play basketball, whatever. And then when you come back, you find out what some of these kids are playing for clubs. The game paid, the coaches coaching a team, or maybe theyre getting a scholarship, or maybe they even become professional. What is basketball . Football, whatever. Thats the difference between, you know, help and with a purpose instead of helping. So you look good or so your story sounds good, right . And i just want to bring this back to the past couple of you were talking about and, and talk a little in africa and see you specifically having come from the m b a way you have every opportunity and privilege that you would possibly dream of as a play a how is it coming back to south the don and jessica with the resources arent necessary that you want to provide the best things that you can fuel play it. Yeah, i looked at it 2 ways, right . In terms of, i live in, in the us, which i still split my time. Right. Living in a us living in a big house. Um, you know, you can think about it, professional athlete, cars, everything. Right . And if you tell the story in that narrative, everything is there, right . But when im there, im missing everything that is not there. You know, so when i come back to the content in this so much that we have to offer even in south sedan, theres so much there that i can find over there. Like what just people write this. This like Little Things like feeling that i belong there. Right, going around, going to Different Stores differential, but those are my people, right . Sometimes people just sit outside and just talk your neighbor like you go across families get together. But in terms of the luxury and all of that, yes, it looks good. But i guess it depends on who you are, what your needs are. We often talk about whats missing from this side, but we dont talk about whats missing on the other side. Mm hm. I. So thats just how i see it. One thing that you said somewhere was, um, somebodys coming in home for addiction is in the well, is the drawer of comfort. Stephanie seems to speak say exactly what youre saying. Why do you think people also going by comes that, why do you think its such a difficult thing for people to break away from . To me, if youre not growing consistently, if youre not, is effective. If youre not helping others, youre just in your comfort zone, right . So what day is just the Basketball Team now . You know what . Days. Finally, back in south sedan weather is my Foundation Growing in different angles. Its always a room for, you know, challenging yourself and grow and, and i think especially as an athlete, once somebody tells you youre good, right, and as an athlete and you let that get to you, youre not going to last even if you get an award today you know, it sounds good, you should be happy, but that was not your plan to begin with. You know, if thats your plan, you for the show confidence, i guess so you do much more than just basketball. Do you feel like you would want to go into Something Like politics . Do you feel like moving into a space like politics would allow you to be able to impact some of the things that youre talking about . The all fading in the on why can you, or do you say say can you head on . So going, i think i want to, honestly, i want to be in a position where im respected well enough where my opinion matters. But i, i fear politics. I really do politics all around the world is very dirty. It really is. And when you get into politics, you take sides the right. It ends up being a fatality ends up being not generally whats for the people. Its more about whats for your party at the end of the day. I think more be an independent. Im able to speak about a variety of things, but i would never be able to affect anything unless i pull myself in a position where i actually matter. You know, to not just people but to also politicians. So im making the decisions right. Um, you know, if, if theres a party there that kind of makes sense for everyone which there, there isnt, then maybe ill get it for politics. Its interesting to you say that because you that was it for the addition as well. So i guess maybe you had more of an understanding and perspective of how things works because of the experience your father had either one of projects that load or so. Yeah. My father was the minnesota vacation in transportation in the whole of sudan at the time. I always tell people im a college drop out of i went to duke for one year and i was doing well in school, but i ended up playing basketball. I never went back to college. Im not saying that im not smart, but my dads thing is education, right . Educating people and writing books and being in politics. My route is i want to say the right things i want to be effective. I want to make a change, but at the end of the day, most majority of time im using sports as a to uh, to kind of push for that uh, outlet and that platform. If that makes sense. And i just wanna, you know, its a close of just ask is you think that really does trends and board is in a similar way, i guess, to the way that evil mice transcended board is yourself as a refugee. Do you believe that it does have the power to change peoples lives . Yes, i do. I think from my experience as far as has changed my life as far as has given me an opportunity to be in the platform that im in today. And i think especially just around the world or the, or the majority of countries that are struggling, the unity, you know, weve seen it, for example, with Nelson Mandela in south africa. You know, whether its rugby with us, with basketball. We have a lot that we need to achieve as a country Going Forward and being a young generation. But the way were rallying around this and go into the world cup. Right . For other countries is a small achievement because the existence for a long time. But for us is bigger than basketball because unity is important and is our 1st thing to actually put south sedan in a map. Uh so yes, a sports can bring people together and sports, sports is part of nation building. Its a remarkable story. Its absolutely incredible. And im so glad that i could come here and speak to you about it, and i wish you and the team all the best of success in the future. Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. And everything too, with an exclusive interview disability, very dutiful, but its cruel. People can forget you the next day, slip pulling stupid stuff to put the on faith, the media, and the challenges at the top bridge and help me so much get all of all the media, all the fading and everything, and go back to reality. When these money, you have to be careful, money change, people, generation flows on out you 0 the, [000 00 00;00] the way from home these ukrainians in body celebrate division, found a National Holiday designed to uphold the traditions of ukraines National Clothing with looks lot like russians. We have separate land which we have national close. Nearly 60000 russians arrived in body last year, making them the 2nd Largest Group of tourists, the number of ukrainians arriving, as also increase the number of tens of russian arrivals. The 2 countries are to the thousands of the citizens living on the side of each other on this intrusion. I alena too, is, had a bakery and keep. For now, she says, shell remain here the dreams of the day when she can return all the the deadliest at the time by russia and ukraine. For months, at least 17 people are killed. The on the clock, this is out of their life. And uh, how old is it coming up to rental rain is led to flooding across greece, tech