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the photo to view a larger version. |
Gabriel
Atem slowly backs a farm truck through a field as his
foster brother, Joseph McCarthy, directs him. Farm life
has given the Sudanese teens an opportunity to learn to
drive, something they had not done in their homeland.
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the photo to view a larger version. |
Primo
Loku clears thistles this summer from a field near Yelm under
the watchful eye of one of the farm's cows. A year ago, Primo
was living in a refugee camp in Kenya, but now lives with
this adopted family near McKenna.
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the photo to view a larger version. |
Anderia
Lual (in cart) clowns around with foster dad, Ron MacKnight,
and foster brother Michael Chuol
on a shopping trip to a clothes store in Olympia. MacKnight
and his wife, Robyn, both 26, had a 3-year-old son when
they opened their home to four 18-year-old boys from Sudan.
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the photo to view a larger version. |
Michael
Chuol looks at a pair of sandals during a clothes shopping
trip in Olympia with his family.
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David
Atem plays with his foster brother, Brandon MacKnight, at
their home near Yelm.
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Michael
Choul looks at his reprint of the Yelm High School track team
photo. Choul was proud of his making the varsity team as a
distance runner, where he qualified for the district championships
in the 3,200-meter run.
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the photo to view a larger version. |
Gabriel
Atem arm wrestles with fellow varsity soccer players during
the year-end awards banquet. Participating in sports helped
the Sudanese teens make friends
and adjust to their new life in the United States.
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Primo
Loku (14), the leading scorer for the Yelm High School varsity
soccer team, battles Lakewood High School defenders during
a game in April. Fellow Sudanese students Gabriel Atem, Anderia
Lual and David Atem also played soccer, a skill they developed
in a refugee camp in Kenya. Michael Chuol ran track in the
spring, qualifying for the district meet in the 3,200 meters.
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Michael
Chuol (center) asks a question during English class at Yelm
High School, where the boys will return as seniors in the
fall. The others are (from left) David Atem, Anderia Lual,
Primo Loku and Mathiang Akoi.
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Primo
Loku uses a copy machine as David Atem, Michael Chuol and
Gabriel Atem wait their turn. The boys said they had never
seen a copy machine before having to use the one in the school's
library.
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Primo
Loku learns a hand gesture for rock and roll from classmate
Arthur Wiedenmann (right) during choir practice at Yelm High
School. All six of the Sudanese teens were on the school's
choir.
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the photo to view a larger version. |
Anderia
Lual (left) and classmates from Yelm High School line up for
photos before heading to the spring prom. Parents, teachers
and friends helped raise money and organize the evening, which
included tuxedos and a limousine ride home.
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David
Atem and Victoria Williams dance with classmates during the
spring prom in Tacoma. Friends, family and teachers helped
raise money and arrange for the evening.
|
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the photo to view a larger version. |
David
Atem (far left), Michael Choul, April Hahn, Mathiang Akoi,
Brandi Wilson and Primo Loku do some dancing in the limousine
on the ride home from the spring prom in Tacoma.
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the photo to view a larger version. |
Michael
Chuol and classmate April Hahn clown around in the limousine
on the ride home from the spring prom in Tacoma.
|
Read
the stories:
A
different world
Sudan
fact sheet
From
the Associated Press:
Does oil fuel development in Sudan or just stoke the fires
of war?
|
Tony Overman
|
Click
here for photographer Tony Overman's biography. |
Sarah Jackson |
Click
here for reporter Sarah Jackson's biography.
|
