My name is Matthew Lam Joar, and I am from South Sudan, currently living in Kenya as a refugee. I got involved in competitive sports as a refugee several years ago but decided to put my higher education project first. Being a refugee and experiencing the life refugees go through, made me not only value the life of the vulnerable -but through adversity, I have become stronger and the desire to give back to the refugee community.

I am an athlete, a sprinter – I do 100m and 200m. I am fast. I got involved in competitive sports as a refugee a few years back but decided to put my higher education project first. As one of the Refugee Olympics Team in 2016, although I did not make it to Rio, did not just motivate me to do more for my sports career, but also to try and share the knowledge I have about athletics with my fellow refugees.