Thon Moses Chol, Minister and Refugee Advocate

Reverend Thon Moses Chol is an ordained minister and a refugee advocate. A South Sudanese refugee himself, Chol resettled in the United States in 2000. Chol works as an education resource development specialist for Washington, DC’s Child and Family Services Agency.

In 1987, when he was a little boy, Chol was forced to flee his village in South Sudan as a “Lost Boy” and fend for himself in the years that followed. Chol spent many years transitioning in and out of varying refugee camps. He made dangerous journeys from South Sudan to Ethiopia and then to Kenya. While living in the Kenyan camp, Chol taught preschoolers and worked as a counselor for the Jesuit Refugee Service and Lutheran World Federation. Finally, in 2000 he was able to resettle as an unaccompanied minor in Grand Rapids, MI. Although adjusting to life in the United States was difficult at first, Chol attributes his success in his adopted country to a strong support system and enduring determination and will. Chol earned a bachelor of arts degree in organizational communication in 2006 and a master of social work degree in policy, planning, and administration in 2008, both from Western Michigan University. In October 2018, he was an alumni inductee to Western Michigan University’s School of Communication.

In Michigan, Chol became the executive director of the Sudanese Community of West Michigan. In 2008, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute gave Chol an opportunity as an intern for Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. He later moved to Washington, DC, where he is an education resource development specialist for DC Child and Family Services Agency and is a member of the Refugee Congress. Chol is an ordained Episcopal pastor in the Diocese of Renk.

In 2010, Chol testified before the United States Congress about the refugee crisis in Sudan. He has appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera, Congressional Record, ABC World News, the Washington Post, and the New York Times magazine. Chol has also participated as an Identifier in the 2011 Southern Sudanese Independence Referendum. The Referendum was held to give southern Sudanese the choice between unity with northern Sudanese versus secession.

In 2011, Global Refuge (formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) honored him with the Spirit of Welcome Award, and he was nominated to the Global Refugee Board of Directors. He hopes to have his voice heard again on that platform to discuss current issues of public education on refugee protection, funding for recently arrived refugees, and mental health support services.