StFX basketball player Ngot reunites with family in Africa
Courtesy Monty Mosher, The Chronicle Herald

St. Francis Xavier X-Men basketball player Riiny Ngot, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, has had a chance to reunite with his family in Africa after more than a decade of separation.

The seven-foot-two Ngot managed to raise enough money to make the trip and reunited with his mother and four of his siblings in Uganda last week. His plan was to meet up with his father in Sudan this week.

His parents are often apart for work reasons.

"Riiny worked hard, probably making over 30 speaking appearances since the season ended, and with the help of some church groups and private citizens, raised enough money to go home to Africa," said X-Men head coach Steve Konchalski.

Ngot has only had the courage to tell his story in recent years, but he shared it with thousands of school students around Nova Scotia this year. It is a message of hope and perseverance and of his religious faith.

Southern Sudan was gripped by civil war when Ngot was a boy. As many as two million civilians died in the conflict.

He was tending cattle in his grandfather’s village in southern Sudan in 1999 when there was an attack.

He ran to his grandfather’s house and removed his eight-year-old sister from the carnage and flames. He still has the burn scars on his legs and elbows from that day.

Riiny and his sister ended up at a displacement camp, but fearing he’d be forced to become a rebel fighter and his sister would be forced into slavery they ran off one midnight hoping they could find their way home. They believed their parents had probably been killed.

Joining up with hundreds of other children wandering the countryside, they walked for weeks, through desert and jungle, and had to traverse a crocodile-infested river to get to a refugee camp in Kenya.

As many as 600 children died in the river crossing.

Aid groups called the roaming children the Lost Boys.

Riiny and his sister ended up living with a relative in Calgary in 2002 and it was only then they learned their parents were alive.

Despite some knee troubles, Ngot became a big contributor for the X-Men as a shot blocker and rebounder. He’s found a home in Antigonish and had a solid academic year after a few less successful experiences at U.S. schools.

"He will be back at the end of June to start training for next season here at StFX," said Konchalski, who expects Ngot to progress even further on the court and in the classroom as he grows more comfortable in Nova Scotia.