Gaming for Good, Can a Video Game Teach Empathy? | Lual Mayen

The Delivering Happiness Podcast

Lual Mayen is a gaming developer and a former refugee from South Sudan who was born in the midst of his family's search journey for safety. His mother saved $300 for 3 years to buy his first laptop and he walked 3 hrs daily to teach himself how to play and then build video games. Salaam, the game Mayen originally developed so children in the camp could understand the concept of peace, became a worldwide sensation. Fast forward 3 years, He's now the CEO of Junub Games at DC, creating the next version of Salaam to teach people empathy. In October 2020 [as we record this!], he founded Lual Mayen Foundation to empower refugees through technology, restore hope, and shine a light on the hardships for refugees worldwide through education and employment. He was honored with the Global Citizen Gaming Award 2018, South Sudan Diaspora Award 2019, appeared on ABC New, World Economic Forum, C-SPAN and many more media If you just google his name.
We felt incredibly honored to interview such an inspiring entrepreneur and philanthropist. We talked about how life is different in the US vs the refugee camp, how his passion and purpose took him to the US and what he's planning to do to give back through his company and his foundation. Talking to him reaffirms that happiness principles are the same everywhere and how far purpose and passions can take us.
More details on Lual's Journey prior to coming to the US:
During the Second Sudanese Civil War, the Bor Massacre occurred, killing about 2000 civilians in Bor. His parents were displaced and alone. By foot, they fled from violence. Lual was born on the road finding their final settlement.
Other camps were opened in Nimule and Mungali where they finally settled. Life wasn’t easy because the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) started to attack and killed massive amounts of people. His family was constantly fearful for their lives and it was common to see neighbors and friends in the camp beaten to death. Hi family finally moved to the refugee camp in Northern Uganda in Arua District, where he lives until 22 years old.
Salaam, his video game, was initially developed so children in the camp could understand the concept of peace. Because the Internet was not reliable at the camp, his team would distribute it to other refugees via Bluetooth and WiFi sharing. One day, his friends had a crazy idea to upload it to a Facebook page. He uploaded it on his page, and that was when the world took notice.