His origins begin in a small village in Darfur, Sudan, where he experienced traumatizing events as a child. His village was burned to the ground and his aunt was raped in his presence. These experiences encouraged him to become a child soldier, driven by revenge and a fiery hatred for Muslims and Arabs.
As he grew older, he came to understand that not one religion or ethnicity is toblame for what happened to his family. He realized that those with political power was manipulating the people using religion, it was then he learned to forgive.
He has brands himself as a warchild, and the voice of mute
As a producer, he filmed a movie titled “ War Child” in 2008, which serves as his autobiography. He believes that music is his therapy; and discovered its power when Muslim musicians played as his village and he didn’t feel the need to do him any harm because of the music. In his speech on TED.com he applies the pathos approach to his speech, to allow the audience to feel what he felt and emit how passionate he is about his cause.The name of the campaign is called “Lose to Win”, encourages individuals to give away some items for the greater good. In 2008, he embarked on a personal sacrifice, in which he ate only on meal a day and donated the other meals toothers who were hungry. Emmanuel's campaign is geared towards building a school in his village. He believes that investing in education is the right tool to help his country, Africa and eventually the world .
One of the most powerful and touching words anyone can say is, “ I am willing to die for this cause”This shows that you have dedicated your whole self to the cause and would lose your life defending it if you should be in such situation. Like many of the martyrs we know; Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, etc.
A perfect example of "reach one, to teach one", an African American proverb that explains the cycle of kindness.
In our society, we tend to glorify the things that are attractive and most appealing, but Emmanuel’s can-do attitude has inspired me to be apart of the solution and immerse myself into a cause bigger than myself. He is a living example of someone who came from nothing, and made something of himself without choosing the wrong path. During my research about Emmanuel, although he is the only face of his campaign, he has some huge supporters such as Alicia Keys ,DMC (Run - DMC) and Natasha Bedingfield. They have performed for his benefits concerts, attended forums and donated their time and money to fund his cause. I always applaud celebrities that continue to participate in charities that really make a difference in people lives.In retrospect
This is the reason I chose this profession, to help others like Emmanuel Jal, by highlighting their cause and generate numbers to help change a world that desperately needs our help. Public Relations can be a great tool to spread awareness, but I always relied on others the assist with world saving tactics. However, if I can muster up even one- eighth the courage of Emma and Emmanuel, I can make some changes in the world, no matter how small, by using Public Relations as that instrument, that's what PR would do.If you are interested in listening to his speech, you can click here.