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Austin Alumni Spotlight: Jekap Omod
Posted on Jun 02 2023
Austin Public Schools (APS) recently highlighted former ILCM client, Jekap Omod, in their alumni spotlight. He said he is “grateful for all the support I received from my teachers at APS during my high school years as a new kid from Africa with a very little English. I am here today because of the support they gave me. I can’t mention all your names but THANK you!”
Jekap started working with ILCM attorney Sara Karki to become a U.S. citizen in September of 2020. He diligently provided the required information while staying on top of his coursework at the University of Minnesota. Despite the efforts of both Jekap and Sara, months went by wherein Jekap was “still in line to be scheduled” for the appointments necessary to become a citizen.
Jekap didn’t let this slow process hold him back. He obtained a degree in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota, conducted post-baccalaureate research there to prepare for graduate school, and is currently working as a laboratory scientist at May Clinic.
He is also volunteering to translate children’s books into Anuak, one of the major languages spoken in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia, and raising funds for the nonprofit organization Open Hearts, Big Dreams to distribute these books in the United States, Ethiopia, and around the world. In 2022, he translated over 70 Anuak bilingual children books and wrote the very first bilingual children book based on the Anuak folktales. By the end of the year, he was able to send 15,000 books to Gambela and distributed them to 60 primary schools. This is the first time for the Anuak children to get access to children books. Jekap is currently raising more money to send 5,000 additional books to more schools this year.
Jekap believes multilingual literacy is important for children everywhere to help connect them with other cultures.
Thankfully, Jekap was able to naturalize in May, 2023, over a year and a half after he started working with ILCM.