VOA慢速英语--前苏丹“失踪男孩”帮助其他难民

Former Sudanese 'Lost Boy' Helps Other Refugees

A cup of coffee is a good way for many people to start their day. But, it can also do much greater good.

Manyang Kher is a former Sudanese child refugee. When he was three years old, his village was attacked and burned during his country’s civil war in the 1980s.

He was separated from his parents. He never saw them again.

Kher is one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan – one of 20,000 young Sudanese who escaped from their villages and made the 1,600-kilometer walk to Ethiopia.

Kher lived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia’s Gambella region for 13 years.

When he was 16, Kher came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor¹ refugee. While he was in college in the American state of Virginia, he started Humanity Helping² Sudan to raise awareness³ of the refugees.

Today, Kher is an American citizen. He is owner and founder⁴ of a coffee company called 734. It is part of his larger Humanity Helping Sudan project.

The coffee company’s name is meaningful. It comes from the geographical⁵ coordinates⁷ of the Gambella area: 7 degrees north and 34 degrees east.

The company helps the more than 200,000 refugees living in the Gambella area.

Kher said, “I know the struggle those refugees face every day. You see kids die from hunger because they don’t have enough food. You see kids dying of cholera⁸. You see kids dying of a disease. You see kids just running away from the refugee camp, just want to go to a place to be home but they die there on the way.”

Eighty percent of Kher’s profits from 734 coffee goes toward the refugees. Profits go toward buying school supplies and sending more of the children to school.

And, as Kher explains, the money helps “refugees help themselves.”

A cup of 734 coffee, for example, can also buy one fishing net for a refugee. This helps them become self-sufficient, Kher explains.

“That’s why we give fishing nets because they can go to river and fish for themselves. If you build more community gardens they can grow their own food.”

Kher operates 734 Coffee from two warehouses¹⁰ in Virginia. But the coffee beans come from African owned and operated farms in Gambella. The beans are roasted by local coffee roasters in the U.S.

Kher sells the coffee online, at events and to coffee stores.

Megan Murphy owns a bakery near Washington, D.C. She serves 734 Coffee to her customers.

“The customers love it,” she says. “Whenever they find out about the project, about the mission, they connect right with it. The coffee tastes delicious, so it’s a win-win on both sides. You get to enjoy coffee and at the same time be part of the bigger project.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

refugee –n. a person who has been forced to flee because of unjust treatment, danger or war

coordinate⁶ –n. any of a set of numbers used in specifying¹¹ the location of a point on a line, on a surface, or in space

warehouse⁹ –n. a structure or room for the storage of merchandise or commodities

roast –v. to dry and parch¹² by exposure to heat

customer – n. one that purchases a commodity or service

delicious –adj. appealing to one of the bodily senses especially of taste or smell

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

6 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

7 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

9 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

10 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

11 specifying   

v.指定( specify的现在分词 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• When we describe what the action will affect, we are specifying the noun of the sentence. 当描述动作会影响到什么时，我们指定组成句子的名词。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Procurement section only lists opportunistic infection drugs without specifying which drugs. 采购部分只说明有治疗机会性感染的药物，但并没有说明是什么药物。 来自互联网

12 parch   

v.烤干，焦干

参考例句：

• Let's parch corn!咱们爆玉米花吧。
• But you can parch the clothes with the gas in the kitchen.你就用煤气火烤干衣服吧。