Building a Safe Home in Omaha
On Christmas day in 2005, Malual and Bina met at a gathering at Malual’s aunt’s house. As the party wound down, Malual asked for Bina’s phone number, and as the saying goes, the rest was history. One year later, they were married, setting out to build a life and family together.
Both Malual and Bina fled their war-torn home country of South Sudan at a very young age and grew up in refugee camps. Malual was separated from most of his family and ended up in a refugee camp in Cairo, Egypt, for 16 years. In 1999, he was finally granted refugee status, settling in Pennsylvania for a few years before moving to Omaha to be near his aunts. He’s lived here ever since.
Malual and Bina both have family members who have resettled in locations around the world. Incredibly, their mothers both live in Australia and have become friends! Through the many challenges of extended family being physically separated, Omaha has always served as a “home base,” and the couple couldn’t be happier to raise their children here.
“Having a home is important for the kids as they are growing,” Malual said. “We got out of war; we have saved our kids.” With four children and a large extended family, they are most excited to be able to spend holidays in their own home. He added, “Once we have a big house, everyone can stay over!”