Sam’s Story

In 1998, when he was just nine years old, Sam Johnson watched from a hilltop as his village burned. Somewhere below lay the body of his father—one of countless victims of the rebel violence sweeping across Liberia. His mother gathered her five young children and fled into the forest. Traveling only at night to avoid roaming militias, she led them north in search of safety.

The Johnsons were among the fortunate few. They reached the U.N. refugee camp at Nzérékoré, in southern Guinea, where Sam, his mother, and his siblings spent the next eight years living in a tent—surviving on a single daily ration and clinging to hope for deliverance.

In February 2007, tragedy struck again when their mother passed away, just one month before the Office of the U.N. The High Commissioner for Refugees relocated the children to Clarkston, Georgia, east of Atlanta. With support from New American Pathways, Trinity Presbyterian Church, and Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, the Johnsons began building a new life.

That summer, a team of teachers and parent volunteers provided intensive tutoring in English, math, and science. In August 2007, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School enrolled the four school-aged children—Helena, twins Sam and Kartee, and Elizabeth. It was their very first time attending school.

Sam quickly proved himself. He graduated from high school in 2009 and went on to Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He immersed himself in academics, even giving up soccer—a sport he loved and excelled at—so he could focus on his studies. “I wanted to learn everything,” he recalls. “Like when you don’t have food, I was craving education.”

By 2013, Sam had completed an extraordinary journey at Mercer, graduating with quadruple majors in Political Science, International Relations, Women’s and Gender Studies, and French. His next step was a dream he had carried since boarding the plane from Conakry six years earlier: returning to the refugee camp where he grew up to help those who had been left behind.

“I kept my dream alive and saved money all through college,” Sam says. “I worked summers and did work-study, and by the time I graduated, I had about $2,000 to start with.” After sharing his vision with faculty and friends, donations brought his total to more than $5,000.

Today, Sam lives and works full time in Nzérékoré with Home of Hope, the orphanage he founded. He remains deeply committed to improving the lives of marginalized children and strengthening his community. Sam is also happily married to Agathe, and together they are raising their two children, John and Elizabeth.