From feeling disconnected to lending a helping hand to the youth in the South East, Abraham Kuol calls it the “Australian spirit.”
One of four nominees as Victoria’s Young Australian of the Year 2026, the leader from Narre Warren is recognised for supporting young people and those from migrant and refugee backgrounds through sports pathways.
Recognising the important role that sport plays in engaging young people, he co-founded the Black Rhinos, a soccer and basketball club to help mentor at-risk youth together with Afri-Aus Care CEO Selba Gondoza-Luka, where he volunteered as a program manager.
But there’s more to his journey and how it shaped him as a person today.
The middle child out of nine, he was born in Kenya’s refugee camp – a place with no basic security and safety – after his family fled the civil war in South Sudan.
By the time they migrated to Australia, his sense of identity and belonging started to chip away and felt “disconnected.”
At 13, this turned around as he started to play football in organised clubs.
The exposure to community, people, guidance and mentorship people provided him through sports, is what helped him to eventually emotionally connect and belong to the community.
“The club and people I was around really grounded me. Aside from that playing football you get to have shared experience with other people and you build that trust.
“Over time, being more embedded in the community, chatting to different people from different backgrounds, it started to feel I had a home here in Australia.
“I’m talking about people who had extremely busy lifestyles, but they showed up. They were ordinary Australians from different backgrounds, that provided mentorship and guidance, I really appreciate that,” he said.
“It gave me an insight into the world I hadn’t had access to, lawyers, doctors, a whole range either informed me of a certain topic or would help guide me based on their personal experience.
“From there it gave me the motivation to dream and work toward any goal I had.”
Having a community, a country which looks after his best interest and people he can lean on is “what the young version” of Kuol would’ve asked for, he says.
Speaking on the crime statistics, particularly youth crime, he says many young people are lost or misguided and just need extra support from the community but he’s also inspired by other young people creating positive change and pathways.
“Help them connect to a community whether sports clubs, sports organisation, connection to school or job satisfaction,” is his advice.
“With young people at the moment, we need to encourage them to be brave, curious and bold and to create things for them.
“I feel we can get caught up in the young people stuck in the loop. They definitely need support but we also need to acknowledge the young people doing amazing work out there.”
Kuol now devotes his time to mentoring and guiding other young people as a director at Sandown Lions Football Club and through Black Rhinos while studying for his PhD in Criminology at Deakin University.
His interests include youth violence, risk, and protective factors for offending, and culturally and linguistically diverse young people.
He has helped raise over $3.5 million for programs to support African-Australian families and justice-involved youth.
He is one of the 10 recipients of a Westpac Social Change Fellowship scholarship 2025.
The fellowship provides up to $50,000 funding towards personal development for conferences, coaching, as well as overseas learning trips for professional development.
It also provides leadership coaching and networking with other like-minded people in his chosen sector.
