After spending much of his life as a refugee in Uganda, Jok Abraham Thon returned to his home country of South Sudan to build a school out of bamboo and mud with his own hands. He named it Promised Land. Driven by his deep belief in the necessity of education in order to reform a society stuck in a cycle of violence and poverty, he has made it his mission to provide the children of South Sudan with accessible and impactful education. Even after the long process of constructing and opening the school, numerous challenges laid ahead for Jok. A group of students were kidnapped not long after the school opened, causing distress and grief within the community. Precautions were put into place, and the school continued to gather students from across different local communities. Promised Lands students began to receive some of the highest leading scores on standardized tests in South Sudan. The school became a protected space that focused not only on providing general forms of education but also on empowering youth as peacebuilders. Promised Land brings together youth from different communities and backgrounds who might otherwise be manipulated into armed conflict with one another.