A Mother's Love

There are two people in Junior Madut's life that he turns to when he needs advice or support. He considers them his rock.

Those two people are his Mum, yar Paul and his sister, Ayey Susan. He draws his strength from their strength and inspiration from their struggles.

"My family has always been supportive, 100%. My Mum and my sister have been my main inspiration, they're both powerful women, and they have gone through a lot and overcome a lot. Just looking at them makes me proud and drives me to accomplish many things," he said proudly.

"I am just going to be honest; I look up to my Mum. She's a brilliant woman; I don't need to look elsewhere for inspiration or advice. If I'm going through something, I can call her and know I will receive the advice I need. Advice that I feel I couldn't get anywhere else. I look up to her; she's my role model."

(Madut with his sister and mother after graduating from University of Hawaii.)

When Madut’s mum left Australia in 2007 to go back to Africa to work, his older sister Ayey stepped up into the mother role. She helped raise Madut throughout high school while she was studying at university and working.

“She truly never gave up on me, even at times when I would make mistakes. She went out of her way to teach me lessons that will stick with me for life and for that I am so grateful to have her,” Madut commented. 

The 25-year-old grew up in South Sudan before moving to Sydney when he was six. 

Many of his childhood memories of South Sudan are happy ones. He viewed his life at that time through the innocence of a child. 

"I was very young back then, but all my memories from South Sudan were all good memories; I don't have any bad memories. I remember playing around with my family and cousins, living in a big household. That's what I remember just being outside and being a kid," he reminisced.

As he got older, he started to recognise much more of the issues that faced South Sudan, the civil war, the corruption, and the general struggle to live a safe and happy life. These were things he learned later; his early childhood was a happy one. 

"There was a civil war when I was young; I don't know much about it; I'm not going to lie and try to act as I do. There was a civil war, corruption, it's a trend and similar thing that happens throughout all third-world countries," he said.

"The civil war, people fleeing the because of that. We happened to be one of those families. At that time, it wasn't a place you wanted to stay, but it is now better; they gained independence in 2011, so that changed a lot. There was that war between North and South Sudan that caused a lot of issues, a lot of deaths, a lot of conflicts; it just wasn't good," he recalled. 

"I mean, when I was a kid, I don't have any bad memories. You're a kid. You don't know what's going on; you don't see the negative things at all. So, when I go back, I can see the repercussions of that time; the country's corruption and the state of the country right now are because of what happened back then. I think the country has a lot of potential; I will always be proud to be from there 100 per cent."

(Madut and his siblings.)

When his family moved to Sydney in 2004, Madut couldn't speak English but was lucky enough to assimilate amid the large South Sudanese community in Sydney. 

"That transition to Australia was interesting because I just went into a school and couldn't speak English. Luckily, I was able to pick that up pretty quickly within the first two to three years. It took me a while to get comfortable, but eventually, as time went by, I became comfortable.

"I was surrounded by a large South Sudanese community and my family. We had cousins, friends who are South Sudanese; it was just this big community I always had people to relate to and people that were going through the same experience with me," he said.

Madut returned to his home country 11 years after he left in 2014 and has been back three times. His family reside back in South Sudan, and any chance he gets to go back home and visit them, especially his Mum, he takes it.

"My first time (back) was 2014 and since then I have been back three times. My Mum is over there, so I take every opportunity to go and see her. I've got my brother, Ringo over there, my sister is over there as well,' he said

"I like the people; it's a different vibe I guess; when I go home it's like everyone cares for you in a different way that you can't explain until you go there."

Madut started his basketball journey after he tried his hand at most sports. The one constant was a strong sense of self-belief, a belief that he would be good at whatever he tried.

"I was one of those kids that tried anything, honestly. I went through phases in life; there was one phase I thought I would be a kickboxer, then a model, then a dancer. I was just one of those people who, if I tried it, I thought I could do anything. Not to be cocky or anything, but I believed it," Madut laughed.

In the end, basketball won out, the way it does for many of his younger brothers, following in big bro's footsteps.

"I think my brother made me play basketball. He played basketball growing up; I was hanging out with him and some friends and just played it for fun at an early age. Maybe when I was about 15 or 16, I realised I was pretty good at it. Then started taking it a bit more seriously at that age and wanted to make a career out of it."

(Madut has already got people talking with his athleticism in-game.)

Madut is no stranger to the South East Melbourne Phoenix. In the club's inaugural year, he was a training player before heading off to college. 

Four years later he's back as a fully rostered player.

He recalls his time away at college as an experience which led him back to the NBL club.

"It's a full circle moment, I trained with the Phoenix, and they helped me get better before I went to college. I went to college, had that experience, grew through that and was able to come back to exactly where I left off; not many people get to do that. I am blessed to be in this position," commented Madut. 

And while his professional career is just beginning, so is his international representative journey.

Madut always hoped to one day represent his adopted nation, but when South Sudan joined FIBA, he was able to live something he had only ever dreamed of.

Most recently, he played for the South Sudanese team in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. South Sudan went on a 6-0 streak, with the team celebrated throughout the basketball world and at home. 

"Growing up, we didn't have a South Sudanese team, so the motivation was to represent Australia; that was the plan. But I guess as time went on, some things started happening with South Sudan, seeing how my Mum is always over there, and my family is over there, it's a culture that resonates with me so much," he said.

"Representing South Sudan was special. I didn't realise how much it meant to people, but when you see the fans crying in the crowd after a win, you realise it's about more than basketball, it just means so much to the country. The people of South Sudan finally have something to believe in and something that makes them proud of who they are. Just being a part of that is a blessing; I thank God every day for that." 

(Madut wants to use his platform while playing the Phoenix and nationally for South Sudan, to be a role model for South Sudanese kids.)

Starting his professional career, Madut hopes to be able to use his platform to educate and bring awareness to the many positive attributes of South Sudan, the country he loves. 

He hopes that he may be a role model for South Sudanese kids to look up to, if that is back in Sydney, now in Melbourne or at home in South Sudan.

"I want to break the barrier; TV makes South Sudan look highly negative, I mean, there are some terrible things, but it is also a beautiful country with beautiful culture and beautiful history. I think being able to share that with the world as South Sudan grows and progresses, I think the world will see that there is a lot of knowledge and education in the country. 

"Growing up, I guess here, or even in South Sudan, you don't see many role models. I had very few people to look up to at a young age. So, to be somebody a kid can look at and feel proud and inspired to do something for themselves or make something of themselves is a blessing, and I carry that with pride."

Kadek Thatcher for Phoenix Media (12/10/22)