Wenyen Gabriel
Wenyen Gabriel
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Wenyen Gabriel, a professional basketball player and former refugee from South Sudan, during his visit to Maban County, South Sudan.
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About Wenyen
Wenyen Gabriel was announced as Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in July 2026. On appointment, Wenyen said:
“My family was forced to flee war and conflict. Our lives changed because we found safety. I was able to go to school, play sport and dream about my future. Now, as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, I can help advocate for people who have been forced to flee their homes and remind the world that nobody chooses to become a refugee. Becoming a refugee should only be a chapter in life, never be the end of your story.”
South Sudanese Olympian Wenyen is the first basketball player to serve as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Born in Khartoum to parents who had fled the civil war in southern Sudan, Wenyen and his family fled to Egypt as refugees, before being resettled to the United States when he was two years old, with the support of UNHCR.
He later earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Kentucky and went on to play in the NBA, including for the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. In 2024, he represented South Sudan at the country's first-ever Olympics in Paris – marking a full-circle moment for someone starting life as a refugee after his parents fled the country.
Advocating for refugees
Wenyen has supported refugees and UNHCR since 2020, and in 2022 he first returned to South Sudan to witness the humanitarian situation and advocate for people forced to flee. Since then, he has continued to use his platform and lived experience as a former refugee to raise awareness and create opportunities for displaced communities across the world, particularly young people through sport.
Recent missions and engagements
In July 2026, Wenyen returned to Maban, South Sudan, where he met refugees who fled the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. He listened to families who described the violence they escaped and the challenges they continue to face. More than 220,000 Sudanese refugees live alongside host communities in Maban. During the visit, Wenyen inaugurated a new basketball court at Doro Refugee Camp and hosted a basketball clinic for refugee and host community youth, highlighting the role sport can play in fostering hope, inclusion and opportunity.
Reflecting on his visit, Wenyen said:
“In South Sudan, I met mothers who fled bombs in Sudan and kept moving from one place to another, simply searching for safety. One mother told me that all she wants now is to sleep in peace, without fear and without the sound of drones overhead. Beside her was her eight-year-old daughter, who still dreams of becoming a doctor. Moments like these remind me why UNHCR's work matters and why we must never stop supporting people forced to flee.’’
Wenyen’s appointment as Goodwill Ambassador came as UNHCR and partners around the world marked the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention on 28 July 2026, reaffirming its enduring promise to protect people forced to flee and help them rebuild their lives.
Becoming a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador as the world marks this anniversary is deeply meaningful for me. I am living proof that the Convention’s promise of safety can change lives. It changed mine. At a time when the promise is under threat, I commit to stand with refugees and people forced to flee, until everyone is safe.