From South Sudan to Boston: One Man’s Search for Lost Family

(WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS) – A new documentary tells the story of a South Sudanese man who spent more than a decade searching for his nieces and nephews after they were kidnapped during sectarian violence in his home country.

The film, titled Mangok, follows Brandeis University administrator Mangok Bol as he attempts to rescue four of his brother’s seven children. They were abducted in 2014 when armed militias attacked their village in South Sudan, according to a statement from Brandeis University published in October 2026.

The attack killed Bol’s brother and sister-in-law. Bol, who escaped South Sudan as a nine year old boy during an earlier wave of violence, had already rebuilt his life in the United States.

Bol moved to America in 2001 as one of the approximately 20,000 Lost Boys of Sudan, children who were orphaned or displaced during the Second Sudanese Civil War. After spending years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, he arrived in Boston just two weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

He worked as a security guard at Logan International Airport, sending most of his earnings back to family members still in Africa. He studied at Bunker Hill Community College before transferring to the University of New Hampshire, where he earned a degree in business.

Bol joined Brandeis University as a program administrator, where he has been part of the campus community for more than 15 years, according to the university. He also earned a master’s degree in finance from the Brandeis International Business School in 2018.

When news reached him in 2014 that his brother and sister-in-law had been killed and their children taken, Bol began a search that would take years.

With help from friends, nonprofit organisations and the Brandeis community, he located three of the four kidnapped children. The documentary shows Bol in the midst of his search as he tries to bring three of the children to the United States while continuing to look for his fourth niece, who remains missing.

The refugee resettlement organisation RefugePoint played a key role in the effort. According to RefugePoint, the three children were connected with the organisation in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021. Its resettlement team guided them through the United States resettlement process, and their application was approved in October 2023.

Bol was finally reunited with his niece and nephews in Boston in September 2024.

Brandeis University has been a constant source of support for Bol. According to the university, faculty, staff and students have offered emotional and financial help since the tragedy occurred, making it possible for him to travel back to South Sudan to search for his family. When the three children arrived in the United States, friends and colleagues provided logistical support, including items needed to prepare his home for their arrival.

“The people of Brandeis have been my core group of supporters from the very beginning up to today,” Bol said. “I want them to know how grateful I am to have their helping hand during my dark hour. When you have a support base that understands what you are going through, you can make it through anything. That’s what this community gave me.”

The documentary was directed by Emmy award winning filmmaker Joshua Bennett. A screening is scheduled at Brandeis University’s Shapiro Campus Center on 5th October 2026. Both Bol and Bennett will take part in a panel discussion after the film.

Bol said he hopes that sharing his family’s story can inspire others facing personal tragedy and help them see the positive side of humanity.

“Humans learn from other people’s experiences,” he said. “It’s important to show the common good of people that do things for others, regardless of their race, their background, their religion or whatever. I hope that sense of humanity will help future generations find a common cause in helping others through their hardship.”

The search for Bol’s fourth niece continues. According to the Filmmakers Collaborative, she is alive and is now a mother herself, though she has not yet been found.