News Paulo Amotun Lokoro used to herd cattle for his family in southern Sudan until civil war changed his life forever After being selected to run in the 1500m for the first ever refugee team at the Olympic Games, the 24-year-old has grand ambitions “A dream would be to break a record To win a medal, a gold, that is my dream,” he says In 2004, the outbreak of violence in southern Sudan caused Lokoro’s parents to flee to neighbouring Kenya After living with his uncle for a short time, war eventually reached Lokoro’s village and he had no option but to escape “The war started so we ran away We ran to the bush and stayed in the bush There was no food, we just ate fruit,” Lokoro rememebers Lokoro reached Kakuma refugee camp in 2006 where he rejoined his mother The camp in northern Kenya is home to 180,000 refugees, many of them who left southern Sudan as children, displaced by decades of civil war, and have come to be known as the “Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan ” 'I feel Brazilian,' says Syrian refugee who carried Olympic torch in Brasília Lokoro is supported by the UN and IOC (Photo: IOC) Going to school in Kakuma, Lokoro excelled in sports, especially running He won many races in his teenage years and in 2015 professional coaches from the Tegla Loroupe Foundation arrived in Kakuma to hold athletics scouting trials Lokoro participated and excelled, earning himself a place at the athletics foundation based in Nairobi, where he trains today “Before I came here I didn’t even have shoes Now we have trained and trained until we see ourselves at a good level, and now we know fully how to be athletes ” Lokoro, who is being coached by the former world record holder and Olympic champion marathon runner Tegla Loroupe, trains with four of his compatriots who were also scouted in Kakuma Like the other athletes on the Olympic refugee team, they are supported by Olympic Solidarity in conjunction with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)   The 10 members of the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) were announced earlier this month by IOC president Thomas Bach Joining the five South Sudanese runners in Rio will be two Syrian swimmers, two Congolese judokas and an Ethiopian marathoner Bach said at the unveiling that he hopes the team serves as a “symbol of hope for refugees” at a time when the number of displaced people around the world, according to the UN, stands at over 59 million Syrian refugee calls for peace after carring Olympic torch in Athens “It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society These refugee athletes will show the world that despite the unimaginable tragedies that they have faced, anyone can contribute to society through their talent, skills and strength of the human spirit,” the IOC president went on to say The refugee team will participate at Rio 2016 under the Olympic flag and should they reach the podium the Olympic anthem will be played in their honour And just like the other national delegations, they will be supported by a team of coaches, medical staff and other officials Brazil to welcome refugee team with 'open arms' Lokoro trains under Tegla Loroupe in Nairobi ahead of Rio 2016 (Photo: IOC) Lokoro is excited by the prospect of participating at the Olympic Games “I am so happy I know I am racing on behalf of refugees I was one of those refugees in the camp and now I have reached somewhere special If I perform well, I will use that to help support my family and my people ” And even though this is his first Olympics, the South Sudanese runner is brimming with confidence “I want to be world champion ” Rio2016 com is profiling each of the 10 athletes in the Olympic refugee team Also see: Syrian swimmer Rami Anis’s journey from Aleppo to the Rio 2016 Games Yiech Pur Biel, the ‘Lost Boy’ who found a sense of belonging in athletics James Chiengjiek’s escape from the clutches of war to Rio 2016 Prolific marathon runner Yonas Kinde finally able to compete at Olympic Games Anjelina Nadai Lohalith hopes Rio 2016 success will reunite her with parents Shoeless Rose Nathike Lokonyen becomes envoy for peace