RICHMOND defender Akec Makur Chuot has shared her incredibly powerful story with Darcy Vescio on the Cutting Oranges podcast.

Makur Chuot, 28, was born in South Sudan but spent 11 years of her life in a refugee camp in Kenya.

Her father passed away before she was born, and her mother and aunty made the trek to Kenya with an infant Makur Chuot to seek medical attention for her mother's eye.

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On route to Kenya, the trio were caught up in a conflict which resulted in bombs being dropped on the village where they were staying.

The three-month-old Makur Chuot was rushed to safety by another family unbeknown to her mother, separated for three or four hours before they were reunited in a refuge centre.

Two uncles in Perth banded together to sponsor the family to come to Australia.

"A myth that people have here in Australia is refugees are given a ticket and you just come. For us as a family, there were 10 of us, and at the time, the Australian Government decided to allow people to come overseas," Makur Chuot said.

"You have to stay in a refugee camp to have refugee status, so that's why we stayed there. The camp offered schooling and safety, as a lot of people were fleeing their countries due to conflict, persecution and a lack of resources, which was my mum's case."

Makur Chuot and Vescio also discuss how she became involved in footy, Collingwood's Do Better report and her experiences of racial vilification.

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