So, you don’t recall learning about South Sudan in high school history or geography? No surprise. The country was formed in 2011, less than a decade ago. In this post we take a break from our usual focus on Africa Sunrise Communities’ work. Let’s look at South Sudan as a country and how its history shapes our mission. 
South Sudan was formed on July 9, 2011 after a referendum for independence from Sudan passed by an overwhelming majority. The country of Sudan had been formed from the Anglo-Egyptian colony of the same name and included the mostly Muslim and Arabic-speaking North along with the largely animist and Christian South, where many tribal peoples spoke their own languages and English. A long history of tension and outright fighting between peoples of the North and South finally led to this split and the founding of South Sudan. 
Many South Sudanese consider themselves part of East Africa, aligned with nations like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. As you can see from the map above, South Sudan is at a crossroads between East Africa and North Africa (Sudan, Egypt, Libya, etc.) and Central Africa (Central African Republic and Congo).The territory of South Sudan covers about 240,000 square miles, a little smaller than the state of Texas, but a population less than half of Texas. A July 2017 estimate puts the population of South Sudan at about 13,026,129 (July 2017 est.), a little larger than the population of the US state of Pennsylvania (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/print_od.html).
While most Americans think of “Sudan” as being a desert country, like Libya or Egypt, South Sudan is a tropical savanna with a distinct rainy season in summer and a dry season in winter. Temperatures range from 68 degrees to 98 degrees (Fahrenheit) and while most of the rains fall in the winter months, the annual rainfall for most of the country ranges from 31 to 40 inches. This leads to widespread seasonal flooding in the summer months that can cut off some villages from roads. 
As the website www.climatestotravel.com explains, “…in some areas crossed by rivers there are wetlands, including the Sudd [see photo at right], the largest swamp in the world, situated in the north along the White Nile and its tributaries, which are lost in a myriad of lakes, canals, lagoons, covered with aquatic plants and inhabited by a large number of species of land animals and birds. The summer rains increase the surface of the flooded areas.”The official language of South Sudan is English. But Arabic is a frequently used as a 2nd semi-official language, since it is the official language of Sudan. But the people of South Sudan are a diverse collection of communities. There are over a dozen ethnic groups, sometimes referred to as “tribes,” each of which has its own language, traditions, and history. The Dinka are the largest ethnic group, making up as much as 30% of the population. The next largest group are the Nuer, who comprise about 15% of the total. There are least a dozen other ethnic groups, such as the Shiluk, the Azande, and even self-identified Arabs.
The diversity of ethnicity and local languages is overlayed with a mixture of religious practice, ranging from traditional “animist” beliefs, Christianity–which was introduced during the British colonial period–and Islam, principally among peoples living along the border with Sudan to the North where Islam is the dominant religion.
The important thing to understand is that South Sudan is a complex mosaic of peoples who all want peace and prosperity, but may not agree on how to get there. As with many post-colonial nations, South Sudan’s politics reflects, and sometimes exacerbates, tensions between different ethnic and religious groups. Their constitution created a presidential republic with two houses of legislature. However, the struggle to balance the interests of competing ethnic groups continues. One summary of the current situation, with the author’s own opinions, appears here. A longer article with more details appears here.Finally, it is important to understand that in addition to a colonial history, a history as part of the original Sudan (governed by Arabic-speaking Muslims from North Sudan), and a diverse ethnic and religious make-up, South Sudan is home to large deposits of oil. The competition to control access to oil fields contributed to the fighting and violence that led to South Sudan’s independence from the North. But it is also one of the factors leading to the new nation’s civil war and continuing inter-tribal fighting since independence. The people of South Sudan have lived with fighting and conflict of various types for over twenty years. Today millions of people are still displaced from their home villages or living in refugee camps in neighboring countries.
This brief summary should illustrate the wide range of challenges facing the people of South Sudan and those of us trying to assist in the country’s development. The rate of adult literacy is only about 30% (higher among men than women), employment outside of traditional cattle-herding and agriculture is very low, and investment in infrastructure such as roads and bridges is very limited. For more information on any of the topics covered in this article, we suggest you follow one of the source links for the maps and illustrations above.Africa Sunrise Communities is focusing its efforts at a very local level to give children in Bor town, Jonglei State, access to education. We support the efforts of other international agencies and local leaders to solve the larger problems of armed conflict, feeding and resettling refugees, and developing the economy of South Sudan. For more information about our work so far, see other blog posts on our website. To support us, visit our Get Involved page and share our news with your friends on Facebook and Twitter._________________________________________________________Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@africa_sunrise).
Conditions Within the Camp Several organizations are working within the camp. These include the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, International Rescue Committee, Windle Trust International, and several others.This Kiryandongo refugee settlement is on 27 square miles and contains a total of 18 “clusters.” Clusters are structured and designed to ease management of people and are basically smaller groups of people, families living together with an elected leader and supportive community structures.There is now much more tribal diversification in the camp than what I found when I was there last in 2014, though the Dinka and the Nuer tribes are still the largest groups.Living conditions are very primitive, with no running water or electricity. Homes are mostly mud huts. There are many water wells available, so water does not seem to be in short supply.There are schools, all of which charge at least a minimal tuition fee, even if they are called “free” schools. All children must purchase uniforms to attend school. School fees for children are typically about $12 tuition per child per month. One uniform costs around $9.School materials, such as chalkboards, textbooks, exercise books, etc., are procured by the United Nations. Because of all the variety of dialects spoken within the camp, the schools are taught in English. Most of the orphan children are out of school, as they have no one to pay their tuition and fees and to buy them uniforms.
Orphans Will Become My New FocusI learned that the one group that is not being served well in the camp is that of young orphans. These boys and girls have lost their families to war and have fled alone to the refugee camp, much as I did at the age of 7 when war first broke out between Sudan and South Sudan. While they may be assigned in the camp to other families in which to be raised, the truth is that many of these children end up abandoned and having to fend for themselves. I am beginning to see that my focus should be on these children.From what I could find out, the official number of orphan children is 1,800 within the camp, but the chances are good that there are many more not included in this official count.These children are in need of a place of their own – a safe place to sleep, where they can be taken care of, with food available, with the means to go to school, and a place to come back to after school. Group homes seem to me to be the best way to care for the children. A group home would house 10-12 young children, ages about 4-10. Setting up such a group home will involve renting a dwelling within the camp and hiring a woman or a couple to be houseparents to see to the needs of the children.Where Do I Go From Here?It is necessary for me to set up a local non-government organization (NGO) with a different name, as my American-based Africa Sunrise Communities will not be recognized in Uganda. My local Ugandan organization’s name will be “Rising Hope Africa.” One of the reasons for my trip to Uganda was to begin the process of setting up this organization and registering it with the Ugandan authorities. The registration process is complicated by the fact that I am not a Ugandan citizen. I am in the process of filling out the registration forms and sending them back to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Each step in this process calls for the payment of fees, such as the $150 registration fee, which I must send back with the papers.When Rising Hope Africa is registered in Uganda, I will have to set up a physical office in Kampala, which is about 3 hours away from the camp. This means renting office space there. The office will need to be staffed, at last minimally. This demonstrates to the Ugandan government that my intentions are to stay in Uganda and to work with government and other officials within the refugee camp. I will be partnering in every way possible with the Ugandan government and the United Nations and other NGOs working there.How You Can Help 
I am currently raising support to enable my family and myself to relocate to East Africa. As my family will not be living within the refugee camp themselves, I must set up a home for them, in Uganda or in Kenya, and send my children to school. I myself will also not be living in the refugee camp, but must find lodging nearby.It will cost $100,000 for the first year. This amount includes travel to Uganda, renting and setting up a home there, getting the children settled in school, finding a place for me to live, setting up an office in Kampala, renting and setting up an orphan group home in the refugee camp, hiring houseparents, in-country transportation costs, my salary, and ministry expenses. After that, my personal expenses will be $50,000 per year (including salary, living expenses, transportation, fees, etc.,) and the cost for running one group home will be $30,000 per year. Africa Sunrise Communities needs partners who will come alongside and commit to this ministry. We need you to pledge to give regularly (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) at a level that you can give to sustain this work. If one hundred supporters would pledge to give $100 a month, that would provide funds for me to go back to East Africa and to begin the ministry to which God has called me. Will you partner with me to help the orphan South Sudanese refugee children in Kiryandongo Camp? Will you support me in my mission to bring hope, education, and the Good News of Jesus Christ to my people? May God bless you as you consider partnering with me in this work.Jacob Guot, Executive Director and Founder
Personal Testimony, MY Experience As I walked across the campus during my time at Asbury Theological Seminary, several students kept asking me, “What happened to your head?” They were looking at my scarification. Some of my friends saw my scar as funny or they said, “I am so sorry for your accident on your head.” I said, “Dude, this is not an accident, it is my cultural norm.”The Problem– devaluing a person through devaluing their culture is dehumanizingThey asked me again: “Would you please tell us what happened and why?” I would tell them that it is my pleasure to talk about this; that it blessed me to discuss it. I would say that far from being an accident, this is a cultural norm among the Dinka tribes of South Sudan.The Need – Understanding through Conversation: Meeting people within their own cultureJesus meets people within their own culture, He does not devalue people because of their culture, rather He illuminates their value through their culture. We all must be aware of cultural differences when we speak to others. It’s all to easy to force our cultural norms on others, and to question them for being different than our idea of normal. Why Did I Write a Book?
My classmates’ confusion about scarification and my culture caused me much anguish. My book is the solution. The Lost is Found: A “Lost Boy’s” Story of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Love tells my story of becoming a “Lost Boy,” when Muslim militias raided my village in what was then Sudan in 1987, when I was 7 years old. It details my years of running for my life, living in refugee camps, before being brought to the US in 2001. It describes a great deal about my life in Sudan and answers the questions about this lesser known culture. It tells a great deal about Dinka society, including marriage customs, the scarification rite of passage, and describes the rituals in detail. Great news! Jacob’s book, The Lost is Found, is now available in print and eBook format. All proceeds from his book go towards funding his mission to his own people, South Sudanese refugees, especially orphan children, in Uganda.EBooks are available from Amazon, as are print copies. However, if you make a gift of $50 to Africa Sunrise Communities, you will receive an autographed copy. Special thanks to 
My trip to Uganda is now underway. I am going to Bweyale Refugee Camp to make a general assessment of the situation there. I will meet with leaders of the refugees to talk about their needs and to assess the children’s educational needs from pre-school to 12th grade. I need to know which agencies are working in education in the camp, what they are doing, and how I can partner with them. I will meet with three groups of leaders: Sudanese refugees (Dinka, Nuer, and others); local Ugandan civil authorities in the camp; and officials from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).I am going to Kampala to register as a local organization in Uganda. I will register as Living Hope Africa, which will function as the local arm of Africa Sunrise Communities. Fundraising in the U.S. will continue to flow through Africa Sunrise Communities. A local organization gives me freedom to do work in Uganda as a US-based one will not allow me to work there.In Nairobi I will be visiting the family of refugees whom I am supporting.I will go to Juba, South Sudan, to learn about four orphaned Dinka children from my village of Bor. Their parents were killed during a conflict in Bor; they were abducted by the Murle tribe but handed back to the UNHCR during negotiations. The UN contacted me to see if I could support these children, who are in a UN refugee camp in Juba: one 5-year old, two 6-year-olds, and one 7-year-old.I will be helped by Lual, who is my cousin. He lives in Juba and knows how help me negotiate the various officials and departments I must meet with.Please pray for me during this trip, that I might be able to meet with the right people and make the right contacts, and that the next steps for Africa Sunrise Communities/Living Hope Africa will become clear.My trip to Uganda will cost approximately $7,500. This will take care of airfare, food, lodging, and ground transportation, visas, organization registration fees, etc. If you can help me meet these financial obligations, please send a check to Africa Sunrise Communities, PO Box 82, Wilmore, KY 40390 or visit our website at 
Many of those fleeing the violence are children who are alone. Their parents have been either killed or wounded and left behind as the children ran for their lives, or the families became separated in the confusion. This was the same situation in which Jacob Guot, founder of Africa Sunrise Communities, found himself when he became one of the “Lost Boys” of South Sudan, in earlier fighting. At the age of 7, he was forced to flee his village for his life and wander for thousands of miles over several years, before ending up in a Ugandan refugee camp. It was from there that he was brought to the United States, where he has since become an American citizen and obtained an education.
Several other Asbury Seminary students and I went to Costa Rica for a week-long workshop in June. My experience to Costa Rica was wonderful and I loved it. One of the strong points of Costa Rica is that it an extremely peaceful country. They even did away with their army in 1949 and all of their crime problems are handled by their police force. Everywhere you go the people are very welcoming as they greet you with smiles and seem happy to see you. It has become known as an unchanged tropical paradise due to its quiet history as a backwoods area, which protected it from early historical colonial turmoil and exploitation. Today’s Costa Rica cashes in on its purity and cleanliness. It has a famous jungle awning and they have constructed an “awning walk” tour that lets you travel through the jungle like a monkey. It’s also known for its zip-lining tours. There are world-famous surfing waves on the beaches on both sides of the country and they are known as one of the top three surfing destinations in the world. In addition to all of the exciting and adventurous things to do in Costa Rica, it is also a great place for those who just need a break in between adventures or who want a time of rest and relaxation. The rainy season can be the best time to go since it is not so crowded.
to support them and then later backing out because the ministry had not been what they expected. “I am not saying that this is what you will do, amigo,” Alex said. “I am praying for your mission. I have a lot of sympathy for what you have been through and I know that God is on His throne. At the same time I worry about your family. I know you have already paid a heavy price and that God has given you a mission, but be careful in your journey and with the people who come alongside to help you.”
