faces of South Sudan

South’s Sudan’s independence day is coming up this week.  The people of South Sudan voted and won their independence by a 98% vote on July 9^th last year. The youngest country in the world – and many of us know so little about it. Though I know what work FH DOES in S. Sudan, when I thought about what I actually know about the country and the people… very little. I wondered if I was alone on this so I posted on my facebook asking for public knowledge.

It seems most people know more or less the following:

Darfur

Civil war

Religious tension

Very poor

Countless human rights violations

Ethnic tensions

Oil deposits

Now here are a few facts I found that made me tilt me head slightly to the side and with a blank stare my mouth formed the words… “really?”

South Sudan’s official language is English… Arabic is a close second.

While football and basketball are increasingly popular – South Sudan’s most popular sport is… wrestling.

S. Sudan is around the size of Texas.

Approximately 85% of the population is illiterate – the UN says a 15-year-old girl in S. Sudan has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than finishing school.

Though facts can be shocking, faces are what stick with you.

Here are some faces of pride, faces of joy, and faces of hope from South Sudan.

If you’d like to learn about Food for the Hungry’s work in South Sudan check out their S. Sudan page at http://www.fh.org/celebrating-independence

Related posts:

1. On my desk this week….South Sudan celebrates Independence Day!
2. Network of love from South Sudan to Yale
3. A lesson from a taxi driver in Bor, South Sudan
4. South Sudan: A hopeful—yet uncertain—future
5. Celebrating the world’s newest country, South Sudan