Sudan & South Sudan

On July 8, the eve of South Sudan's formal declaration of independence from the Republic of Sudan, we talked with The Rt. Rev. Moses Deng Bol, bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Wau. He said he had been awakened that morning by children dancing and singing in anticipation of the day's celebratory events. We then asked Bishop Moses, whose diocese partners with Five Talents, to discuss the church's role in the country going forward. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation:

How has the church been active in South Sudan during the last few years?
During the [civil] war, the main role that was played by the church was to make peace between the southerners themselves. Because even though we had the bigger war between the north and the south, there were also small tribal conflicts within. The other role was to reach out to the international community and communicate the message of the war and the effect it has on the people of South Sudan.

If South Sudan finds its footing as an independent nation in the coming decade, it will be, in part, because of young women like Cecilia Athieng.

The 23-year-old Sudanese student is a trainer with Five Talents partner Mothers Union, and she has taken it upon herself to help educate women so that they can contribute to the country's future.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, South Sudan's economy relies on oil for 98 percent of its revenue. If the nation has any hope of developing new industries, the government will need all hands on deck. As a result, women will have opportunities to play important roles.

During a Friday interview with The Rt. Rev. Moses Deng Bol of the Episcopal Diocese of Wau, the bishop joked that if you go out into the streets of South Sudan you will see everyone dancing -- only to different tunes.

Some are moving to the beats of traditional music. Others are dancing to Christian songs. Either way, of course, their actions reflect the overflow of joy coming out of South Sudan on the eve of the country's formal independence from the Republic of Sudan.

But, as Five Talents President and CEO Craig Cole wrote earlier this week, there is one song that just about everyone in South Sudan is singing: the national anthem.

Fresh off Fourth of July weekend, I'm now ready to celebrate the independence of another country: that of the new South Sudan. On July 9, the nation will formally declare its independence. As soon as a week later, South Sudan will become the 193rd member of the United Nations.

Our project manger in Sudan, Harun Matuma, e-mailed to tell us people are so excited there that many have made the new national anthem their cellphone ringtone! This made me think, can a ringtone help unite a country?

On days like July 4, we here in America unite around patriotic songs, the Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. As July 9 approaches, it seems that people in South Sudan are uniting around their own flag and their own national anthem.

At last week's X-OUT Poverty Golf Classic, Director of Program Suzanne Schultz introduced Five Talents' Sudan program to the 70 or so sweaty golfers who had gathered for lunch after 18 holes of golf at 1757 Golf Club.

"It's hotter here today than it is in Sudan," quipped Schultz (pictured below), before describing the situation that South Sudan finds itself in as it prepares to declare its formal independence on July 9. In 2007, Five Talents, which partners in the country with World Concern, the Mother's Union and the Episcopal Church of Sudan, helped to set up the first-ever community-led bank in South Sudan.

Five Talents recently held its eighth annual X-OUT Poverty Golf Classic at 1757 Golf Club in Dulles, Virginia, and, as I'm the new communications person at Five Talents, you would have seen me running around with a digital video recorder and talking with golfers, board members and colleagues.

While watching the golfers scare stray balls out of the brush and fish still more out of the water traps, I thought about how hard it is to get that little white ball in the hole—and also about how hard it is to get food on the plate of the impoverished in Africa, Asia and Latin America.