1. South Sudan: Difficult Times Before and After Independence
Lesson I
South Sudan: Difficult Times Before
and After Independence

2. A long history… The Republic of South Sudan was formed in 2011
Previously, what’s now South Sudan was called southern Sudan, part of the Republic of Sudan
How did one country become two?
1800s– Great Britain and the Egyptian empire conquered the area and ruled it under the name “Anglo-Egyptian Sudan”
The British centralized power in Khartoum, the capital of northern Sudan, and did little to develop or support Southern Sudan

3. A long history (cont)…
1950s—British and Egyptians end colonization of northern and southern Sudan and declare the two regions will become one independent county.
1955—Leaders in southern Sudan rebel against the government in Khartoum
—First Sudanese Civil War
1983—President of Sudan declares Islamic Law and southern Sudan rebels again
—Second Sudanese Civil War

4. The generation that fled…
During second civil war ( ), nearly 30,000 young boys from southern Sudan were orphaned or displaced when villages were attacked
They walked 1,000 miles across Sudan to:
First to a refugee camp in Ethiopia
Then back to southern Sudan after they were forced out of Ethiopia
Then to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya
Almost half died on this journey
The survivors became known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan”
They are among the 2 million people who died and the 4 million who were displaced from southern Sudan during the war

5. Invited to the U.S.…
2001—Almost 4,000 Lost Boys selected to come to the U.S. as refugees
They had to learn for the first time about…
Electricity
Running water
Driving a car
Managing money and having a job
And a host of other challenges
But they were able to…
Become U.S. citizens
Receive a college education
Earn money to support family still struggling in South Sudan

6. New country born.…
2005—Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between northern and southern Sudan ends the second civil war
—Many Lost Boys returned home for the first time in 20 years. They found…
Whole villages of children and adults who couldn’t read
Long lines of people waiting for healthcare
Women and children who walked 3 miles a day to collect water
Jan Southern Sudanese vote “yes” for independence in a referendum
July 9, 2011—South Sudan becomes the newest country in the world

7. New challenges and project pioneers emerge.…
Because of years of war, South Sudan is one of the least developed countries in terms of economy, infrastructure, government and judicial systems
60% of people lack clean drinking water
Less than 15% of people have access to proper sanitation facilities
90% of adult women cannot read or write
In some counties just 2% of girls and 1% of boys graduate from primary school
Many former Lost Boys now lead projects to rebuild South Sudan. One example is the Raising South Sudan school-building project