Breaking a cycle of violence

Southern Sudan’s people reflect the languages, cultures, and history of hundreds of tribes. Two of the largest are the Dinka and the Nuer. The two ethnic groups often live near each other and have a long history of conflict. They have fought over cattle theft, land use, water access, and in individual or family feuds.

Sudan’s twenty-one-year civil war, which ended in 2005, saw these two traditional enemies frequently join forces against the northern Sudanese government, but ethnic/tribal distrust and conflict remain.

Water for Sudan, Inc.’s founder, Salva Dut, an American citizen, is of Dinka heritage. He’s now partnered with Dep Tuany, a fellow Sudanese-American and a Nuer who is Water for Sudan, Inc.’s Vice-President and Team B Manager. Team B operates in Southern Sudan east of the Nile. The area includes many Dinka and Nuer villages.

Salva and Dep’s visible partnership in drilling wells serves as both a symbolic and real example of how common humanity can bridge differences, breaking a cycle of violence to accomplish great things together.