A promise made, a promise kept

In 1985, Sudan was wracked by a civil war which would last for twenty one years. A truce was finally declared and a peace agreement signed in 2005, creating the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan.

Millions died in that war. Millions more were displaced, fleeing for their lives to refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, and other neighboring countries.

Among those who fled was Dep Tuany, then a young man of the Nuer tribe living in the Maiwut area of Sudan’s Upper Nile region with his wife and infant son.

They escaped to Ethiopia and eventually made their way to San Diego, California where Dep, now in his mid-40’s and an American citizen, lives with his family. But their infant son died during the family’s exodus, a victim of water-borne disease.

Dep promised himself to find a way to give back to his native land where many of his family, including his mother still live. Water seemed the most appropriate way to both honor his infant son and improve life in Southern Sudan’s Upper Nile region.

Dep began working with fellow Rotarians from his local Rancho Santa Fe chapter to raise funds for a water project in the Maiwut area. Fate intervened and he connected with Water for Sudan. Dep and his Rotarian allies joined forces with Dep’s fellow Sudanese, Salva Dut, to expand the reach of the organization’s drilling operations.

In the 2009 drilling season, Dep returned with Salva and a new crew to form Team B and begin fulfilling the promise he made. A Water for Sudan operation is now established in the Upper Nile’s Maiwut region where Dep reunited with his mother and family for the first time in over twenty years.

Dep’s knowledge of Nuer and Dinka cultures, his local contacts and support from Rancho Santa Fe’s Rotary International chapter are enabling Water for Sudan to to reach more people in Southern Sudan.