South Sudan - UNDP Video Blog

It seems a little strange to fall asleep in one country and wake up the next day in a completely new one, all without having moved a single step.

I went to bed in Sudan on July 8th, and awoke in the Republic of South Sudan on July 9th.

I had been offered the chance to witness history firsthand, when UNDP sent me to provide additional hands on deck to support our office there during the new country's Independence Day period.

As a Kenyan, with Sudan next door, I remember the South Sudanese story from my childhood. The war that never seemed to end during which, it is estimated, more than 2 million people lost their lives. Refugees hosted in northwestern Kenya. Food drops into Southern Sudan.

And then, in 2005, a peace agreement, signed in Kenya, gave the Southern Sudanese the chance to vote in a referendum to either remain united or secede from the North.
At 11pm on Friday 8 July we could already hear the celebrations going on in the streets outside -- car horns and music blaring, dancing and the ubiquitous cheer: "South Sudan Oyee!"
Police officers decked out in their green uniforms were keeping watch -- not imposing, but politely present. The traffic police were even directing traffic as the clock struck midnight.
It was stifling hot on Saturday 9th July, the day the Republic of South Sudan became the newest country in the world.
At the Dr. John Garang Mausoleum grounds, the main celebrations venue in the capital Juba, the crowd swelled as the ceremony begun-- women, men, the old and young. They were flag-waving, singing and dancing.
All of a sudden, a roar filled the grounds. The new country's flag was being hoisted up the 30-metre pole and it slowly unfurled in the gentle breeze.
The people of South Sudan now have to go about the business of building their and setting up structures that many of us take for granted.
They now have a new country code - +211. They are rolling out a new currency.
Many more challenges lie ahead. Parts of the peace agreement are yet to be implemented, around 90 percent of adults are illiterate and only 30 percent have access to basic health services.
The South Sudanese have won their freedom at a very high cost. Many did not live to see this day. They deserve our admiration and support to build a credible state that can deliver the dividends of freedom - basic services and peace. In a nutshell, deliver a better life for the citizens of South Sudan.