Mabus Recognized
CONTACT: Julie Hines Mabus or
Mangok Mayen
Tel. (601) 214.8384 / (601) 213.7717
Email: juliehines@bellsouth.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE PUBLIC GRIEVANCES CHAMBER OF THE GOVENRMENT OF SOUTHERN SUDAN
HAS APPOINTED JULIE HINES MABUS OF SUDAN RECONSTRUCTION AS ITS
FIRST U.S. VOLUNTARY EXPATRIATE CONSULTANT
Julie Hines Mabus, Chief Executive Officer of Sudan Reconstruction Skills Search Project and former First Lady of the State of Mississippi, has been appointed as the first U. S. Voluntary Expatriate Consultant for the Southern Sudan Public Grievances Chamber, Juba, Sudan. The Chamber is an independent institution mandated by the constitution of Southern Sudan, whose chairperson and members were appointed by First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan and President of the Government of Sudan, His Excellency 1st Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardit,. The primary mission of this Chamber is to redress public grievances and help improve government institutions in Southern Sudan. As such, the Chamber will play an important role in responding to the needs of the Southern Sudanese people as the newly formed government works toward establishing peace and stability in Southern Sudan.
Mabus was notified of this appointment by Dr. Achier Deng Akol, Chairperson of the Public Services Chamber. Dr. Akol, a medical doctor who had lived and practiced medicine in London, England, returned to Southern Sudan in 2006 to help in the rebuilding of his native country. Dr. Akol advised Mabus that she will be called on to help secure necessary resources to enable the Chamber to achieve its mission.
Sudan Reconstruction is a U.S./Sudanese nonprofit corporation started by Mabus and Mangok Mayen, a Sudanese refugee living in the U.S., to help build a humanitarian and economic bridge between the U.S. and Southern Sudan, using the help and devotion of the Sudanese refugees living in the United States.
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Local Artist Bonds With a Lost Boy
When the art community was approached about participating in The Journey, the fundraiser on April 26, for the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, each artist, to a person, answered, “Yes!” Further, most of the artists were able to make a commitment to create something uniquely African, paying homage to the trials and tribulations of the Sudanese refugees living in Mississippi. Many of the artists spoke with the refugees directly, which deepened the artists’ insight and understanding of the lives of these remarkable young adults.
One metaphor for the generosity and sensitivity of the art community is the work of Wyatt Watters. Wyatt wanted to do a study of the face of one of the boys. Photographs were provided to Wyatt and he chose the face of Jacob Buol. Wyatt was fascinated with the starburst-like markings on Jacob’s forehead, markings that reveal a bit of the culture of Southern Sudan. When these Southern Sudanese contracted childhood diseases, their foreheads were “bled” to treat the illness.
Jacob’s story is much the same as some 20,000 young Sudanese boys who were shepherded out of Southern Sudan in the late 1980’s during the civil war in their country and taken on an exodus that ended in the United States in 2000.
Jacob came to Mississippi in 2001; he was 18 and thus classified by the federal refugee program as an “adult,” which meant that he was not entitled to any financial, physical or emotional support that was available to the younger refugees. A handful of other “adult” refugees were in Jackson when Jacob arrived and they stayed close to each other for moral support. This disparity of services was difficult for these older refugees to understand as they saw their 50 brothers and sisters clothed, fed, sheltered and educated. But this seemingly unjust division did not stop Jacob as it did not stop the other adults. Through sheer will, determination and a lot of hard work, Jacob not only survived this different standard, he made it work for himself. He, like the other adults, found full time jobs, got bikes, then a driver’s licenses and then used cars. On his “off” hours, Jacob attended adult ed at Duling, and within two years he walked down the aisle of Murrah High School with the other Jackson students who were receiving their GED. Jacob is now a junior and on the honor roll at Mississippi College. Though he works without ceasing, Jacob credits his Christian faith for his success.
Jacob came to Wyatt’s studio and quietly sat and watched Wyatt make preparations for the painting. Wyatt studied and sketched and then brought Jacob’s visage out of the paper as though by magic.
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