Latest news with #SecondSudaneseCivilWar
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former refugee becoming a homeowner with help from Blount County Habitat for Humanity
ALCOA, Tenn. (WATE) — A man in Alcoa is on his way to becoming a homeowner thanks to the Blount County Habitat for Humanity. Mathiang Gutnyin has worked at Clayton Homes for more than a decade, and while volunteering for Habitat through the company, he learned he could apply for a Habitat home. 'This is the only way I can afford to purchase a home for my family,' he explained. He is looking forward to having a home where his family can all live together. Habitat shared that he currently lives in a two-bedroom apartment with his oldest son while his wife and two younger children, who are US citizens, remain in Uganda until she can finish her visa paperwork to live in the United States. Remembering David Hodson: Knoxville veteran who led 150 Marines to Iraq and back dies at 76 Gutnyin is one of the 'Lost Boys of Sudan,' a group of boys displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War. He fled in 1987 to escape the war and was naturalized as an American citizen in 2008. 'I'm feeling great today because this is very important. I will soon have a home. I am in a program for Habitat for Humanity, and knowing that in a few months I will be a homeowner is exciting,' said Gutnyin. He is in a 10-month program through Habitat, where they are working to set him up for success once his home is complete. The program includes classes to prepare people for home ownership and volunteer work. Gutnyin told 6 News that volunteering is helping him prepare to fix things around his future home. 'It's amazing knowing that one of the things that we do here is you work on your home, and also at the same time, you work on another home for a different person. So knowing that you are also helping one of the homeowners that is going to come along, it's a great feeling,' said Gutnyin. More homes on the market could drive down prices in East Tennessee Around 300 Clayton employees volunteered over 1,200 hours for Habitat in the neighborhood where Gutnyin's home will be built. His home is also one of the houses sponsored by Clayton Homes. 'So for them to be part of my life journey in my process, to own a home and partner with me to sponsor my home is a great feeling, and I'm grateful for that,' said Gutnyin. 'A hard business' South Knoxville restaurant to close after 8 years 'To get the chance to volunteer and come out and really just that hands-on work, whether it's putting down some subfloor, putting up framing, or painting, and that's what gets really meaningful. And it starts to stick like, this is going to be somebody's house,' said Ted Rutland, social responsibility program manager for Clayton Homes. Habitat builds homes for families who would not otherwise be able to afford to become homeowners. In Blount County, it costs over $190,000 to build one Habitat house. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
26-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Manitoba's South Sudanese join in prayers to demand justice in alleged death of co-nationals in Sudan's war
Social Sharing The South Sudanese community grounded in prayer at a Winnipeg rally on Saturday, demanding justice in the alleged death of South Sudanese civilians and refugees in Sudan at the hands of the military. "We're here in Canada voicing the voice of the voiceless," said Reuben Garang, president for the Council of South Sudanese Community of Manitoba. "Those civilians who had nothing to do with the war were targeted because they were South Sudanese," he said at the rally, which took place at the South Sudanese Community Centre at 129 Dagmar Street. The most recent conflict in Sudan began on April 15, 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital of Khartoum, then spread throughout the country. The civil war has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis where warring factions have forced millions from their homes and stretched the threat of famine for more than half of Sudan's pre-war population. In recent events, almost two years into the conflict, Sundan's army recaptured Wad Madani, El Gezira state capital, from the paramilitary forces on Jan. 13. "After they had taken the town, they resulted in an organized killing of South Sudanese [people] … women, refugees who [have] stayed in Sudan for a long time," Garang said. "To kill vulnerable people who are not fighting … this is not acceptable." Videos depicting the alleged killings in El Gezira state were disseminated in social media, triggering "revenge attacks" in South Sudan, including deadly r iots that erupted in Juba, South Sudan's capital, and elsewhere in the country with protesters angry about what they believed was the involvement of Sudan's military in the deaths. Arek Manyang, one of dozens of people at Saturday's rally, has lived in Canada for over 25 years. In the 1980s, she fled during the Second Sudanese Civil War, leaving behind her siblings, uncles and cousins in South Sudan. Manyang calls her family every day, she said, because it is hard to go to sleep at night not knowing if they are safe. "You could hear some gunshots on the phone when you're speaking with your family," Manyang said. "Our bodies are here, but our minds are there with them." Behind Saturday's rally was the intent to raise awareness of the atrocities that have plagued both countries — a first step in the pursuit of change in the region, Garang said. "There's no access to basic services, there's no freedom. People are afraid of their life," he said. "It's very difficult to imagine that it's a war." Canada imposed a slew of sanctions against the country in April, including a ban on the export of arms and a freeze on the assets of some individuals. The ongoing conflict was condemned by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly in December, who called on both parties to end hostilities and to engage in mediation efforts after a "scale of human suffering and gross human rights violations." But the rally also called on the province to do its part and join the international community in condemning the war and hold the Sudanese government accountable. "The Sudanese and South Sudanese civilians are being targeted and killed, it needs to stop … everybody needs to contribute," Garang said. But until it happens, Manyang will continue pushing through her days far away from her family by praying.
