Southern Sudan prepares for independence

First official results in Sudan have shown a 99 percent vote for southern independence in a January referendum that was the culmination of a 2005 north-south peace deal that ended a conflict which claimed 2 million lives and destabilised much of east Africa.

The Church, the international community and NGOs are working together on a number of projects aimed at helping the people of South Sudan recover from the ravages of war and make a success of their bid for independence.

There are numerous infrastructure projects underway in the South, which has only 25 miles of paved roads in an area roughly the size of the US state of Texas.

In addition, there are numerous education projects at all levels, from primary to university.

Lucia Sorrentino is the Project Manager of the International Committee for the Development of Peoples in Rumbek, where her organization runs a nursing school in collaboration with the Lakes State Ministry of Health and the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek.

Hear Lucia Sorrentino describe her project to Fr. Don Bosco Ochiengo of Radio Good News Sudan: