The winner of the 2022 Billion Acts of Kindness peace prize has called on the citizens and political leaders to embrace nationalism if the country is to bring to an end the vicious cycle of violence in the country.

Jok Abraham Thon is a South Sudanese graduate at the 2018 Mandela Fellowship Program.

He has been praised for pioneering what is called Bullets to Books, a project which fosters peace and unity through education and cultural exchange.

Abraham, who had been a refugee in Uganda for much of his life, returned home to build Promise Land Secondary School in Juba.

He reportedly set the foundation out of bamboo and mud with his own hands.

The school receives some of the highest academic scores in the country and has so far graduated 700 students, with over 400 of them now in Universities.

Thon is also notable for starting multiple projects and workshops focusing on the use of storytelling to help communities overcome trauma and building peace.

Speaking on Eye Radio’s Dawn Show Friday, he said ending the ongoing violence in different parts of the country is a collective responsibility.

“The conflict has been continuing and we really need to bring it to an end, this is a collective effort from the citizens and leaders to really forgive and move forward as a country,” urged Thon.

Thon said South Sudanese could only enjoy the country’s natural resources if only there was total peace.

This, he said, could be achieved when the citizens and the leaders forgive one another and co-exist peacefully.

‘It is not really hard to come together because the spirit of nationalism should control our decision, that’s how we can enjoy our natural resources,”

“To the leaders of South Sudan, let’s be positive, let’s leave history, let’s leave legacy when we are gone. Nobody will be here forever,” he added.

Since the decline of political violence, South Sudan has continued to experience communal violence, with hundreds killed and many more getting displaced.

Thousands of South Sudanese are also still in the displacement camps.

Last year, floods and desert locusts further worsened the living conditions for millions of South Sudanese.
UN agencies and aid groups say the situation has been aggravated by the economic crisis, with families unable to afford meals.