"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.
August 16, 2012 – (Washington DC) – Sitting in a friend’s cluttered university office and drinking a cup of instant coffee, Makwei Deng insisted he has not been in the United States for a full four years.
“Thirteen days before it becomes four years,” he said, laughing.
During the time he has been in the United States, Deng has earned a college degree in economics and philosophy at George Washington University (GW) in Washington, DC. That course of study was not exactly what Deng had in mind when he applied for a Banaa (“to build or to create” in Arabic) scholarship from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
“I thought I was coming to law school,” Deng said. He explained that students at the Kakuma refugee camp follow the British education system, in which students pursue professional degrees immediately following high school.
PaanLuel Wël – Founder and Editor-in-Chief of PaanLuel Wël Media
PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a prominent news and commentary platform dedicated to covering the news, history, culture, literature, and socio-political affairs of South Sudan and the world. Established in July 2011, the website was born out of PaanLuel Wël’s vision to create a space for free expression and constructive dialogue during a pivotal moment in South Sudan’s history.
Through PaanLuel Wël Media, he has cultivated a vibrant intellectual forum that features a diverse range of voices, from poets, authors, and academics to activists, commentators, and community columnists. The platform is rooted in the belief that an informed and engaged citizenry is essential to the project of nation-building and social transformation.
PaanLuel Wël is a passionate advocate for the power of media to educate, empower, and connect people across political, ethnic, and generational divides. He is committed to fostering a culture of dialogue, tolerance, and inclusivity and is deeply invested in mentoring the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.
