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Central Standard

Sudanese Refugees in KC

When South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan on July 9th 2011, it was the outcome of a peace deal that ended Africa’s longest running civil war; a war that resulted in millions of lives lost to ethnic and religious warfare. On this Central Standard, we explore the community of Sudanese refugees who now live in Kansas City.

We look at how these refugees stay connected with their home land while trying to adjust to a new city and culture and how they are trying to rebuild the South Sudan from afar. 

Our guests are Martin Okpareke, of Jewish Vocational Services, two Sudanese refugees, Rebecca Mabior and her husband John Akuei as well as their son Atem. The refugee family recently traveled back to the Sudan to show their son what their home country is like and help him in a project to provide school supplies to the children of South Sudan.

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Central Standard Sudansoup
Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a podcast producer for KCUR Studios and host of the podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, I aim to provide context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today.<br/><br/>In that role, and as an occasional announcer and reporter, I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.
Matthew Long-Middleton has been a talk-show producer, community producer, Media Training Manager and now the Community Engagement Manager at KCUR. You can reach him at Matthew@kcur.org, or on Twitter @MLMIndustries.