South Sudan – the world’s newest country – is barely functioning. It has the lowest literacy rate for women in the world; most people are in poverty and in need of food aid and large areas of the country remain unsafe; while the various factions that make up the armed forces in the country have yet to finally come under a single command structure. Yet as John Tierney, community member and organisational development consultant, flies over the lush green African savannah and into Juba International Airport, he is surprised to find a small flicker of light: the Gospel may one day be preached from an Orthodox church in the capital of South Sudan.
