Leadership

Dear brethren, it is a great pleasure for me and the members of the Dinka Congregation to have you here with us today to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I thank God Almighty for sparing our lives until this day. Without Him, we would have perished long ago. But with His love and kindness, we are now breathing this breezy winter air. Since we have received Jesus into our hearts today, let us go out into the world as God’s children so that others may know our God is the supreme creator of heaven and earth and master of all things. Let us not bring shame on our Father in heaven by doing things unworthy of His name. We are the salt of the world, and the world cannot do without us. But if we lose our saltiness, we become the sand of the sea—easily washed away by the water current.

I bring our attention to the following verses from the Bible.

To the Church Leaders — Matthew 20:26–28

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become a slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

We leaders need to evaluate ourselves to see the progress we are making. If there is no progress, one must consider a different approach to leadership.

To the Women — Proverbs 14:1

A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

I know that life is hard nowadays because of its commercialization, but that is not an excuse to bring down our families and homes. A family built on God’s word never falls, but one built on earthly wealth and countless desires falls like a rootless giant tree. Dear mothers and sisters, as we all know, human wants are unlimited while the resources to satisfy them are limited.

To the Men

Husbands, do not be selfish. Remember that marriage is the final stage in human life, followed by death. We ought to enjoy our marriages knowing that husband and wife are one flesh and one body. Love your wife and children with your whole heart.

Communicate as much as time allows. Understand what your spouse or your child is going through. Have faith in one another and trust each other. Avoid belittling, blaming, or abusing each other, for these do not solve problems but worsen them.

Forgive the wrongs done to you. Appreciate each other for the work done, no matter how small—it is worth acknowledgment. Seek Christian counseling when problems seem beyond resolution. Ask God to heal and bless your family. Be glad and thankful, for God has given you a companion of your choice.

To the Children — Proverbs 1:8–10

My child, listen when your father corrects you. Do not neglect your mother’s instructions. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck. My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!

Dear brothers and sisters, I know that some of us who are now grown can best comprehend the importance of parental advice. Let me quote a Swahili proverb: Asiyefunzwa na mamake hufunzwa na ulimwengu—he who is not taught by his mother will be taught by the world. This is true beyond doubt.

When you do not listen to your parents, you end up living a regretful life. You may become a person of no standing in your own community, asking yourself one day, “Why do people turn from me? Why do I have no friends?”—forgetting that you are then being taught by the world.

Let us refer back to the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–31), for the same stories are happening today. Young people leave their parents’ homes for reasons known to them, but in the long run, they return—and thus the parable of the lost son.

To the Parents

Treat your children with respect and kindness. Do not misinterpret God’s word and mistreat your children.

It is up to us to decide where to go and what to do, bearing in mind that we will one day be judged by these verses.

Finally, I thank the Sudanese women for their wholehearted dedication to our community, the youth for the work they do in our churches and beyond, and our church leaders for bringing forth the idea of celebrating Christmas together each year.

I thank all the invited guests and visitors for joining us in the celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May God and our Savior bless you all with prosperity, knowledge, and wisdom.

© 2006 Alier Reng

Dear PCA members, distinguished guests—good evening. I am grateful to God Almighty for granting us this opportunity to convene here, and for blessing our community.

I thank you all for making time to attend our meeting in spite of your busy schedules. This shows your love for our great community, and I want you to know that your unwavering support is crucial to our success. I also thank PCA members for entrusting us with their leadership, for supporting our objectives, and for their steadfastness during the good and bad times of the last two years.

I must acknowledge my team members for their undivided support and commitment in serving our community. They are the best team any leader could wish to have. Please join me in applauding: Vice President John Manyuon Aroch; Secretary General Lual Deng Awan; Assistant Secretary General Awur Atem Biar; Treasurer Abraham Atem Akech; Assistant Treasurer John Dut Kuol; Information Secretary Jacob Thon Kuereng; Assistant Information Secretary Dut Amour Atem; Community Development Chairman James Garang Ayiik; Assistant Community Development Chairman Amol Atem Amol; Community Development Secretary Jok Dau Jok; Assistant Community Development Secretary Panther Agok Jang; Community Development Treasurer John Dut Kur; Education Chairman John Jol Amol; Assistant Education Chairman Chol Kiir Atem; Education Secretary Achirin Amou Arok; Assistant Education Secretary Deng Ayach Adit; Education Treasurer Ajiel Atem Wal; Foreign Relations Assistant Secretary Atem Wal Atem; Appreciation and Recognition Program Secretary Gabriel Dut Atem; Chaplain Mayom Jok Lial; Legal Advisor Chol Makuei Khor; Health Advisors Dr. James Yai Atem and Peter Lueth Deng; and Counselor Kuol Awan Garang. I thank you all for your selfless sacrifices. I am blessed, honored, and humbled to have had you in my administration.

I thank our in-laws for their steadfast support and for hosting us, and Lual Atem and his team and all the people of Louisville for their warm and generous welcome.

I also thank Thon Kuereng Yai, Jok Dau Jok, Lual Deng Awan, and Bol Biar Aweng for their hard work bringing healthcare services to our people in South Sudan. The clinics established by these young men have saved many lives that would have been lost to disease. May God bless you to continue blessing our people with the work of your hands.

Dear PCA members, allow me now to speak about my first-term promises and accomplishments. Two years ago, I stood before you in Dallas, Texas, and promised the following: to count and register all Pakeer members living in the United States and maintain a database of contact information; to form a Community Development Committee and an Education Committee to oversee our members’ social well-being and educational progress; to ensure that Pakeer’s voice is heard at both the county level and the Greater Bor community level; and to create a member appreciation and recognition program.

I also promised to organize a graduation celebration every two years; to raise between $10,000 and $30,000 by the end of my second term; to contact Pakeer leaders in Australia and Canada to discuss possible joint ventures; and to send a delegation to South Sudan to meet with our community leaders.

Tonight, I am honored to report that our Community Development Committee, led by James Garang Ayiik, registered 270 members in our first term, assisted the Pakeer Wrestling Team with $1,000, supported the victims and families of those who lost their lives during the Pajur I and II, Nyany, Bor–Juba Road, and Ayiik-dit Murle attacks, and assisted other communities—a total of $7,390 in direct aid.

Our Education Committee, led by John Jol Amol, offered educational assistance to a student in Uganda and gave appreciation certificates to our recent graduates. We fought to ensure our voice was heard and our rights respected at the Twi East County level. We contacted Kut Manyang, President of the Pakeer Community Association in Australia. Our team traveled to South Sudan and met with the Pakeer community in Juba this past December. Above all, we raised approximately $30,000 in our first term for the Pakeer Agricultural Project.

We accomplished all of this because our team put the interests of our people before their own, devoting their time and resources toward furthering the goals of our community—and our members stood steadfastly by us. We are proud of this great community and its goal-oriented members. We are indebted to them.

Dear PCA members, our community’s interests must always come before individual interests. Never should we allow selfish individuals to divide us into their friends and their enemies—and this includes me. If you ever notice unusual behavior from me or any PCA member, you must stand up and hold that person accountable rather than spreading rumors from state to state. It is the responsibility of the General Assembly to hold both leaders and members accountable alike.

Some of you may have wondered why we invited county leaders and the Greater Bor Community leader to our gathering. We did so because we believe that by participating in our meeting, these leaders will learn from our community, and in turn, they will offer us their honest critiques of how we govern ourselves—and that will help us examine and improve our leadership.

Our community will prosper only if we prioritize its interests above our own. I urge you all to double your efforts and join hands in furthering the goals of our great community.

May God bless you all with good health, wisdom, and prosperity, and may God bless the Pakeer Community worldwide.

© 2013 Alier Reng

As we, the Form II students at Kakuma Refugee Secondary School in 1998, prepared for the holidays after completing our term 2 examinations, we received news that only Form 3 students would be allowed to take their textbooks home to study and revise over the break. Those of us in Forms I and II were required to turn in our textbooks to the school administration. These textbooks had been provided by the UN—I believe through the Lutheran World Federation.

Upon hearing this, all the Form 2 students gathered, discussed the matter, and nominated a delegation to present our concerns to the school administration. Among those nominated were Peter Bul Deng, Abraham Kuany Anyieth, Alier Reng, and Dhieu Deng Leek, along with other students whose names are not listed here. The delegation met with the headmaster, Godfrey, his deputy, Sam Anyona—now believed to be in Australia—and all the teachers.

While the delegation negotiated with the administration, a small group of students secretly reported us. They sought favor from the teachers and administrators, betraying the trust of their peers and the very panel striving to secure their right to study.

Despite our genuine intentions, the delegation was labeled as ringleaders of a perceived rebellion. When term 3 began, the school administration gathered the students in the Science Lab and divided them into groups based on their perceived involvement. The students who had reported the delegation were praised as the “best students” and rewarded. The delegation was subjected to harsh penalties, including suspension for one month.

Yet the suspension did not break us. When we returned, we focused on our studies with the discipline the camp had already taught us. The delegation excelled in the term 3 examinations and advanced to Form III. Most importantly, our action set a precedent—from that point onward, all students were allowed to take their textbooks home over the holidays without penalty.

Leadership does not guarantee gratitude. Sometimes it guarantees punishment. Those who stand in the gap are often the first to be struck down by the very people they represent. But the measure of a leader is not whether they were rewarded—it is whether the door they opened stayed open for those who came after.

© 2023 Alier Reng

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our GBC-USA Leadership under Deng Lueth Mayom Ayiik, J. Maluak Malou, and Mayom Bol Achuk for convening the first GBC-USA Leadership Conference this past weekend. Our community faces many challenges at the moment, but I am grateful to God for blessing us with these steadfast and visionary young leaders—together with their entire leadership: the Executive and the Board of Directors.

These are trying times for our generation, and we must rise to the occasion and prove to the world that we can do the great things our forefathers and fathers did. This means we must respect and support each other through thick and thin, in spite of our personal differences.

It does not hurt to give credit to your opponents when they are right. That is the essence of democracy. You all know that I was one of those who ran against Deng Lueth on September 4, 2010, and my team lost. However, given what I know now and how tense our political atmosphere has become, I can say without doubt that if any other team apart from Deng Lueth’s had won that election, GBC-USA would have been gone long ago.

Leaders are known through their actions and those whom they surround themselves with. Deng Lueth has demonstrated that he is a great leader by surrounding himself with other great leaders in their own right: J. Maluak Malou, Mayom Bol Achuk, Esther Kuer Mabior, Agut’alak E Jr, Ajak Dau, Solomon Mading Awan, Elizabeth Kuch, Bol Jok, Reuben Panchol, and Rev. Agook Kuol, among others. These young men and women are the pillars through which our GBC-USA stands firm.

I would also like to thank our county leaders for their visionary leadership. Yol Goch Achiek, Daniel Mabior Achiek Chau, and Kuolmadool Anyieth demonstrated a sense of maturity in their leadership abilities during the conference. I was moved by their forthrightness in addressing and tackling the challenges facing their respective counties.

I would also like to thank my friend Nyiel Dot Duoi for always speaking the truth no matter what. He is one of our prospective young leaders. I thank Nhial Jol for his relentless and visionary leadership. And I thank my young sister and the rising star of our community, Kuer Mabior Nhial—this young lady impressed everyone during the conference with her keen intellect.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not congratulate and thank the Dallas Greater Bor Community, Chol Thiak and his leadership, for organizing the conference and for their warm welcome and kind hospitality.

May God bless the Greater Bor Community, South Sudan, and the United States of America.

© 2015 Alier Reng