GUA-Africa

GUA Africa was founded by Emmanuel Jal, an ex-child soldier turned rap artist. The word GUA (pronounced gwaah) means peace in Nuer, a tribal language of Southern Sudan.

Our mission is to work with individuals, families and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty. Each of our projects focus on providing an education to children and young adults who would otherwise be denied such opportunity.

Emmanuel Jal was born in Southern Sudan, and spent the early years of his childhood in the midst of its longrunning civil war. At the age of 7, after the death of his mother, he was recruited as a child soldier for the Rebel army (SPLA).

Amazingly, he survived front line action and eventually managed to escape with 300 other "lost boys", enduring a 3 month trek on foot without any supplies to reach safety. One of only a handful to survive the journey, Emmanuel was rescued by Emma McCune, a British Aid Worker, who smuggled him to freedom in Kenya and enrolled him in school for the first time. Tragically, Emma died shortly afterwards in a car accident.

Somehow Emmanuel survived all this turmoil and trauma, and twelve years later he is now an international rap artist. He has performed at the Live 8 Eden Project in Cornwall, and on 27th June 2008 he sang his song “Emma” in Hyde Park London at the 90th birthday concert for Nelson Mandela. War Child, a documentary film telling Emmanuel's life story, and his album and biography of the same name are all now on worldwide release. Throughout all this, Emmanuel has worked tirelessly with the United Nations, Amnesty International and Oxfam to campaign against the employment of child soldiers and the illegal trade of arms.