This article needs to be updated.(July 2021) |
Aheu Kudum Deng | |
---|---|
Born | Aheu Kudum Deng 1986 (age 37–38) Itang Rebel Camp, Ethiopia. |
Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
Beauty pageant titleholder | |
Hair color | Black |
Eye color | Black |
Major competition(s) | Miss Earth South Sudan (Winner) Miss Earth 2009 (Unplaced) |
Aheu Deng Kudum (born November 28, 1986) is a South Sudanese-Ethiopian fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the title of Miss Earth South Sudan 2009 at the annual beauty pageant, organized by South Sudan's Ministry of Tourism and Beauties of Africa Inc, the exclusive franchise holder.
As the eldest of four daughters, Kudum's upbringing was marked by the challenges of being raised by a single mother following the passing of her father, General Deng Kudum, on May 8, 1992. General Deng achieved acclaim for his courageous leadership in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) rebel attack on the South Sudanese capital, Juba. [1]
Kudum's childhood unfolded against the backdrop of civil war in South Sudan. Fleeing her home due to the conflict, she closely followed her father through various displacement camps, enduring the hardships of war. Despite these challenges, Kudum remained resolute in pursuing her educational aspirations. [2]
Her educational journey began in Ethiopia, where she attended elementary school, later continuing her studies in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp. Undeterred by the adversities of war, Kudum completed both primary and secondary education. In pursuit of higher education, the 37-year-old journeyed to the United States after completing high school in Kenya. In the United States, Aheu Deng Kudum enrolled at Texas Southern University, where she dedicated herself to the pursuit of knowledge. Majoring in Business Administration, she demonstrated resilience and determination in overcoming the challenges she faced, turning her adversities into stepping stones toward academic success. [3]
Aheu Deng was born in Itang (Ethiopian District), which was a South Sudan rebel camp, and won the Beauties of Miss Earth South Sudan 2009 pageant on June 10, 2009. She inherited the crown from Nok Duany, [4] who held the 2008 Beauties of South Sudan title by virtue of the franchise holders appointment.
Aheu Deng speaks five different languages including English, Swahili and some Arabic. She also speaks the indigenous South Sudan languages of Dinka, which is her mother tongue, and the Acholi dialect, both of which are Nilotic languages. She had to drop out of high school and did not finish her education due to being forced to marry a stranger whilst living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya.[ needs update ] At the age of 15, she became a survivor of the Kakuma Refugee Camp and forced marriage. She is the eldest of four girls and was raised by a single mother after her father General Deng Kudum was killed on May 8, 1992, when he led a Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) rebel attack on Juba, Sudan. General Gen Kudum was one of nine Bor Dinka brothers killed in the war of independence against North Sudan.
Aheu Deng, who stands at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, [5] [6] remains the tallest documented beauty queen ever to take part in any Grand Slam or beauty pageant. Her feat has been submitted to the Guinness World Records for inclusion and certification as the World's Tallest Beauty Queen.
Her managers received numerous television show appearance requests for her after she won the title of Miss South Sudan in 2009.
In 2010, she turned down an opportunity to do a world tour covering Asia, Europe and South America as a spokesperson for South Sudan, following the Miss Earth 2009 pageant. [7] She started the Miss South Sudan Foundation in 2011 to advocate women's causes, and to speak against child marriage, of which she was a victim herself. She also is a business entrepreneur.
This article needs to be updated.(June 2020) |
Aheu Deng represented South Sudan in the 9th edition of the Miss Earth beauty pageant, [8] which was held at the Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center on the Island of Boracay, Philippines, on 1 November 2009, with its final on November 22, 2009. [9]
The Dinka tribe are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizeable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and the Abyei Area of the Ngok Dinka in South Sudan.
Lokichogio, is a town in the Turkana District in northwest Kenya. It is often called Loki for short. The town lies on the A1 road, and is served by the Lokichogio Airport.
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and the Blue Nile. It lasted for almost 22 years and is one of the longest civil wars on record. The war resulted in the independence of South Sudan 6 years after the war ended.
Dr. John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the Second Sudanese Civil War. He briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan for three weeks, from the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005 until his death in a helicopter crash on July 30, 2005. A developmental economist by profession, Garang was a major influence on the movement that led to the foundation of South Sudan.
The Shilluk is a major Luo Nilotic ethnic group of southern Sudan, [clarification needed] living on both banks of the Nile River in Malakal. Before the Second Sudanese Civil War, the Shilluk also lived in settlements on the northern bank of the Sobat River, close to where the Sobat joins the Nile.
The Lost Boys of Sudan refers to a group of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1987–2005). Two million were killed and others were severely affected by the conflict. The term was used by healthcare workers in the refugee camps and may have been derived from the children's story of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. The term was also extended to refer to children who fled the post-independence violence in South Sudan in 2011–2013.
The SPLA-Nasir was a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a rebel group that fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Originally created as an attempt by the Nuer tribe to replace SPLA leader John Garang in August 1991, it gradually became coopted by the government. The break away of Riek Machar from SPLM/A resulted in Nuer ethnic group massacring Garang's ethnic Dinka from Bor in the Bor massacre in 1991. This split resulted in the 1994 National Convention of New Sudan in Chukudum.
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese child refugee who immigrated to the United States under the Lost Boys of Sudan program. It was a finalist for the National Book Award.
The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key participant of the Second Sudanese Civil War, led by John Garang. After Garang's death in 2005, Salva Kiir was named the SPLA's new Commander-in-Chief. As of 2010, the SPLA was divided into divisions of 10,000–14,000 soldiers.
Taban Deng Gai is a South Sudanese politician who has been one of the Vice Presidents of South Sudan in the unity government since February 2020. He served as the First Vice President of South Sudan from 23 July 2016 to February 2020. He was mining minister before being appointed as acting first vice president.
Ethnic violence in South Sudan has a long history among South Sudan's varied ethnic groups. South Sudan has 64 tribes with the largest being the Dinka, who constitute about 35% of the population and predominate in government. The second largest are the Nuers. Conflict is often aggravated among nomadic groups over the issue of cattle and grazing land and is part of the wider Sudanese nomadic conflicts.
The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'état. Machar denied trying to start a coup and fled to lead the SPLM – in opposition (SPLM-IO). Fighting broke out between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM-IO, igniting the civil war. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government. The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Agot Deng Jogaak is a South Sudanese beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned as Miss Earth South Sudan 2015. She is the first South Sudanese under the Miss South Sudan Foundation headed by the Miss Earth South Sudan 2009, Aheu Deng.
Miss Earth South Sudan is a title given to a South Sudanese who represents South Sudan at Miss Earth, which is an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness. The national pageant of Miss Earth for South Sudan is conducted by Miss South Sudan Foundation to which Carousel Productions, the owner of Miss Earth, awarded the franchise in 2015.
Mathiang Anyoor, also spelled Mathiang Anyur, also known as Dot Ke Beny, is a Dinka-affiliated militia group in South Sudan. Originally an ad-hoc volunteer force founded in 2012, the militia was transformed into a private army to protect President Salva Kiir Mayardit and army chief Paul Malong Awan. However, the South Sudanese military (SPLA) claims that it is just another battalion. Much of the ethnic violence against non-Dinkas in the South Sudanese Civil War is attributed to the militia.
Operation Thunderbolt was the codename for a military offensive by the South Sudanese SPLA rebel group and its allies during the Second Sudanese Civil War. The operation aimed at conquering several towns in Western and Central Equatoria, most importantly Yei, which served as strongholds for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and helped the Sudanese government to supply its allies, the Ugandan insurgents of the WNBF and UNRF (II) based in Zaire. These pro-Sudanese forces were defeated and driven from Zaire by the SPLA and its allies, namely Uganda and the AFDL, in course of the First Congo War, thus allowing the SPLA launch Operation Thunderbolt from the Zairian side of the border. Covertly supported by expeditionary forces from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, the SPLA's offensive was a major success, with several SAF garrison towns falling to the South Sudanese rebels in a matter of days. Yei was encircled and put under siege on 11 March 1997. At the same time, a large group of WNBF fighters as well as SAF, FAZ, and ex-Rwandan Armed Forces soldiers was trying to escape from Zaire to Yei. The column was ambushed and destroyed by the SPLA, allowing it to capture Yei shortly afterward. Following this victory, the South Sudanese rebels continued their offensive until late April, capturing several other towns in Equatoria and preparing further anti-government campaigns.
The Battle of Bor was one of the first battles of the South Sudanese Civil War, consisting of a series of clashes for the city of Bor, the capital of Jonglei State, between the SPLA and SPLA defectors under Peter Gadet, part of the force that would become the SPLA-IO. The city changed hands four times between December 18, 2013 and January 18, 2014, ultimately leaving the SPLA in control.
Koang Deng Kun Kong is a South Sudanese born-Canada based musician, songwriter, dancer and artist professionally known as K-Denk. He was born in Renk.
Aguil Chut Deng Acouth, also known as Aguil de'Chut Deng or Aguil Chut-Deng, was a South Sudanese revolutionary and activist. She was a member of "Katiba Banat", the women's battalion of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), during the Second Sudanese Civil War.
Akuch Kuol Anyieth is a South Sudanese-Australian academic and writer.