My Story

I was born in Dhuoreding Village, near Nasir in the Sobat region of what is now South Sudan. My father, Maluth Abiel, also known as Tut Lew, and my mother, Nyareth Deng, raised a large family under difficult circumstances. Nine children were born to them. One was stillborn, six died in childhood, my brother Abiel was killed during the war in 1989, and my sister Nyakueth later passed away in Sudan. I remain the only surviving child.

My childhood was shaped by war, displacement, and loss. Our journey carried us through villages and towns across South Sudan and Sudan, including Mayom, Torkiel, Wijin, Yomding, Paduay, Lual Yak, Baliet, Malakal, Juba, Khartoum, and eventually Nairobi. I witnessed conflict at close range and, as a teenager, was trained to carry a gun. Many nights I expected death more than tomorrow. Yet I survived, and over time I became convinced that survival carries responsibility.

Education became my path forward. In Wijin, I learned to read and write in Nuer. In Yomding, I encountered the English alphabet for the first time. From there I continued learning wherever opportunity appeared, often in difficult conditions. Others saw refugees and displaced people. I began to see students, thinkers, and future builders. Long before I published a book, I believed that words could change lives.

Eventually I laid down the gun and devoted myself to learning, faith, and writing. Reading the Bible became a daily discipline that shaped both my character and my thinking. I wrote constantly, despite limited English and scarce resources. Those early notebooks became the foundation of a lifelong commitment to writing.

From 2001 onward, I pursued every opportunity to study. I trained in community development, health, education, governance, communication, and theology. In 2012, through Emmanuel Christian College and the South African Theological Seminary, I earned a Bachelor of Theology. That same year, I published my first books on Amazon. Since then, my work has grown into more than one hundred nonfiction books covering faith, leadership, technology, education, history, public policy, and personal development. In 2025, I also began writing public policy and opinion articles for The DAWN newspaper in Juba.

Today my work has a clear purpose. I write about Africa’s development, China-Africa cooperation, governance, economic growth, digital transformation, education, and the responsibilities of citizenship. I believe Africa’s future depends not only on infrastructure and investment, but also on ideas, institutions, and people of integrity who are prepared to think independently and serve faithfully.

My philosophy remains simple: Being. Doing. Meaning. Who we are shapes what we do. What we repeatedly do shapes the meaning of our lives. Nations are built the same way. Strong institutions begin with responsible people. Prosperity begins with discipline. Peace begins with truth.

My journey has taken me from the Sobat River to classrooms, humanitarian organizations, publishing, and international conversations on development and public policy. I am neither a politician nor a soldier. I am a writer, researcher, and teacher. My work is to study carefully, write honestly, and contribute ideas that help individuals, communities, and nations flourish.

As an emerging Africa-China scholar, I am particularly interested in how African countries can build stronger partnerships based on mutual respect, practical cooperation, local ownership, and long-term development. I believe Africa deserves thoughtful voices that can engage both African and international audiences with evidence, balance, and intellectual honesty.

Everything I write is driven by one conviction: humanity advances when people think clearly, act responsibly, and live with integrity. Whether I am writing about theology, technology, history, economics, or international relations, my goal is the same: to help people build lives, institutions, and societies that endure.

My story began in a small village along the Sobat River. It has taken me through war, displacement, faith, education, and authorship. That journey continues today, not with a weapon, but with ideas. I remain convinced that a disciplined mind, an honest pen, and a life committed to service can help shape a better future for South Sudan, for Africa, and for humanity.

What I Do

Everything I do begins with a simple conviction: ideas shape people, people shape institutions, and institutions shape nations. Lasting progress begins with character, grows through disciplined action, and bears fruit in service to others.

My personal philosophy is expressed through a simple formula: Meaning = Being + Doing². Being is who we are. Doing is what we consistently choose to do. Meaning emerges when identity and action remain aligned over time. This principle guides my writing, research, teaching, and public engagement.

I believe knowledge carries responsibility. Learning is not merely the pursuit of information. It is preparation for service. Whether I am studying theology, public policy, technology, economics, or international relations, my goal is the same: to understand the world well enough to contribute something useful to it.

My work brings together several disciplines that might appear unrelated but are connected by a common purpose.

Writing and Research

Writing is the center of my work. I have authored more than one hundred nonfiction books and regularly publish articles on public policy, governance, development, faith, technology, education, and Africa-China cooperation. I write to explain difficult ideas clearly, encourage informed public discussion, and offer practical solutions to real problems.

Public Policy and Africa-China Studies

My research focuses on governance, economic development, infrastructure, international cooperation, and the future of Africa. I have a particular interest in China-Africa relations and how African countries can strengthen partnerships that promote local ownership, sustainable growth, and national capacity. My objective is to contribute evidence-based ideas that support better policymaking.

Education and Teaching

Teaching has always been part of my calling. Whether through books, articles, workshops, or public speaking, I seek to help people think critically, communicate effectively, and apply knowledge with wisdom. I believe education should produce responsible citizens, not simply qualified professionals.

Digital Skills and Technology

Technology has opened opportunities that once seemed impossible. I write and teach about digital literacy, online publishing, artificial intelligence, productivity, and ethical online business. My aim is to help individuals use technology as a tool for learning, work, and service rather than distraction.

Theology and Faith

My academic background is in theology, and my Christian faith continues to shape my values and worldview. I approach faith as both intellectual conviction and daily practice. Rather than separating faith from public life, I believe faith should produce integrity, humility, compassion, and responsible leadership.

Leadership and Institution Building

Strong societies require strong institutions, and strong institutions require trustworthy people. Much of my work explores leadership, organizational development, civic responsibility, and ethical decision making. I believe lasting change begins long before public office. It begins with personal discipline and moral character.

Communication

I work across English and Nuer and have experience in writing, editing, translation, strategic communication, and public information. Clear communication builds understanding, strengthens organizations, and creates trust between people.

Although my professional work continues to grow, I remain deeply connected to the lessons of my childhood. Long before I entered classrooms, I learned resilience through village life along the Sobat River. Hunting, fishing, farming, craftsmanship, and community living taught me patience, observation, responsibility, and respect for both people and creation. Those experiences continue to shape how I understand development, sustainability, and human dignity.

Everything I write, teach, and study serves one purpose: helping people and societies think more clearly, lead more responsibly, and build a future grounded in integrity. I believe Africa’s greatest resource is not found beneath its soil but within its people. When knowledge is joined with character, and opportunity is matched by responsibility, individuals flourish, institutions grow stronger, and nations move forward.

My Philosophy

My life has taken me through war, displacement, faith, education, writing, and public service. Those experiences taught me a lesson that continues to shape everything I do.

The quality of a life, an institution, or a nation depends on the relationship between identity and action.

I express that conviction through a simple formula:

M = B + D²

Meaning = Being + Doing²

Being is who we are. Doing is what we consistently choose to do. Meaning is what emerges when identity and action remain aligned over time.

Although the formula is simple, I have found it useful in understanding individuals, organizations, and societies alike.

Being

Being begins with identity.

For me, identity begins with God, because every person possesses inherent dignity before acquiring nationality, profession, status, or influence. At the same time, identity is shaped by history, culture, family, and personal responsibility. Healthy identity is neither pride nor insecurity. It is knowing who you are well enough to serve others without pretending to be someone else.

The same principle applies beyond individuals. Institutions need identity. Nations need identity. Organizations that forget their purpose eventually lose public trust. Countries that lose confidence in themselves struggle to chart their own future.

Strong foundations always begin with clear identity.

Doing

Identity without action changes nothing.

Doing is the disciplined practice of living according to what we believe. It is not occasional effort but consistent action repeated over time.

Character becomes visible through conduct. Values become visible through decisions. Vision becomes visible through work.

The same pattern exists in public life. Policies matter only when implemented. Strategies matter only when executed. Development is measured not by speeches but by roads built, schools opened, hospitals functioning, businesses growing, and lives improving.

Doing transforms intention into reality.

Meaning

Meaning is the result of Being and Doing working together.

People often search for meaning as though it were something hidden somewhere else. My experience suggests something different. Meaning grows through faithful work performed by people who know who they are.

Purpose is discovered, but meaning is also built.

Individuals create meaningful lives through service. Institutions create meaning through public trust. Nations create meaning through justice, opportunity, and responsible leadership.

Meaning is measured less by recognition than by contribution.

Why the Formula Matters

I first developed this idea while reflecting on my own journey from the Sobat River to classrooms, humanitarian work, publishing, and public policy writing. Over time I realized that the same principle explained much more than my personal story.

Many of today’s crises are not simply economic or political. They are crises of identity expressed through action.

Corruption begins when people separate who they claim to be from what they actually do.

Conflict often begins when identity becomes exclusion rather than responsibility.

Underdevelopment persists when good intentions fail to become disciplined action.

The solution is not merely better systems, although systems matter greatly. It is also better people who build better systems.

Individuals, Institutions, and Nations

Every family, organization, business, university, church, and government can ask the same three questions.

Who are we?

What are we consistently doing?

Does what we do reflect who we claim to be?

When the answers agree, trust grows.

When they do not, decline begins.

This principle applies equally to personal character and public leadership.

Living the Formula

My own calling is to live this formula through writing, research, teaching, and public engagement.

My Being is grounded in faith, integrity, and service.

My Doing is expressed through books, articles, scholarship, education, and the pursuit of ideas that contribute to Africa’s development.

My Meaning is found in helping people think more clearly, lead more responsibly, and build societies that endure.

I believe Africa’s future depends not only on natural resources or foreign investment, but also on citizens whose identity is secure, whose work is disciplined, and whose purpose extends beyond themselves.

That is why Meaning = Being + Doing² remains at the center of everything I write. It is not simply a personal philosophy. It is a way of thinking about human flourishing, ethical leadership, institutional strength, and national development.

Change begins with individuals. Individuals build institutions. Institutions shape nations. When identity and action move together, meaning follows.