South Sudan is the newest country of the world, gaining independence in June of 2011 after over 50 years of armed struggle and conflict with the North. As a result, South Sudan has more than 3.25 million people living in United Nations camps for internally displaced or in refugee camps in neighboring countries. The new country’s challenges are many: the economy has collapsed, roads are in disrepair, the countryside is unstable, and peace is fragile. Maryknoll Lay Missioners returned to South Sudan in 2018 (after serving there in the 1990s and early 2000s) and hopes to expand its ministries there in the future. (Top photo ©Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth Pictures)