The Nile River runs through South Sudan from north to south, and is the lifeblood of the country. It's the youngest country on the planet and one of the poorest in Africa, battered by famine, war and ethnic and political persecution before and after its independence from Sudan in 2011. Gordon Koang Duoth - of Nuer ethnicity (one of more than two hundred tribal ethnic groups in the country) - was born blind in 1980 in a village in the Nile Valley. He soon discovered the Thom, a stringed instrument typical of the Nuer, and together with his cousin Paul Biel Keuth they began to play in churches and street corners of the capital Juba, achieving some notoriety among the groups of people who listened to their music. Both recorded rudimentary tapes and limited albums that they sold at their street performances and allowed them to continue with their purposes. As a result of the multiple armed conflicts, both went into exile in Uganda and later went to Canada where they had the opportunity to perform larger audiences and consolidate a musical proposal in which they firmly believed. Finally in 2012 they settled in Australia where seven years later the Australian government granted them the status of Permanent Residents in Australia, but in no case did they represent their nationalization. Their final release was provided by the non-profit Australian label Music In Exile founded in 2010. "Unity" was released in 2020 and turned out to be an album received by media and the public as one of the best root-music works released that year. Since then they have toured the world becoming one of the most accepted African musicians. Koang is an idol in South Sudan currently