On July 9, we will mark the 11th Independence Day celebration. At 11 years of age, we continue to perform minimally on the global stage.
Our country’s performance has been disappointing in every aspect whether in the region or in the international arena when compares with its peers.
However, that demoralizing story is changing for the better, the National Basketball team, Bright Stars under the guidance of a young man, Luol Deng is changing the narratives. They’re re-writing the negative story about our country and placing it on top of the region. If they can sustain their current performance in the FIBA qualifiers they will make history.
This weekend, South Sudan beats Cameroon 67 – 56, placing them in a vantage perfect position in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 qualifying.
Bright stars beat the Cameroonians for a second time in a row making them a favorite for the 2023 qualification.
Here are some of the negative news headlines South Sudan has received for some time now, South Sudan’s news headlines at a glance.
- South Sudan, is a worse country for doing business
- South Sudan: A trafficking destination country
- Only 7% can access electricity in South Sudan, report
- Corruption cripples service delivery in S Sudan – IMF
- Ten years after independence, S. Sudan is still fragile, says the US gov’t
- South Sudan ranked the most corrupt country in the world
- S Sudan among most corrupt countries, again – report
- South Sudan neglects anti-trafficking measures -US Dept. State
- South Sudanese are the “unhappiest in the world”
This is how Eye Radio captured South Sudan it appears international stage
The good news is these news headlines are changing with sports specifically, whether Basketball or Football. The boys have been marvelous they are reshaping the image of the country through their visible performance putting happy smiles on the faces of South Sudanese.
So, what lessons can we learn from these successive performances? In my humble opinion, it goes down to these six attributes.
- Leadership – you can call it good leadership.That’s the magic word, whether, at the family, corporate, or country levels, leadership is the defining attribute. It’s the predictor of success at the family, the company or the country. That is the trait Luol Deng possesses and the reason why Bright Star has been successful and making the county proud.
- Teamwork – It is more than one person to sustain a success. Success is a collective endeavor and that is the second attribute that defines Bright star’s successes. The boys work as a team, train as a team, play as a team and celebrate as a team and now they’re winning as a team.
- Passion – You need passion to sustain victory otherwise, without passion every success will be short-lived when setbacks, frustration, and disappointment comes knocking. There is empirical evidence to support that. Bright stars play with passion, win with passion and celebrate with passion. That’s the Bright star way.
- Hard work – Hard work and discipline are characteristics embedded by successful people you see or hear about in the world today. It takes discipline and hard work to be good and enjoy success in every arena of one’s life. So, if you see the boys winning and sustaining the win know that they have been embracing discipline and hard work as their success secret. They say practice make perfect and before you are perfect it takes time, hard work, and discipline to be good at that thing you are perfect at.
- Resources – Luol Deng has used his financial savings to support the team. He understands that it takes financial resources to sustain team mobility, traveling, accommodation, and feeding plus support to meet their other needs at the personal level. That’s what Luol Deng has committed himself to and he has delivered for the country.
- Love for one’s country – the driving force is the love for one’s country. That’s what we see in the faces of the boys, their leaders, Luol Deng, and the coaching team. They pride themselves on Sudan’s name and they work hard to just do that. Love for one’s country is everything. Are you in love with South Sudan? And what are your thoughts about the successes of the Bright Star, Basketball team?
