Marial Bai is a village in

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Northern Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 30,543 km² and is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. It borders East Darfur in Sudan to the north, Western Bahr el Ghazal to the west and south, and Warrap and the dis ...

state,

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. Marial Bai lies between the

Magadhik River The Magadhik River is a river of South Sudan, a left tributary of the Lol River. Course The Magadhik River forms on the border between Western Bahr el Ghazal and Northern Bahr el Ghazal where the Boro River joins the Sopo River. It flows east t ...

and Chel or

Kuru River The Kuru River, or Chel River is a stream in the South Sudanese states of Western Bahr el Ghazal and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. It is a headwater of the Lol River. Course The Kuru or Chel River forms in the south of Western Bahr el Ghazal on the bo ...

, which converge to form the

Lol River The Lol River, or Loll River, is a stream in northern South Sudan that feeds the Bahr al-Arab, known locally as the Kiir River. Course The Lol River forms at the convergence of the Chel or Kuru River and the Magadhik River just west of Nyamlell ...

. It is the real-life hometown of Valentino Achak Deng, the protagonist of the

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...

book, ''

What is the What ''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 prog ...

.'' Dave Eggers, 2006, ''What is the What'', (New York, Vintage Books). Devastated during Sudan's second civil war, Marial Bai now benefits from the efforts of th
Valentino Achak Deng Foundation
which has constructed a new Marial Bai Secondary School.

References

External links

The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation
Bahr el Ghazal Lost Boys of Sudan Populated places in Northern Bahr el Ghazal {{SouthSudan-geo-stub