Article published by RTE

Sr Orla Treacy, who is originally from Bray, Co Wicklow, was part of a group of young pilgrims and spiritual leaders who walked most of the way from the central town of Rumbek to the capital Juba - a journey of around 400km.

The Loreto sister runs a boarding school in Rumbek, where her work to empower young women and girls has received international recognition.

She said: "Most of the young people walking with us have never left the county. So there was a lot of anxiety about going beyond their state boundary into a state where they have grown up believing the people are their enemies."

"However, the people in the streets welcomed us, they gave us goats and bulls, which is the biggest welcome we could receive in the community. We shared a meal together and shared prayers together and I think everybody was going to bed thinking, 'you mean these people are the same as us?'"