The Team

Yassin
Hassen
Reporter

Yassin Hassan was born September 9, 1986. He graduated from high school in Nairobi, Kenya in 2008. Yassin returned to his home in Nuba to save money with the intention of going back to Kenya for college. However, the onset of war in June 2011 left him with no means to continue his education.

Azhari
Guda
Team Leader

Azhari Guba, 35, is from the Nuba Laggori tribe.  He received a degree in Journalism from the Sudan Technical and Science University in Khartoum.  Prior to the outbreak of war, Azhari was employed by the Ministry of Information in Southern Kordofan.  When the war started, he was separated from his family members.

Makki
Abdalla

Makki Abdalla, 26, is from the Daldko region of the Nuba Mountains. Before the war began, Makki taught English to elementary school students. He also worked in a print shop, producing school exams. At the start of the fighting, all schools in the region were closed and the work that he loved was put on an indefinite hold. Makki fled to South Sudan for safety and food. A few months later, Makki learned about Eyes and Ear Nuba. With a willingness to learn journalism, he joined the team.

Abdu
Ibrahim Ali

Abdu Ibrahim, 36, is from the Kadugali region of the Nuba Mountains. Before the war, Abdu was a civil servant in the Nuba Civil Administration, assisting with day-to-day office operations. Abdu remembers the day fighting began. He was in Kadugali and could hear guns firing throughout the town. He left his house at once and headed for the mountains. A friend there told him about Eyes and Ears Nuba. He found the team and joined in order to show the world what his people witness every day.

Ryan
Boyette

Ryan Boyette, 31, is from the United States. He graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in communications. Ryan has lived and worked with the people of Nuba in Southern Kordofan for the past nine years. He has assisted local communities with their agriculture, helped them build schools and churches, and has overseen other development projects in the region. In 2007 Ryan met Jazira, a health worker from Nuba. On February 19, 2011, they married and six thousand people attended their wedding.

Ahmed
Khatir

Ahmed Khartir, 29, is from Kadugli, a town in the Nuba Mountains. Educated at the University of Nileen in Khartoum, he handled office communications in the Ministry of Information before fighting began. After the Sudan Armed Forces destroyed his home, he and his family fled Kadugli. After walking for sixteen days, they reached a refugee camp in South Sudan. Ahmed joined Eyes and Ears Nuba because he believes the international community needs to see and hear what is happening in the Nuba Mountains.