This is the start of a new blog where I hope to post regular updates on my travels with MCC. I'm a writer in MCC's communications department, and I travel three or four times a year to write articles. Three days ago, Melissa (the photographer I'm working with) and I arrived in the town of Juba, Sudan, to begin an assignment.

Juba is the regional capital for southern Sudan, and it is a bustling town. The city's dirt roads are enveloped by clouds of dust as trucks, motorcycles and pedestrians move along. Melissa and I began to get oriented to the city as Rob, the MCC rep, and Minalla, our Sudanese colleague, showed us around.

One of our stops was the grave of John Garang, a former rebel leader who died shortly after negotiating an end to the Sudanese civil war. Rob told us he met Garang and attended his funeral. He said that Juba was chosen as the capital of southern Sudan when Garang's supporters decided to bury him here.

We also payed our respects to the magnificent White Nile, flowing north through Juba. Barges regularly come south on the Nile from northern Sudan, carrying tons of goods and hundreds of returning refugees. Juba is growing at breakneck speed now that the war is over.

My assignment is to find out about what life is like in Juba as thousands of people come home. So far, I've learned that it's not easy, as there are very few wells, schools, clinics or paved roads. Keep checking back because hopefully I'll post more!