They were on the move for three months, with many dying on the way, until they reached the town of Waat, which was the headquarters of a small group that had separated themselves from the main SPLA.

In Waat, Jal met Emma McCune, a British aid worker married to senior SPLA commandant Riek Machar.

McCune died in a road accident a few months later, but her friends (Madeleine Bunting and Anna Ledgard) helped Jal to continue his studies.

Through his music, Jal counts on the unity of the citizens to overcome ethnic and religious division and motivate the youth in Sudan.

Although he lacked any music background or knowledge of its history, he felt that hip hop could provide the easiest and most effective vehicle to express his story and lobby for political change.

The title track, also called "Gua", was a number one hit in Kenya and featured on The Rough Guide to the Music of Sudan and Help: A Day in the Life, bringing together some of Britain's best known on a CD in aid of children in conflict zones (produced by War Child).

This album is a collaboration with the well known Sudanese Muslim musician Abd El Gadir Salim and brings together opposing sides of the conflict, and different music traditions, to a common ground of the wish for peace in Sudan.

The collaboration represents a vision for the future, as two Sudanese men, a Christian and a Muslim, unify and pave the way to overcome differences peacefully.

This album's version of "Gua" was played on the American television series ER at the very end of the Season 12 episode "There Are No Angels Here" (aired on 4 May 2006).

Jal, along with an all-star line-up featuring Amy Winehouse, Eddy Grant, Will Smith and others, performed songs at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday concert at London's Hyde Park on 27 June 2008.

Criticized for being steered into the mainstream and entering a conformist territory of hip-hop, Emmanuel says ""I'm not turning away from the world-music audience which has supported me," Jal says.

"[10] Through his heartfelt lyrics, he opens the world up to the corruption and greed of the Sudanese government; central to the themes of his songs is the campaign for peace of opposing sides in Sudan and the clear message that children have no place in wars.

"[12] His song "50 Cent" speaks to the successful American rapper to change his violent messages, which have a destructive influence on children, as exemplified through his Bulletproof videogame.

"You have done enough damage selling crack cocaine/now you got a 'kill a black man' video game/We have lost a whole generation through this lifestyle/now you want to put it in the game for a little child to play..."[13] "The Roots and Jal set the hip-hop bar higher," wrote The Washington Post in 2008.

In 2008, Jal also got involved in the musical movement of spreading awareness about current slavery and human trafficking by performing various songs for the rockumentary, Call+Response.

[15] A documentary about Emmanuel Jal called War Child was made in 2008 by C. Karim Chrobog and Interface Media Group.

Besides building schools, the nonprofit provides scholarships for Sudanese war survivors in refugee camps, and sponsors education for children in the most deprived slum areas in Nairobi.

Based in both Sudan and Kenya, Gua Africa focuses on providing children and young adults with an education that would otherwise be unavailable to the majority.

In April 2008 Gua Africa was granted full UK charity status and also received an NGO registration in South Sudan.

[20] Jal completed a 661-day "Lose to Win" fast to build a school in Leer, Southern Sudan, in Emma McCune's honour.

From December 2008 to October 2010, the musician ate one meal per day, skipping his breakfasts and lunches to raise funds and awareness for the school, called Emma Academy.