Natinga is a refugee camp and a school that was established in 1993 in South Sudan

South Sudan

South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...

 for boys forced from their homes by the Second Sudanese Civil War

Second Sudanese Civil War

The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....

.
It is the center of a payam in Kapoeta East County

Kapoeta East County

Kapoeta East County is an administrative region of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, bordered by Kenya to the south, Ethiopia to the east and Jonglei state to the west. It is part of the Greater Kapoeta region of the state...

 of Eastern Equatoria.

Location

Natinga is in a small village at the base of the foothills of the Losolia Mountains.
It is just north of the Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

n border.
These are the mountains where John Garang de Mabior, founder and wartime leader of Sudan People's Liberation Army

Sudan People's Liberation Army

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...

 (SPLA) died in a helicopter accident in 2005. The village is near the scene of the crash.
Natinga is inhabited by the Didinga people.

Arrivals and departures

In March 1993 Moli Tokoro and Borongoli camps were evacuated for Natinga after the National Islamic Front had made advances in the south. The route led through Palotaka

Palotaka

Palotaka is a community in Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan. It is about southeast of Magwi.At one time Palotaka was a thriving town....

, where about 800 of the unaccompanied minors decided to settle.
In some cases the SPLA appears to have recruited boys as fighters.
There were 2,800 unaccompanied boys at the school in Natinga in August 1994. By March 1995 only 600 boys were left. By June the number of unaccompanied boys had risen again to 1,700.
In 2000 the Sudanese NGO JARRAD was given help by USAID in an effort to airlift an estimated 4,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from the camps of Natinga, Narus

Narus, South Sudan

Narus is a community in the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is the principal community of Kapoeta East County.-Location:Narus is north of the Kenyan border on the road from Kapoeta to Lokichoggio in Kenya....

 and New Cush

New Cush

New Cush is a community that lies between Latukei and Natinga in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan.It was the headquarters of the Sudan People's Liberation Army until it was moved to Rumbek....

, returning them to their home areas in Bor County. There were delays getting started, and many of the IDPs moved to Kakuma

Kakuma

Kakuma town is located in Turkana District, in the northwestern region of Kenya. Kakuma is the Swahili word for "nowhere", epitomizing the seclusion of the area....

 camp in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

instead.
However, a 1300 metres (4,265.1 ft) long airstrip was built to the east of Natinga, and eventually 2,086 IDPs were airlifted.