Everything South Sudanese singer Nyapal Lul is doing in her new home of Alice Springs is for the five children she left behind.
She and her family left their home country for Kenya in 2013 when the South Sudanese civil war began.
In 2015, while on a musical tour of Australia, Ms Lul applied for a protection visa and has not seen her children since.
Her youngest child, just 11 months old at the time, is now five; the children are being cared for by their grandmother in Kenya.
Due to the political themes in her music, Ms Lul says it was not safe for her to return to visit her children.
"It is not safe for me to go to Kenya because my government can come and take people from Kenya and take them home," she said.
"It is a big condition, but I have to stay here in Australia because it is safer for me."
"I am here by myself; it is really hard, but I talk with them every day, lots of video calls."
Musical collaborations
While Ms Lul may have been well-known for her singing in Africa, during the last four years in Alice Springs she has been working in childcare and disability services.
It was while working at a childcare centre that she met local musician Xavia Nou, who encouraged her to perform again.
"I looked her up on the internet and I was just like 'oh my gosh!'," Ms Nou said.
"She's got this incredible catalogue of videos and music, she's quite a prolific artistic and a beautiful singer with a traditional South Sudanese sound, and here she is in Alice Springs."
he two women ended up working together as part of the She Sings project, produced by Ms Nou and featuring women singing songs and telling their stories.
"I was so eager to work with Nyapal. She'd never performed in Alice Springs so I was really excited to invite her to take part," Ms Nou said.
"It was really beautiful to have her as part of that group and to share her story."
Since then a small South Sudanese community has emerged in Alice Springs and Ms Lul has started organising her own shows.
"When I first met Xavia and she invited me to perform with her, she really helped me out," Ms Lul said.
"So now people know me here in Alice Springs and I am really proud of that."
n South Sudan, Ms Lul's afro-beat pop style of music drew large crowds and she also performed for South Sudanese communities in Australia and the United States.
One of her recent songs is called Never Give Up, about the conflict in South Sudan.
"Some people fled to neighbouring countries, but they are living in compounds [because] it is still not really safe for us.
"So I sing 'never give up', and I am giving people hope that peace will one day come to South Sudan."
Ms Lul hopes her children will one day be able to join her in the Northern Territory.
"I am still waiting for the Australian Government to accept me to be a permanent resident here and then I can start to try and bring them here too," she said.
"I just did the interview last month, so I am just waiting for the result."
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