This article describes how minority language development and literacy activities were facilitated in a wartime context for Southern Sudanese language groups, particularly through the use of workshops. It also presents the voices of the language speakers themselves as they reflect on this process. A background discussion considers the importance of minority languages, education in times of war, and resources for minority language development and literacy. The activities of assessment, orthography formation, and writers' training are then described as they were implemented in a workshop context. The concluding section of the article provides an update on multilingual education developments in Southern Sudan and notes some strengths and weaknesses of a workshop approach in stressed contexts.