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Volunteers cleared away the rubbish and worshippers offered prayers for its future on Sunday, after South Sudan was feted by world leaders as it celebrated independence and began the tough task of nation building. Churches in the capital were packed with southerners giving thanks for the long-awaited freedom of their new-born nation.

"It was a very unique day in my life - I was a little bit unsure if this day was going to come without the north and south being dragged back to war," said Gabriel Kiir, at Saint Joseph's Catholic church. "Today everyone is praying for unity among southerners, for an end to tribalism and government corruption," the 23-year-old student told AFP, standing in the shade of a tree outside the crowded church with hundreds of others.

In Juba's Freedom Square, the site of Saturday's ceremony, youth volunteers collected rubbish across the vast dirt field where foreign dignitaries and tens of thousands of southerners witnessed the declaration of independence and saw the new country's flag raised.

"It is a big, big job but we want to make our new capital look beautiful," said John Goi Deng, a youth mobiliser, as he looked out at the thousands of paper flags and plastic bottles littering the venue. "This is the beginning of building the country. You first have to clean and then you can start to build," Deng added.

The challenges ahead are truly daunting for one of the poorest countries on earth that was left in ruins after five decades of devastating conflict between southern rebels and successive Sudanese governments.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday called South Sudan's birth an important first step toward peace for a troubled region. "Just as independence was not inevitable, neither is a lasting peace between Sudan and South Sudan," she wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post. "Decades of war have left deep distrust on both sides," added Clinton, urging both sides to "quickly return to the negotiating table and seek to complete the unfinished business of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement."

Zach Vertin, Sudan analyst with Brussels-based think tank the International Crisis Group, wrote in a recent report: "Joy at independence is tempered by ongoing troubles iin the south and north alike. "On the UN's Human Development Index - a measure of overall quality of life and development - Sudan currently ranks 154th out of 169. South Sudan will start even closer to the bottom," Vertin added, in the report co-authored by Sudan expert Aly Verjee.

In addition to the chronic lack of even the most basic infrastructure, the government of South Sudan has to tackle the problem of violent conflict within its borders, which has killed more than 1,800 people so far this year. Rampant corruption among politicians, and serious human rights abuses by the southern army as it struggles to transform itself from a rebel to a regular force, are also high on the list of concerns.

Kenya's Cardinal John Njue called on South Sudan's leaders to be "instruments of peace and unity," in his sermon at Juba's Catholic cathedral.

"I appeal to you, my dear politicians, do not fall into the trap where many have failed," he told the congregation.

At the Juba Christian Centre Pentecostal church, pastor Marcelo Obwoma was preparing to preside over a special thanksgiving service. "So many people are coming today as we are giving thanks on this special day, the beginning of our independence," Obwoma said. "We are praying for guidance for the government so that the country remains peaceful and can grow," Obwoma said.

Standing on the steps of the church, South Sudanese lawmaker Julius Moilinga said that after decades of civil war and struggle, people were keen to celebrate and look to the future.

"All through the years (of fighting), people were praying to God for peace and independence, so now we have to come to church to thank him for giving it to us and ask for his help," Moilinga said.