Sudan Update 6

Dear All,

We have been back in Malakal now for over a week and on Monday we made a trip out to one of the ECS school building sites in the town of kodok, we were luck enough to be able to tag along with a UN trip to take the British and French ambassadors there. This trip had been arranged so that the ambassadors could visit the site of the Fashoda incident – In a nut shell in case you didn’t know (I didn’t) A French force set out from Brazzaville under Major Jean-Baptiste Marchand with orders to secure the area around Fashoda as a French protectorate. After a long trek across central Africa Marchand’s expedition arrived in Fashoda (now Kodok) in 1898. However Sir Horatio Kitchener also arrived there and both sides insisted on their right to Fashoda. News of the meeting reached Paris and London, a crisis erupted and both nations began to prepare their fleets for war. It was resolved however when the French government decided they didn’t want to start a war with Britain and ordered its soldiers to withdraw. The ambassadors wanted photos where the stand off took place.

We were also able to visit the site of the new ECS school which is now in its early building stages, its taken a while to get started as the diocese prioritised the school they are building in Riang as its not accessible during the rains where Kodok is. We were able to fill the ambassadors in on the Episcopal Churches work in school building and education, I have attached a pic of the Group standing at the school site - Pic from left to right – Joseph Nding - Commissioner of Police for Fashoda County, Peter Maxwell – Head of the UN Mission in Sudan Sector 3, Zachariah – Director of Education for Fashoda County and ECS congregant member , British Ambassador Ian Cliff, Simon, Mme Robichon - French Ambassador, the next two men work for Fashoda County’s commissioner, John Chol – Episcopal Church Pastor for the area.)

I have also included a pic of Kodok Town – if you can believe it, I actually took it in the town centre.