Why Sudan?

It is one of the more isolated places in the world. Why Sudan?
As a child my father introduced me to Alan Moreheads' book The White Nile about European exploration of the source of the river. He owned the book by Winston Churchill, The River War. Yes, THAT Winston Churchill! Churchill was a young lieutenant in the last British cavalry charge ever. The Battle of Omdurman.
Then there was the movie Khartoum. I grew up with it and my father and I watched it together. It seems a bit cheesy today as Nicholas Coghlan, Canadian diplomat said in his book, Far in the Waste Sudan. Charlton Heston as General Gordon and Sir Laurence Olivier, covered with shoe polish as the Mahdi. You could do a much better job of casting a remake. At least get a British actor to play Gordon! I'd choose Denzel Washington as the Mahdi, but there are probably others out there who can do that role justice.

My participating on Michael Palin's Website sparked my getting involved with these guys. One of the men there is an aid worker. I found the person who sponsors the Lost Boys in Tucson. Her name is Jill Rich. Anything I can do to help these sharp young men succeed, I will do.