In Memoriam

Johnny Bodourian TfS Friend Supporter and Patron

Johnny Bodourian. -
"Together for Sudan teaches people to help themselves" 

I first met Johnny and Koky Bodourian in 1995 when I was a newcomer to Sudan and they invited my husband and me over for dinner. Unlike many Sudanese nationals of non-Sudanese ancestry, Johnny and Koky had refused to leave Khartoum during the difficult years when the homes and businesses of some were confiscated. Khartoum was their home and, besides, they had many Sudanese friends. 

When Alan and I were obliged to leave Sudan in 1998, Johnny and Koky didn’t forget us. They tracked us down in London and later in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to cheer us up and express their support for the charity work which we had left behind. Eventually, after I was able to begin visiting Sudan once again, Johnny became a Together for Sudan Patron.

 Over the following decade Johnny and Koky also supported Together for Sudan financially. But Johnny was a practical man. Seeing that Together for Sudan owns no vehicles, Johnny make sure that every time I visited I would have transportation with which to visit TfS projects and get to meetings. Although he never travelled far outside Khartoum himself, loaning me a car was his way of saying he approved of such ventures into the unknown. Sometimes he loaned me his personal four-wheel drive vehicle and a driver to carry me around the squatter settlements outside Khartoum or to the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan. Or he paid for the rental of a car and driver. But always, over miles of rugged, often unpaved, roads, I felt cared for by Johnny’s generosity.

 Johnny Bodourian loved Sudan and its varied and needy people and was a man with a generous and forgiving heart. Sadly, that heart gave up too soon and he is much missed by his many friends in Khartoum, Geneva and elsewhere, including this grateful friend in Virginia.

 To honour the memory of Johnny, George Pagoulatos, the proprietor of Khartoum’s venerable and legendary Acropole Hotel, has offered to pay for the rental of a car when I visit Sudan in late April. That’s George’s way of saying farewell to Johnny and I’m deeply moved. Thank you, George. And thank you, too, dear Johnny. - Lillian Craig-Harris

Sir Donald Hawley

Sir Donald Hawley.  

Sir Donald Hawley, who died on 31 January 2008, became a Patron of Together for Sudan when the charity was registered in 1999. After serving in the Sudan Defence Force from 1942-4, Sir Donald transferred to the Sudan Political Service and, with Sudanese independence in 1956, to the British Diplomatic Service. Until his sudden death at the age of 86 he remained active in the service of the Sudan Pensioners Association, the Salisbury Sudan Link, Together for Sudan and other charities. Sir Donald left a generous contribution to Together for Sudan in his will and further funding for TfS was raised at his memorial service in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. With Sir Donald’s death Sudan lost a true and worthy friend who cared deeply for the Sudanese people.

Barbara Bromley

Barbara Bromley.  

This donation is made possible by a legacy from my good friend Barbara Bromley and I give it in her memory. Although Barbara loved to travel, she never visited the Sudan. However, I know she would be happy that her legacy will help Together for Sudan in its educational work. Barbara gained an Open University degree after several years of hard work while holding down a demanding full time job. This photo is of Barbara on her graduation day. – Winifred Dalby