Bloomin Bishop History

Bloomin' Bishop began when Tim and Fran Parkinson were invited by Dr. David Carling and his wife Gwenyth to visit Sudan in May 2007.

David Carling had visited Bishop Elias Taban several times and wanted Tim and Fran to see for themselves the current state of the country.

Flying in to Yei, Southern Sudan is an experience in itself, After two and a half hours flight on a small 19 seater aeroplane over northern Kenya, Uganda and into Sudan, the landing strip is nothing more than dry earth.

Fiercely hot most of the year, South Sudan is a beautiful region, very green with lush vegetation that dies back in the long dry season.

Since the long period of war has destroyed the country's infrastructure, most of Bishop Taban's work means starting from scratch - without the tools and equipment the developed world take for granted.

Apart from bricks fired in kilns, and the plentiful wood all around, almost all building supplies are imported from Uganda.

Some land had been cleared for agriculture, and the farming project Bloomin' Bishop supports has begun to grow maize and pineapples.

Visiting the Morobo orphanage and the hosptial at Goli gave Tim and Fran an understanding of the huge need, and through this experience the desire to start Bloomin' Bishop came.

Back in the UK, Mike Carling (David's son) and Stephen Wightman joined Tim to begin this ongoing project, simply aimed at helping the people of South Sudan to help themselves.