This is when she first met Emma McCune, a British aid worker. Emma McCune is the main focus of Scroggins book Emma's War. Emma was born the child of colonialist parents who were living in India, but the family moved back to the UK when colonialism fell. After her father committed suicide, Emma struggled with her own identity and this is how she first established her love affair with Sudan. In the late 80's, Emma started her new life as an aid worker in Sudan. She worked for several years for the UN establishing schools in parts of southern Sudan.