Francis grew up with little schooling during the civil war. As a child, he watched people fall ill and never recover because the lack of healthcare in the region. Years later, he started volunteering at the nearby clinic in Old Fangak where he assisted trained medical professionals. Through his “on-the-job” training, Francis has learned to perform a number of surgeries, including a lid eversion procedure that combats trachoma – a leading cause of blindness in South Sudan.

Ajak is a Lost Boy and former child soldier. At nine years old, Ajak fled to Ethiopia with an AK-47 in hand and joined the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) led by Col. John Garang. After spending time in Ethiopian refugee camps, Ajak was chosen by Garang as part of a select group of children ordered to “put down their guns and pick up a pen.” Garang arranged for these children to travel to Cuba where they would receive a formal education. After living in Cuba, Canada, and Kenya, Ajak has returned to South Sudan as a doctor on a mission to help lead the struggling region in a new direction.

Glenn is an American surgeon who has been leading medical mission trips to underdeveloped countries for decades. These trips are usually designed as educational exercises to teach indigenous populations the art of surgery. He has traveled to South Sudan a number of times and has repeatedly worked with Francis and Ajak to enhance their individual skill sets. Glenn’s mission is to empower under-resourced but ambitious healers with the confidence and skills to treat and lead without the continuous assistance of foreign aid. Put simply, he is trying to work himself out of a job.