The founder of Ubuntu is Koor (Chris) Garang, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan.  Koor was only seven years old when his village in the Akon area of Southern Sudan was violently attacked by government militia. He fled without his parents or family and was forced on a torturous journey across the Nile River where he then walked for four months across the desert to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. After two years of living at the camp, civil war again forced him to flee.  At the age of nine, he and the other Lost Boys walked 1,000 miles across Africa searching for refuge.  He walked without shoes, food or water and watched as many of his friends died of starvation or were killed by wild animals. His story is one of survival against disease and paralyzing hunger.
 
In 2001 Koor came to the US along with other Sudanese boys. On July 4, 2006 he became an American citizen. He is working full-time as a licensed practical nurse while he pursues his nursing degree. In addition to his studies, he is devoted to help lessen the suffering of those still living in Sudan.

“I returned to my village because, as a Lost Boy who was lucky to survive, I felt that I should help the community I left behind. I survived the horrible obstacles for a reason and the reason is to help my community with the education that I gained in America. My community has hopes that I will help with the knowledge that I have gained. “
Objectives Beginings
  1. Deliver the simplest medical tools of human survival.

  2. Healthcare needs will be identified and suitable treatment will be provided by Ubuntu relief missions.

  3. Train volunteers from the village to perform medical procedures and teach hygienic practices to encourage them to become self-reliant.

  4. Educate Americans about the desperate need for healthcare resources in Sudan and around the world
Koor returned to Southern Sudan for the first time in May 2007. With him he brought a truckload of medical supplies and treated mosquito nets and personally distributed them at a newly-build clinic in Akon. The clinic has no water or electricity and is the only available medical or health care within a five day walk.

 In February 2008 he returned again and spent three months treating patients and teaching disease prevention and basic sanitation. 

Koor now lives each day working toward the goal of returning again and again. As a survivor of so much death and destruction, he is compelled to try to save those left behind. Every time Koor returns to Sudan, he is met with a worsening health crisis.
Rebuilding Hope - A Documentary

Click on picture for link to Documentary		 In the summer of 2007, Koor returned to his village for the first time in 17 years. He returned with two other Lost Boys that he lived in a hut with for nine years at a refugee camp in Kenya. The three young men were accompanied by documentary film-maker Jen Marlowe who chronicled their trip in the recently released documentary, Rebuilding Hope. The film highlights these young men’s efforts to help their community rebuild – Koor is working through Ubuntu to bring healthcare, Samuel Mayuol wants to bring clean water to his village and Gabriel Bol Deng (link www.hopefor ariang.org) wants to establish an elementary school.