Alumni Spotlight - Dr. A.J. Bul

Published January 2026, written by Margaret Wilbanks Plemenos

A.J. Bul was only seven years old when he decided his life path – to become a doctor. Originally from South Sudan, A.J. and his siblings fled their village in 2000 to seek safety from rising tides of violence. Led by their mother in hopes of a secure place to settle, the family headed towards Kenya. While on their journey, A.J.’s sister contracted cholera. A.J. recalls questioning what they could do to ease her suffering and his mother responding, ‘if only there was a doctor’. Soon after, his sister succumbed to her illness. From that day forward, A.J. knew he wanted to be a doctor and began his journey to accomplish his goal.  

After laying his sister to rest, the family finally made it to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. A.J. demonstrated strong academic performance from a young age, regularly finishing amongst top ranks within his classes. When A.J.’s family was repatriated to South Sudan, he decided to stay in Kenya with an extended family member as he was on the verge of progressing to secondary school. A.J. made this tough decision to let his family depart without him, knowing that he needed to stay in school in Kenya to achieve his ultimate dream of becoming a doctor.  

After graduating from secondary school as the top scoring refugee student in Kenya, A.J. decided to become a teacher in Kakuma for Windle International Kenya. During his four years of teaching biology to secondary school students, A.J. further honed is own academic knowledge, ultimately earning a DAFI scholarship, also through WIK. From there, he attended Moi and Egerton Universities, where he ultimately obtained bachelor's degrees in medicine and surgery.  

A.J. is currently in his residency practicing all areas of medicine and his passion for helping others is fervent as ever. Throughout his journey he has stayed true to his original mission from when he was only seven years old: to practice medicine and contribute to the treatment and eventual eradication of diseases such as cholera and malaria. A.J. credits his education with providing him the path to success – something he ultimately gave to others during his time as a secondary school teacher.