23 New Medics Graduate From JSMK’s Class of 2024-2025

12 May 2025

Karen State, Burma

It is with great joy and heartfelt congratulations that we celebrate the graduation of this year’s 2024-2025 Jungle School of Medicine students. These dedicated students have demonstrated remarkable commitment, resilience, and growth as they trained to serve their people with skill and compassion. 27 students began this intensive 15-month medic program designed to equip students to serve as medics in their communities and on Free Burma Rangers (FBR) missions; 23 completed it. The program begins with completion of FBR’s basic Servant Leadership and Relief Team Training and participation in at least one mission prior to enrollment. The courses begin with an eight-week foundations block, focusing on core concepts in diagnosis, treatment, and patient care. Students who pass the initial exam progress to hands-on clinical training culminating in a second mission, on which they will be primary medics. 

Under the guidance of 11 visiting instructors – including doctors, nurses, experienced local medics, frontline medics from FBR headquarters, and nine senior staff from JSMK – the students learn through classroom instruction, hands-on practice, supervised patient care in both outpatient and inpatient settings, and case presentations during clinical rounds. 

The newly-trained medics, ranging in age from 18 to 26, come from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, representing Karen, Karenni, and Arakan states, and from both Christian and Buddhist traditions. They bring with them a deep commitment to serve their communities, despite facing significant challenges in access to further formal education. Most have not had the opportunity to pursue post-secondary studies, and students who had the opportunity were unable to finish due to the military coup.

Saw Poe Wah is a 21-year-old Karen graduate who has decided to stay with the FBR teams. He is a member of a special team, the EYE team, which, under the leadership of Dr. Nay Hser, performs cataract removals throughout Karen State. For Saw Poe Wah, JSMK provides foundational instruction that will enable him to learn how to perform eye surgeries under Dr. Nay Hser. When asked about his hopes for the future, he also expressed a desire for Karen State to be free from the oppression of the Burma Army, a sentiment that nearly all the students express. This class’s desire for freedom embodies generations of people in Burma that have sought peace and political restoration.

We commend each graduate for their perseverance and determination. They now join a growing network of health workers who are bringing hope, healing, and help to those in need—on the front lines, in the jungle, and in the heart of their communities. As Dave Eubank, FBR director, said in his graduation message: “As you go forward, please remember we are with you and behind you and, most importantly, God is with you and God is in front of you, beside you, behind you, above you and below you. Call on Jesus’ name all the time and he will answer and lead you.”

Congratulations to the 23 students of the thirteenth graduating class. Their journey as medics has only just begun, and we are proud to stand with them as they step forward to serve and fight for a free Burma.

Thanks and God bless you,

The Free Burma Rangers