The morning rays stretch over the coolness of the beach as two small fishing boats pull up to shore. Tumbling onto the sand are doctors, nurses and volunteers who arrived the evening before with the medical ship anchored just off the reef. Lori Schierer gives hugs while the Fijian children scamper excitedly around their visitors. Barefoot parents in sarongs and hand-me-down T-shirts wave hello, standing outside their shanty huts. Schierer is part of a missionary team from Marine Reach that sails to remote islands offering medical assistance and messages of hope.

Most of us are aware of the dangers of malaria—enough so to be prepared with plenty doxycycline before embarking on tropical adventures. But few realize that every year malaria causes 1-3 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, the majority being children younger than 5 years old. For Travis Gravette, one Christmas spent in Uganda during his senior year of college in 2004 was enough to decide his career path and lead him to start Global Support Mission two years later.