Salva Dut
Salva is the main character in the novel: a boy born in southern Sudan. Salva lived in a village together with his family, but when the Sudanese civil war started, he was forced to flee his village and travel to another country. At the time when Salva was forced to run, he was only eleven years old. He traveled with various groups who either abandoned him or convinced other groups to take him. During the trip to Ethiopia, Salva encountered his uncle, who took care of him and advised him to never give up. Unfortunately, Salva’s uncle was killed by a group of soldiers and Salva found himself alone once more. Salva ended up staying in Ethiopia for six years until the government forced all the refugees to leave the country. Salva teamed up with other boys from the camp and they started their long journey to Kenya; there he spent a few more years in different camps. In the year 2000, Salva was among the boys chosen to go to America. There, he started going to college, and in a short time, he chose to study business. After returning to Sudan, Salva decided to start a non-profit organization that had the purpose of bringing clean water and education to the remote villages in Sudan.
Nya
Nya is another important character in the novel. She is a young girl who lives in a poor village in Sudan that does not have access to clean water. Because of this, Nya has to walk every day a great distance to a muddy lake to gather enough water from her family. Because of the water, one of her siblings gets sick, but unfortunately, her family has no other choice but to consume the infected water. When strange people come to her village, claiming to be able to bring clean and fresh water to her village, Nya is skeptical, not knowing how water could be found in the underground. When she tastes the fresh water from the well, she is impressed and she goes to talk to the man responsible for bringing water into her village, Salva.
Uncle Jewiir
For a long time, Uncle Jewiir is the only family member Salva has any contact with. Jewiir used to be a member in the Sudanese army and he stumbled upon the group fleeing Sudan. In that group, he found Salva; then, he decided to escort the group to Ethiopia, and then to return back home to fight for his country. Unfortunately, Jewiir was killed shortly before entering Ethiopia and Salva was alone once more.
Marial
Marial is a young boy, the same age as Salva. The two meet during the march towards Ethiopia and they quickly become friends, mainly because they are the only children in the group. The try to maintain their optimism during the trip but unfortunately, Marial disappears suddenly during one night. The rest of the members in the camp theorize that the young boy was most likely killed by a lion.
Akeer
Akker is Nya’s younger sister. Nya’s mother tells Akker that she will have to go with her sister to the pond to get water but she becomes sick before she is able to do so. Akker is taken to a doctor who tells her and her mother that the reason why Akker got sick was that she drank dirty water.
Dep
Dep is one of Nya’s brothers. There is almost no information given about him.
Michael
Michael is the aid worker Salva meets in a camp in Kenya. Michael is an Irish man who takes an interest in Salva because he is among the few who knows little English. Because of this, Michael teaches Salva English and makes sure that he is on the list of people chosen to go to America.
Buksa
Buksa is a man from the same village as Salva; he ran when the rebels began attacking the city. When the group abandoned Salva, Buksa went with them, leaving the young boy behind.
Chris and Louise
These two are the ones who adopted Salva and who brought him to America. They are described as being supportive parents who urge Salva to go to school and who later help him return home and found a non-profit organization.
Mawien Dut Ariik
Ariik is Salva’s father, who appears only at the end of the novel. After leaving his village, Salva believed his father to be dead, but it turned out that he survived the war and continued to live in the same village with his family.
