Gilbert Alaskadi grew up in the African country of Chad. His family was poor, and he spent much of his childhood hungry, with people frequently making fun of his small stature. Then, when he was a teenager, he encountered a bodybuilding pamphlet, promising quick muscle growth in a handful of weeks. He wanted the physique, but first he'd need money and calories. At the first oppurtunity he ran away from home, left the country, and jumped head-first into the world of bodybuilding.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Harry Graham Editor: Munazza Khan

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Osel Hita Torres was a Spanish toddler when he was recognised by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of a well-known Tibetan Buddhist monk and teacher called Lama Yeshe. As a child he was sent to a monastery in India to prepare for life as a monk and scholar. Many expected him to carry on Lama Yeshe’s work of teaching Buddhism around the world when he grew up. But Osel had other ideas.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Zoe Gelber

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

(Photo: The Little Lama Osel with Geshe Gendun Choephel (left) and Lama Zopa Rinpoche (right): Credit: Jacie Keeley)

Alain Gachet quit a lucrative career in oil to search for water underground. Colleagues told him he was a 'crazy donkey', but he eventually developed an algorithm that allowed him to 'peel the earth like an onion' and detect water beneath the surface. Soon, he was asked to train his talents to help pinpoint areas of life-saving reserves of water for desperate refugees escaping the conflict in Darfur.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Anna Lacey and Hetal Bapodra Editor: Munazza Khan

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

The Scottish rappers who fooled the music industry. Gavin Bain was one half of Silibil N’ Brains, a Californian rap duo on the cusp of greatness. But there was a problem - the story of these hip hop stars was fake. Gavin’s never even been to America.

Film clips: The Mask/Chuck Russell/  New Line Cinema and Dark Horse Entertainment. The Secret of My Success/Herbert Ross/Rastar Beetlejuice/Tim Burton/The Geffen Company

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Louise Morris

Donnie Dunagan was a Disney child star in the 1930s before becoming a US Marine.

He was born in 1934 and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, in the midst of the Great Depression. After winning a talent show aged four he was scouted and whisked to Hollywood where he starred in several movies – including a role as the voice of Walt Disney’s iconic animated deer Bambi in 1942. But the Second World War would put a halt to his movie career, and Donnie eventually became a US Marine – never telling anyone about his Hollywood history until he was publicly unmasked in 2004. On the 80th anniversary of Bambi's release, he shares his story.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Zoe Gelber

Growing up as the son of a sex worker and a Black US soldier in South Korea in the 70s, Milton Washington was seen as an outcast, and "not Korean." He couldn't even get a birth certificate. Still, he was loved and protected by his mum, the two of them against the world. She told him his dad was in America, a land of flying cars and ice cream mountains — and that was where Milton wanted to be, too. Milton's story continues.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Laura Thomas

Growing up as the son of a sex worker and a black US soldier in South Korea in the '70s, Milton Washington was seen as an outcast, and "not Korean". He couldn't even get a birth certificate. Still, he was loved and protected by his mum, the two of them against the world. She told him his dad was in America, a land of flying cars and ice cream mountains - and that was where Milton wanted to be, too.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Laura Thomas

Chasing the aurora helps Hugo grieve. By day Hugo Sanchez works in a school, but by night he hunts glowing light displays across the freezing Canadian wilderness. Capturing the aurora is more than just a hobby for Hugo. He took up photography after his son Emilio was born with complex disabilities. When Emilio died at ten years old Hugo found solace and hope in the dancing night sky.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Louise Morris

How extreme kayaker Scott Lindgren's illness forced him to face his past. Scott’s hard, uncompromising attitude had made him one of the world’s top expedition kayakers in a sport that’s claimed the lives of many friends. But bottling up a harsh childhood and drinking for a release can only work for so long. When Scott became ill he faced a reckoning – be the tough guy and lose everything you love, or learn to embrace being vulnerable.

Archive is from a film about Scott's life called The River Runner directed by Rush Sturges for River Roots productions.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Louise Morris

Hafsat Abiola Costello's dad was nearly Nigeria's president - but he had powerful enemies

His name was Moshood Abiola, also known as MKO, and he was one of Africa's richest men before turning to politics. He was the presumed winner of a 1993 Presidential election, but the incumbent military regime annulled the result and had him arrested. Hafsat and her mother fought for his release, but the family paid a high price for taking on the generals..

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Harry Graham Editor: Munazza Khan Sound design: Joel Cox

Itto Outini lost her sight but gained her freedom

Itto had been born poor in Morocco's Atlas mountains, and after her parents died, she was shunted between extended family members. She wasn't always welcome, and says she suffered frequent violence. This heightened when Itto was 17, when she describes a relative throwing a sharp object at her, taking her sight.

Abandoned, Itto had to adapt to life as a blind person on the streets of a Moroccan city. Things were initially tough and disorientating, but she soon taught herself braille and found huge comfort in books and learning. Despite sleeping rough, Itto fought for the education that had been denied her when she was sighted.

Itto has a memoir coming out in Autumn called "Blindness is the light of my life"

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Harry Graham

Dr Andrew Kwong fled famine and persecution as a child. He was a proud Maoist, singing revolutionary songs at the top of his voice at school, but then he witnessed an execution, his father was arrested, and famine struck. His family knew their only hope was to smuggle 12-year-old Andrew abroad, though it would mean years of separation.

Andrew has written a book about his experience called One Bright Moon.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producers: Louise Morris and Fiona Woods

Goalkeeper Briana Scurry knew at eight years old it was her destiny to win Olympic gold – and in 1996, she did it. That was just the beginning: she won the World Cup and another Olympics with the US Women's National Soccer Team. Briana made history on and off the pitch as one of the few African American women on the national side, and the only openly gay player on the team. But in 2010, a knee to the head changed her life. Incapacitated by pain and unable to work, Briana spiralled into depression and debt and ended up having to pawn the gold medals she’d spent her whole life working to earn. Things got so bad that she contemplated suicide. But then an ex-girlfriend introduced her to a woman who would change her life.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Fiona Woods

If you need support relating to any of the issues we've covered in this interview, you can find more information on the BBC Action line website or at Befrienders.org

Beth Rodden escaped her kidnappers, and pushed her body to its limit, following the climber code of whatever hurts makes you stronger. She married her boyfriend Tommy Caldwell, who had saved them by pushing their captor off a cliff in the Kyrgyz mountains. They became the first couple to free climb the Nose in Yosemite National Park. To the world she was a record-breaking athlete, but inside she was crumbling, haunted by that moment in the mountains. It would take her 15 years to face it head on, and in doing so she redefined what it meant to be a climber.

Beth's book A Light Through the Cracks: A Climber's Story is out now.

Clips are from NPR and the Associated Press.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Louise Morris

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence

JP Bimeni is a writer turned soul singer who walked through a massacre unscathed as his country fell into conflict. At just 16 he had a lot more living, and almost dying, to do. Now a successful performer these experiences seep into his songs.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Louise Morris

Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence

JP Bimeni risked his life to save a book of his verse. He started composing poetry to impress a girl, but was soon writing to address the ethnic tensions which threatened to tear his country apart. When violence did break out he dodged machete-wielding mobs to make it to safety. The mission to rescue his poetry almost cost him everything.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Louise Morris

Abi Morgan’s husband woke from a coma and didn’t recognise her.

Abi is a playwright and screenwriter based in London, and she'd made a name for herself writing successful and often highly emotional films and TV Series such as The Iron Lady, Shame, and The Split.

In 2019 her life took such a strange and unfamiliar turn, she says it was almost like she'd landed in one of her scripts. Her partner Jacob was ill and put into a medically induced coma. Eight months later, he woke up, and no longer recognised Abi as his wife.

Abi has written a book about her experiences called This Is Not a Pity Memoir.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Harry Graham

Pirates attacked Judith and her husband in a remote Kenyan resort in 2011. Judith was dragged from her bed and taken by boat to Somalia, where she was held for over six months. Despite everything she went through, Judith Tebbutt has spent the last ten years trying to get justice for a man she believes was wrongly convicted of the crime.

Due to breaking news we're bringing you this episode of Lives Less Ordinary earlier than scheduled.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Rebecca Vincent

Fleeing Vietnam, Lauren Vuong’s family almost died. Settled in the U.S. all she wanted was to fulfil her parents’ dream of finding their rescuers. This is the story of one family’s quest for survival, and the kindness of the strangers who helped them.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producers: Louise Morris and May Cameron

Film clip: Finding the Virgo/Barre Fong/Lauren Vuong/ Barre Fong Designs

Janina was six months pregnant when she travelled to Syria in 2015 to meet a school friend who’d become an extremist. Janina Findeisen, a journalist, was making a documentary about their friendship. The trip was only meant to last a few days – little did she know that she would end up being taken hostage and forced to give birth in captivity.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producers: Emily Webb and Fiona Woods

Film clip: Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell, The Weinstein Company.

Blamed for killing her father through witchcraft, Monica Paulus fled for her life, but she didn’t stay in hiding for long. Monica realised she could be someone to stand up and prevent others being killed after accusations of sorcery. This is the story of how one brave woman took on the witch hunters and changed history in Papua New Guinea.

Charles sues his country’s richest companies on behalf of black gold miners. It’s a battle that could spell ruin for Charles, but this isn’t a man who takes no for an answer.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Fiona Woods

Apartheid taught Charles to know his place, so how did he end up suing the gold industry? When Charles Abrahams told his teachers he was going to be a heart surgeon they laughed. This was Apartheid South Africa and kids like Charles had no business having such lofty ambitions. But Charles knew something those teachers didn't. He was destined for a bigger life and nobody was going to stand in his way.

Charles has written a book, it's called Class Action: In Pursuit of a Larger Life.

TV Clip: Dallas, Leonard Katzman, Lorimar Productions

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Fiona Woods

Donna discovers her ex fiancé’s secret life. When Donna met Carlo at an anti-war protest she immediately fell for him. They just had so much in common, particularly their left-wing politics. When he moved into her flat she discovered they had all the same books - it was as if they were fated to be together. Donna couldn't  believe her luck! There was just one thing that bothered her - he'd never introduced her to his family or friends.

Donna McLean has written a book, it’s called Small Town Girl.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Fiona Woods

Beth Rodden was on a dream climbing expedition in Kyrgyzstan when she was kidnapped by Islamist militants. She and her friends spent days moving between hiding places in the mountains, fearing for their lives as food supplies dwindled. Then, six days in, the group found themselves at the edge of a cliff with a single young guard. They had a chance to escape, but it came with a huge ethical dilemma.

Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Louise Morris

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Audio for this episode was updated on 6 June 2024.

Anne's village thought her disability made her worthless. She had other ideas. Now a graduate and a Paralympian who's represented Kenya and the UK, this is the story of how Anne Wafula Strike forgave the unforgiveable and made her return.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Louise Morris

The FBI close in. “It’s a wake-up call when police are trying to shoot you.” Tom Justice’s fantasy is fading, he’s now robbing banks to fund his addiction and things are about to get a lot worse.

Film clips: Heat/Michael Mann/Regency Enterprises and Forward Pass

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Louise Morris

Olympic hopeful to audacious thief – the cyclist who turned to crime. Movies influenced Tom’s biggest life decisions. Slacker film Reality Bites made him give up becoming an Olympic cyclist, and heist film Heat ‘inspired’ him to make the bizarre leap from fiction to reality. But there are only so many banks you can rob before your ego, and the FBI, start catching up with you.

Film clips: Reality Bites/Ben Stiller/Jersey Films Heat/Michael Mann/Regency Enterprises and Forward Pass

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Louise Morris

Enter other people’s worlds. Welcome to the new weekly podcast from the Outlook radio team, finding amazing personal stories from around the world. Premieres on 25 April.

With Emily Webb, Mobeen Azhar and Jo Fidgen.

Setsuko Thurlow knows what nuclear war looks like.

She was a 13-year-old schoolgirl when an atomic bomb was dropped on her home city of Hiroshima, Japan. Most of the places she knew were destroyed in an instant. Narrowly escaping death herself, Setsuko became a witness to the aftermath of atomic warfare, and the things she saw that day would compel her to spend her life fighting for nuclear disarmament.

Archive was from British Pathé

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Jo Impey and Harry Graham Editor: Laura Thomas

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

In 2016, when Jenny Söderqvist and Helene Åberg’s car exploded in the middle of the vast Kalahari desert, their supplies and only lifeline to the outside world went up in flames. No rescue would come. The two friends from Sweden would spend the next five harrowing days lost in the wilderness and stalked by lions, until their salvation appeared to them in the most unlikely of forms: a tin of Spam.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Edgar Maddicott

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Mistaken for a terrorist, and detained without trial. Art became his refuge.

Pakistani taxi driver Ahmed Rabbani was arrested in 2002, labelled a terrorist and spent 21 years in US detention, including time in a CIA secret prison. Incarcerated without trial or charge, Ahmed was subject to enhanced interrogation, or what he describes as 62 different types of torture. When he was transferred to a cell in Guantanamo Bay, Ahmed would pick up paint and pastels and find solace through art – creating vistas he could only imagine.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam Maruf Voiceover: Mohammed Hanif

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

On the day his mother disappeared in December 1989, 11-year-old Collier Landry started looking for evidence.

He suspected his father, a rich and well-respected town doctor, had something to do with it. This is the story of Collier's fight to get justice for his mother, and the detective who believed him.

Collier's film is called A Murder in Mansfield.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

How Ustad Noor Bakhsh, a Pakistani shepherd in his 70s, became a folk music star

After hunting for four years, Pakistani ethnomusicologist Daniyal Ahmed finally finds Ustad Noor Bakhsh, an elderly shepherd and master of the electric benjo – an obscure stringed instrument with typewriter keys. With Daniyal’s help, Ustad Noor would go from serenading his goats in the jungles of Balochistan to performing for revellers on the European festival circuit.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam Maruf Translation: Wajid Baloch

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

The epic quest to find an elderly Pakistani musician and his unusual stringed instrument

Daniyal Ahmed is a flute player and anthropologist who spends his time searching out and documenting folk music across Pakistan. In 2018, he was mesmerised by a video clip of an elderly man – described as a “poor fisherman” – expertly playing a benjo, an obscure stringed instrument that looks like a cross between a guitar and a typewriter. So began Daniyal’s hunt for this mystery master musician.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam Maruf

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Erika Cheung went from a trailer park to a top tech company job, but something was off.

She knew how to work hard, growing up in a one-bedroom trailer, she dreamed of pursuing her passion for science and helping others. So Erika was thrilled to land her first job out of university at a booming tech company promising a revolution in healthcare. Fronted by the glamorous and wealthy Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos claimed to have the technology to be able to tell from a few drops of blood whether someone had a range of diseases. That was not true. And it took Erika, one of their most junior employees, to blow the whistle – at great personal risk.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Mary Goodhart Editor: Munazza Khan

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

At the age of 11 in 1985, Salva Dut was separated from his family by the Sudanese civil war. After a decade moving between different refugee camps, and presumed an orphan, Salva was recommended for resettlement in the United States as part of a UN-backed programme to support some 4,000 so-called 'lost boys' who'd been displaced by conflict. Salva settled with a host family in Rochester, New York. But when he was in his late 20s, he found out that his father was in fact still alive. Salva travelled back to Sudan to find him. His father was in a clinic and sick with a waterborne disease. Salva decided to try to bring clean water to his home village. A few years later, he established an NGO, Water for South Sudan, and he returned to his birthplace to drill his first well.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Jo Impey

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

(Photo: Salva Dut drilling for water; Credit: Water for South Sudan, Inc)

Maria's grandmother was forcibly taken by Australian officials, but made a daring escape.

As children Maria Pilkington's mother and grandmother were both among the Stolen Generation, removed from their homes to be trained as domestic servants for white families. It was part of an Australian policy dating back to the 1930s to remove mixed-race children from any Aboriginal influence. But Maria's 14-year-old grandmother escaped, with her sister and cousin, by following a pest-control barrier that went right through Western Australia back to their home. The girls' extraordinary three-month, 1400km walk home became the Hollywood film Rabbit-Proof Fence, based on a book written by Maria's mother.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Sarah Kendal Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0044 330 678 2784

Leyner Palacios grew up around volatile armed groups, so he learned to negotiate with them.

He comes from a remote forested area called Bojaya, where clusters of small villages are spread along isolated waterways. Leyner's community had to share the rivers and forests with outsiders, armed groups like the Farc and the paramilitaries, who were locked into a decades-old conflict. As a child, Leyner learned to constantly navigate checkpoints manned by volatile armed people, and he showed a talent for negotation and mediation. As the conflict heated up, and with his community under siege, these skills would become more useful than ever.

Music from the 'Cantadoras de Pogue' was recorded by the Centro de Estudios Afrodiaspóricos - https://www.icesi.edu.co/vocesderesistencia/e/vol-1-cantadoras-de-pogue.php

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Harry Graham Translation: Jorge Caraballo Sound design: Joe Munday Editor: Munazza Khan

The Austrian house where a doctor experimented on children.

Evy Mages grew up in and out of foster care in 1970s and 80s Austria. But even when she started a new life in the US, she was haunted by traumatic memories of a strange yellow house high up in the Alps, where she had been placed as an eight-year-old. It took an idle internet search in her 50s to reveal that this was actually an institution called a 'Kinderbeobachtungsstation', or 'child-observation station', where vulnerable children were experimented on by a psychologist using shocking methods. She decided to step back into her past to uncover the full, disturbing truth of what happened there.

Evy’s story first appeared in a New Yorker article in September 2023.

Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Edgar Maddicott Editor: Rebecca Vincent

A handwritten map is all Mamadou Barry had to guide him from Guinea to Egypt.

At the age of 24 he had reached a crossroads in his life. Having failed his final year secondary school exams five times in a row, he set his sights on a different type of education. Mamadou had heard about the prestigious Al Azhar University in Egypt, but could not afford a plane ticket. So he decided to set off on an epic adventure, travelling by bike, and leaving his home in Guinea with only $55, a small bag of clothes and tools, and a map he had drawn himself.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Rob Wilson Translator and interpreter: Olivier Weber Voiceover artist: Gaïus Kowene

Archive was from the official YouTube channel for Will Smith

A life shaped by addiction.

Australian Holly Deane-Johns had a complicated childhood. Her parents ran an escort agency from their home, and heroin addiction later took over the whole family. She was first given heroin by her mother, aged just 15. Holly ended up dealing to feed her habit, and in her early 30s was sentenced to 31 years in a notorious Thai prison, convicted of drug smuggling.

Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Mary Goodhart Editor: Rebecca Vincent

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Ruth Shaw spent years on ships and islands, trying to outrun her past.

She left her home in New Zealand as a young woman, driven away by a traumatic attack that would shape her life for years to come. Ruth tried to find escape on sailing ships, in Tahitian gambling dens and in the bars and kitchens of Papua New Guinea. But ultimately she had to head home, to face up to deep adolescent scars, and to find the child she’d been forced to give up years before.

Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: May Cameron Editor: Munazza Khan

Photo: ‘The Bookseller at the End of the World’

The extraordinary coach who started a football team but built something much bigger.

One day when Luma Mufleh was driving home to Atlanta, Georgia, she came across a group of barefoot boys playing football in the street, using a raggedy old ball and rocks for goalposts. They reminded her of how she played at home in Jordan and she asked to join their game. The Fugees Family football team was born. Luma Mufleh has written a book about her extraordinary story, Believe in Them: One Woman's Fight for Justice for Refugee Children.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or Whatsapp: 0044 330 678 2784

Without realising it, Nick Reynolds had been living his childhood on the run.

Early one morning in 1968 he answered his front door, completely oblivious to the whirlwind about to be unleashed on his family. Most of Nick's early years had been spent carefree and happy on the shores of Mexico with his British parents. But all the while he had been growing up in the shadow of one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century.

Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Eric Mugaju and Anna Lacey

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

(Photo: Nick & Bruce Reynolds. Credit: Ronnie Biggs)

After crashing high in the Andes, Nando Parrado had to go to the extreme to get out.

In 1972, when the plane carrying 22 year old Uruguayan Nando Parrado and his rugby team came down deep in the Andes mountain range in South America, they were left for dead. Rescue teams called off their search after 10 days. Nando and the other survivors would spend an incredible 72 days trapped, frozen and forsaken in this icy wilderness. And in order to come out alive, they would have to do the unthinkable.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Edgar Maddicott Editor: Laura Thomas

Lucy Sexton was making a TV series about hostages when her father Joe was abducted

Lucy and her father Joe Sexton are American journalists. In 2021 Lucy was working on the TV series ‘Hostages’ when her personal and professional life collided. Joe had been abducted while on a reporting trip in Libya. What followed was a surreal week of parallels as they both tried to make sense of what was happening – Joe from a cell in Libya and Lucy from a production set in Washington. Later, they turned their experience into a joint writing project that brought them closer than ever before.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: May Cameron Editor: Harry Graham Sound design: Joel Cox

Salva Dut is one of Sudan's so-called 'Lost Boys.' Separated from his family at the age of 11 when the civil war reached his village in 1985, Salva walked for weeks to reach safety in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. There, he lived out most of his teenage years, amongst thousands of other orphans. Like most of them, Salva had no idea what had happened to his family. With little adult supervision, the boys developed their own systems of organisation. That was to prove vital when in 1991 they were driven from the camp by a new conflict. Salva was 17 by this point, and he'd become a leader amongst the boys. In total there were 17,000 of them. They set off in groups, first back towards Sudan, then south, towards Kenya. When they emerged from the wilderness after many months, aid workers were astonished to find them still alive. They shared their story with the world. The United Nations recommended almost 4,000 of the Lost Boys for resettlement in the US, and Salva's name was among them. By this point, in his early 20s, Salva had been separated from his family for a decade. A reunion seemed impossible. He would be boarding a flight and leaving the continent of his birth behind.

The second part of Salva's story will be broadcast on the next edition of Lives Less Ordinary

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Jo Impey

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

A chance email led Hannah Ha to uncover her mother Tam’s forgotten musical legacy.

Hannah knew her mother could sing. When she took the stage at karaoke, she always stole the show. But when a chance email revealed she had once been a recording artist called Phuong Tam in 1960s Saigon, she was stunned. Hannah embarked on a two-year hunt to track down her mother’s long-lost recordings – and her rock 'n' roll legacy.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Zoe Gelber

Jair Candor tracks down remote Amazonian tribes in order to protect them from outsiders.

One tribe, the Piripkura has just one member left who’s living nomadically, deep in the rainforest. It’s Jair’s mission to find him, to establish he’s alive, and to protect his land rights from those who want the forest for themselves. Jair has monitored numerous indigenous groups in Brazil over the years, and he’s faced frequent malaria, armed logging groups, and the occasional arrow fired in his direction.

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy Producer: Harry Graham and Graciela Damiano Editor: Munazza Khan Voice actor: Thomas Pappon Sound design: Joe Munday