Elmo Jayawardena was born and educated in Sri Lanka. He is a pilot and the founder–president of AFLAC International, a humanitarian organization working to alleviate poverty. Whilst flying 747s and running a humanitarian organization, Elmo has carved out time to write two award winning novels. Sam’s Story won the Gratiaen Prize for the best book in Sri Lanka in 2001 and The Last Kingdom of Sinhalay won the State Literary Award for the best book in Sri Lanka in 2005. His most recent book is Rainbows in Braille which was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. All proceeds from the sale of his books are channelled to the poor. In 1999 Forbes Global featured Elmo for his humanitarian work, and Reader’s Digest honoured him as an ‘Everyday Hero’ in 2001.