Carson to visit ancestral homeland of Kenya

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson says he's planning to visit Kenya -- where he says his ancestors are from -- as well as Nigeria and Zambia later this month.

The Republican presidential hopeful told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday: "I think a lot of our policy in the future is going to affect Africa."

Carson plans to leave Dec. 27 for his tour of the three African countries.

While Carson plans to visit Kenya to reconnect with his roots, he'll be visiting Nigeria to learn more about the terrorist group Boko Haram. Carson also said there's a medical school in Nigeria named for him that he plans to visit, as well -- The Benjamin S. Carson School of Medicine at Babcock University.

As for Zambia, Carson plans to visit the Banda twins. In 1997, Carson lead the surgery to separate the twins -- conjoined at the skull. Joseph and Luka Banda are the first conjoined twins of their kind to survive separation without any neurological problems.

The weeklong trip could be seen as a way for Carson to further bolster his foreign policy. Carson recently acknowledged to ABC News that a lack of foreign policy experience is hurting him in the polls. This comes after a series of foreign policy blunders.

A recent trip to Jordan to tour refugee camps is also seen as an attempt to beef up Carson's credentials as he lags in the polls.