Mueni is an outgoing girl who completed her primary education in 2017 and since her parents were unable to pay for her school fees she decided to repeat grade eight. Despite staying home for most of the time in the year due to small school levies, her dream to become a surgeon has kept her focused. Her parents are poor and only do casual jobs to cater for the family basic needs. Their house collapsed last year due to rains and they are now living in a makeshift house. ÊMueni believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

Raymond is the firstborn in a family of two. He lives with his mother and grandparents. He has been raised by a single parent, his mother. His mother has been supporting the family through casual jobs. Raymond dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon in future because he wants to help people with mental problems. Also, there are few neurosurgeons in the country. He is very outgoing and enjoys drawing to improve his skills. Despite the challenges he faced, he believed in hard work and emerged as the best student in his school. For sure, hard work never goes unrewarded.

I am the fourth of five children. My father works at a local factory as a casual laborer. He is a hardworking man and I admire him a lot. However, the meager earnings he receives from the factory cannot sustain quality education for all of us. I hope that some day I will become a science teacher or lecturer and build my family a better house

Zeyna is the firstborn child in a family of three. Her parents are unemployed and depend on subsistence farming, which has adversely been affected by frequent droughts. Zeyna is a brilliant young girl who is determined to achieve her goals despite the many challenges she has been going through. Her dream to become a journalist has been her driving force. She has been concerned about many cases happening in the rural areas with no one to report to the world. For her education is an eye opener.

Fedelis is the last-born child in a family of three. He first sat for his primary education exam in 2018 and passed very well. His father could not afford to take him to secondary school and therefore he decided to repeat grade eight with the hope of getting a scholarship to pursue his goal. Fedelis attributes his success to his discipline and cooperation with teachers. He remains focused to achieve his goal of becoming an engineer in future to help his community. He believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

Mwau is fifth born in a family of six. His parents are unemployed and only do casual jobs to cater for the family needs and also pay school fees for his elder three siblings who are in secondary school. Food has always been inadequate in their family. His teachers helped to pay for his school levies in order to remain in school. He toiled hard to shine in his academics. He could get to school very early to utilize the electricity to study. He also accredits his success to being a well-disciplined, God fearing, consulting the teachers and co-operating with them. Mwau is very determined to become an electrical engineer and help the community. He believes that hard work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. He loves athletics.

Vincent is the third born in a family of four. His parents separated leaving the burden of supporting the family to his mother. The mother is currently unemployed and only does casual job to cater for family needs. While in Primary school, Vincent was often sent home to collect school levies and this affected his studies. He could spend almost half of the night reading to compensate the lost time. Despite the challenges, he worked tirelessly to achieve the best in his primary education. Vincent aspires to be a doctor in future. He believes that quitters never win but winners never quit. He likes watching football and reading storybooks.

Vaati is the third born in a family of four. His father has been ailing and cannot perform heavy tasks. His mother has been supporting the family through casual jobs. Vaati dreams of becoming a doctor in future because he wants to help the less privileged like his father to access medical services. Covid-19 pandemic was a blessing in a disguise for Vaati. When schools were closed indefinitely, he used to wake up early in the morning to study and revise. He also attended the online classes. He utilized the opportunity well knowing that every cloud has a silver lining and emerged as the best student in his school. He enjoys playing football. Knowing his purpose in school was his secret advantage.