Jane is the first born child in a family of three. Her father deserted the family leaving the children under the care of their mother who works as a house help. Jane completed grade eight in 2016 and scored high marks. Her mother could not afford to take her to secondary school and instead wanted her to be employed as a house help. Jane defied her mother and with the help of her local pastor went back to school and repeated grade 8. In 2017 she emerged the best girl in her school and was admitted to a national school. Despite the many challenges, Jane is determined to excel in her studies. Her dream to become a surgeon remains her driving force. She hopes to help the less fortunate in the society who cannot afford medical care. Jane believes that hard work pays.

Bravin is a child who has gone through many challenges. As an orphan and living with his grandmother in the slums, Bravin could not withstand sleeping hungry for days and he ended up in the streets foraging for food in the dustbins. In the streets he was introduced to drugs by other street boys. It was while in streets a good Samaritan took him to a rehabilitation center where he changed and was enrolled back to school. Bravin is the third-born child in a family of eight. He actually doesn’t know where most of his siblings are currently. He is currently living with his cousin who is jobless. Though faced with many challenges, Bravin has kept his focus. He managed to be the best student in his school. His goal is to become a neuro-surgeon in the future. He believes that education is the key to success.

Leornad's father passed away and he does not know where his mother is. He stays with his unemployed grandmother. He does not have a grandfather. He has one brother and one sister.

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.

Emmanuel is a young boy whose mother is a survivor of obstetric fistula. This condition made it difficult for her to work, and she and her sons were abandoned by the father. He has his grandparents in his life, but he and his brother and mother are houseless and have periods of surviving on only one meal a day. Emmanuel very much wants to learn. When he is not in school he loves playing with his brother.

Warda lives with her mother, two grandmothers, grandfather, five sisters, and three brothers. Warda is excited to be at our school and to be receiving a quality education. Though she finds the rigors of our school difficult, she is determined to succeed. By studying her notes, seeing her teachers and peers for help, Warda is sure that she can succeed and be the best student possible. Although learning English as a second language is difficult for Warda, English is her favorite class. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels to help improve her English, or playing soccer or basketball for fun. In the future, Warda hopes to be doctor to help the poor in her country.

Mohamoud is a grade 8 student in the 2016 school year. Coming from the local orphanage, Mohamoud’s greatest achievement is earning a scholarship to attend school. His favorite classes are math and English. In his free time, Mohamoud enjoys playing basketball and reading novels. Mohamoud hopes to be an engineer in the future so that he can improve his country’s infrastructure.

Albanas is the first-born child in a family of four. He is a very hard-working boy and attributes his success in school to his teachers who encouraged him. His father relies on casual jobs which sometimes are not available. His mother has a back-health problem and cannot perform heavy tasks. In his primary education Albanas overcome all odds to emerge the top student in his school. He dreams to be a doctor in future to help the less fortunate in the society. He believes that nothing good come without working for it.

Kelvin is a young student whose father has abandoned him, his brother, and his mother. She had an obstetric fistula from giving birth that made it very difficult for her to work. Kelvin is close with his grandparents but his mother struggles to keep the family housed and there are days they only have one meal. He wants to succeed in school along with his brother.

Saumya Singh is pretty serious about her studies. She likes to help other mates of her class in studies. She likes reading different types of books. She lives with her 2 brothers in her house. Her aspiration is to be a teacher.

Briana is a teenager at Hillside School in Eldoret, Kenya. She lives with her mother, father, two sisters, and two grandmothers. Briana hopes that she will be able to continue her education into a good career, but she is not sure what yet.

Shadrack is the last-born child in a family of six. Most of his siblings dropped out of school. His parents are old and unable to do manual work. Shadrack was born weak and this delayed him from joining school. Though with a small body stature he is older than his peers. His dream is to become an electrical engineer to be able to help people in his village access electricity.

Mohamedeid is a grade 8 student in the 2016 school year. His favorite classes are English, math, science, and social studies. Coming from the local orphanage, Mohamedeid is proud to have earned an education and be at the school he is now. In understanding the value of education, he enjoys volunteering his time to tutor children from the local village. He enjoys teaching and hopes to be a teacher in the future, and later the president of his country.

Wambua is a very hard-working boy. In his school he emerged to be one of the top students. During his primary education Wambua remained focused despite the many challenges he went through. He is grateful to his teacher who exempted him from paying school levies and remained in school. His mother is single and only does casual jobs to cater for the family. Wambua is determined to become a doctor in future. He believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.