Mwau is the third born child in a family of four children. His father is a woodcarver and his mother is a housewife. Both parents are unable to raise his fees for secondary school. Mwau completed his primary education in 2015 and and scored 355 in KCPE exam. He was among the top students at his primary school. Mwau is a smart boy who is determined to work hard in school and become a civil engineer. He says, "When I grow up, I want to help design good roads in my country". This is the big dream for Mwau and with his passion and determination to excel in school, it should come to pass one day.

Alex is the second born child in a family of five. His eldest sister dropped out of school due to lack of money for school fees. Alex used to finish his household chores before sunset to utilize the light of the day to finish his homework since he lacked an oil lamp. His room for studying was the kitchen and in many times he would light a fire to complete his assignments. Although he didn't always have money to pay for the primary school fees his teacher knew he was bright and allowed Alex to remain in school. All these challenges did not pull Alex down but he worked hard and emerged the best in his school for KCPEE results.

Hello everyone. I am living with my mother and my two sisters, one brother and three cousins in Vilankulo. Our house is built in local material, has two rooms and I am living in a hut outside. My father has another family with seven children and is not always with us. I like to play during my free time and to help my mother with the housework. She goes to the field to plant manioc, peanuts and beans to be able to support the family; beside the little, our father gives us to live. I love very much my grandmother, she is my best friend and I visit her 3 to 4 times a week. I am very happy and grateful to get a scholarship and I promise to work even harder. I dream to be a veterinary when I am grown up.

Carolyne is the third born child in a family of six. Two of her sisters have been sick since childhood they have never been enrolled in school due to their health conditions. Carolyne's father is a casual laborer while the mother stays at home to take care of the sick children. The medical treatment of the children has depleted all the family resources and they have to depend on the mercy of well-wishers. Carolyne has faced many challenges. Many times she slept hungry without food but was always looking forward to being in school as there was a free lunch served (thanks to the school feeding program supported by a charity organization). Carolyne was determined and worked hard and excelled. Carolyne wants to be a doctor in future to treat people whom suffering (just like her two sisters) and improve the health of the people in Kenya.

Agnes is the last born child in a family of five children. Her mother is divorced and depends on casual labor to earn a living and support the big family. Agnes is a smart and hard working student who completed her primary education in 2015 and ranked top in her school after scoring 363 marks in her KCPE exam. She believes that education is the key to a successful life and has great determination and passion to excel in her studies to become a medical doctor in the future.

Virginia is the first-born child in a family of four. Her father is a casual laborer while her mother is a housewife. After doing her final exam in 2015 and scoring well, Virginia could not join secondary school since her parents could not afford the fees. Her parents wanted her to get employed as house help. Her hopes of becoming a doctor and help people in need was diminishing. She decided to repeat grade eight and she emerged the best in her school. Her success was not without challenges. She lacked kerosene to study at night and could only use her daytime to study. Most of the time she was sent home due to lack of payment for school levies. Virginia is outgoing and determined to go against all odds to achieve her dreams.

Mutisya is the third born child in a family of four children. His parents are divorced. Mutisya's mother takes care of his siblings single handedly since the father remarried and stopped taking care of the family. In 2012 Mutisya was adopted by their church pastor who took care of him as he went through primary school in Mwaasua Primary School. Mutisya passed well his primary exam with 339 marks and has been admitted at Masii Boys secondary school. His mother works as a casual cleaner in Wamunyu and lives in a rented house, as they have no home of their own. The firstborn girl in the family completed form four but never got any meaningful job. She works as a house help to supplement her mother little income to support the family. The second born in the family is a girl who is a first year student at Maseno University while Kelvin their last-born is in class six at Wamunyu Primary School. With the big family burden on her shoulders, Mutisya's mother is unable to support her son to gain secondary education. Mutisya is a very bright and determined student and for him gaining a strong education is his only hope for a good future.

Abigael Mwelu is the second born child in a family of seven children. Her father deserted the family and went to live in Mombasa leaving the burden of caring and educating the children to their mother who does casual jobs like washing people clothes and digging to fend for the family. Her elder sister managed to complete high school through the support of well-wishers but she could not proceed to college and got married. Abigael has had to repeat several classes due to lack of payment for school dues but all along she has been among the top performing students. Despite her humble background Abigael is hardworking and has never given up in all these circumstances. She did her primary education examination at Sofia Primary School and managed to score 331 marks. She has been admitted to join form one at Kilembwa secondary school. Abigael believes that education is the only way to get out of the poverty cycle. She is determined to have a successful life in future that will allow her to help her family and also other needy children to achieve their goals.

Isaac is the fourth born child in a family of six children. He has a twin brother called Muinde Nzingi. Their parents are divorced and have deserted the children. The children live with a guardian (Florence) who takes care of them. The main challenge is that the guardian family has a big family of their own (comprised of seven children) to fend for therefore limiting their ability to support these adopted children. The first and the second born brothers of Isaac completed form four in 2014 through support of well-wishers. The third born is currently in form four at the Mbaikini School and is supported by the guardian family. Isaac did his primary exam in 2014 and passed well with 359 marks and has been admitted at The Mbaikini school. Isaac is a very bright and is among the best top performing students. He is very determined to join secondary school and study hard to be an accountant in future.

Lucia is the second born child in a family of four. She did her certificate of primary education in 2014 and was admitted to secondary school in 2015. For the greater part of 2016, Lucia has been out of school due to lack of school fees. For the second term, Lucia was completely out of school. Her father has deserted the family leaving the burden of children support to their ailing mother who does casual jobs to cater for the family’s basic needs. The failing health of Lucia’s mother has rendered her unable to work hard as before. The burden of providing the basic necessities for the family has taken a toll on Lucia’s mothers’ meager resources making it hard to pay for her daughter’s school fees. Lucia’s dream for a good education risks being cut short due to lack of school fees. Despite the olds, Lucia is a self-disciplined and determined student who is optimistic to study and achieve her dream to become a lawyer and help educate her young siblings as well as other children in need.

Nelson is the last born child in a family of 10 children; two brothers and 7 sisters. His parents are peasant farmers with no means of supporting a big family and most important providing education. All his elder siblings were not able to get a good education. In 2015 Nelson sat for his KCPE exam and scored 361 marks and was the second top student at his school. Nelson wants to follow a different path from his elder siblings and make a career in his life. He believes that education is the key to success and he hopes to gain secondary education and study hard to become a mechanical engineer in the future.

Vincent is a disciplined and intelligent boy. His dream to become an electrical engineer started early in life when he learnt the skills of radio repair from a neighbor. He developed great interest in repairing radios that had been thrown away. Out of his curiosity, he repaired his first broken radio for his uncle and it worked! Later he repaired yet another broken radio for his grandfather and it worked too! Vincent's good performance in school did not come on a silver platter. He was able to sacrifice his sleep by sleeping late and waking up very early to study. He also consulted his teachers much on subjects he felt he needed help. He believes that hard work pays. Vincent is the only son to his single mother. He currently lives with his grandparents. His grandfather has suffered stroke and has not been able to help provide for Vincent.

Syombua is the last-born child in a family of eight. She completed her primary education in 2014 at Mavitini Primary School, performing exceptionally well in her final exams. Her good performance earned her a place in a good girls boarding secondary school. Her parents were so proud of her and they used all their savings to make sure that she was enrolled in the school, but luck was not on her side as their father, the only breadwinner was laid off from work. Syombua has two siblings already in day secondary schools and the challenge of paying school fees for the three children is now overwhelming to the father who has now turned to casual menial jobs to support the family. The future of Syombua seems bleak and she may not go back to school in the second term of the year. Though fate seems to rob her the opportunity to be in school, Syombua has always been determined to attain good education. For her, a good education is the only hope to secure a bright future.

Edna is second born child in a family of three. She stays with her grandmother who has taken up the responsibility of caring for her. Her mother is single and jobless. Edna’s elder sister dropped out of school in form two due to lack of school fees. Edna’s journey to success in primary school was not without challenges. She woke up at the crack of dawn each morning and walked about 2 kilometers to school. Sometimes she went to school without any breakfast. Other times she arrived to school late and had to take a punishment but that did not make her to give up. She remained determined and worked hard to attain good grades. Edna emerged the best student by scoring 396 marks out of 500 at her school. She believes that determination knows no barrier.