Cynthia lives with her parents and three younger brothers, aged nine, five and two, in a small rented house in a village in the mountains. Her father works on the land. His income is erratic: at times he cannot find work and at other times the severe mountain weather prevents him from working. Cynthia goes to the local school, although she will have to change schools at the end of the next academic year as her present school does not cater for the last three years of secondary education. This will mean a fairly long daily journey for Cynthia, as the nearest suitable school is several miles away. At the moment, she is happy with her friends in the local school. She particularly enjoys maths and eventually hopes to be able to find a job working with computers.

Jennifer is a lovely girl, and very mature for her age. This is probably because she has to take charge of all the household chores. Her mother abandoned the family, leaving Jennifer with her father, an ill man, and a younger sister to look after. She has a strong character and a great will to overcome her difficulties and realize her dreams.

Brenda lives with her mother and two older siblings. Her mother struggles to support them through her low-paid work. She started to learn to play the violin in her primary school and is now continuing to have lessons through the Condor Trust. She loves playing the violin and would like to become a great violinist.

Anghelo has a lot of determination to succeed at whatever he does. He has begun to play the guitar, and practices for two hours every day. He also sings in the school choir. Apart from music, he is keen on mathematics and would one day like to become an accountant. He is close to his immediate family and likes to spend the weekend playing with his cousin.

There are 8 people in Johnny's household: his mother and father, five brothers and sisters, and himself. Johnny calls himself number four - he has three older and two younger siblings. They all live in a large village in the mountains in a house with three small rooms and a patio. His father, mother and older brothers earn a living locally in agriculture, but the work is seasonal and insecure. Johnny has been doing well at school. He's particularly keen on maths but likes anything technical. His dream is to be able to qualify as an electrical engineer. When he's not at school or helping at home, he likes to play the guitar.

Manuel is the second of five children. He lives with his mother, as his father has abandoned them. Manual couldn't go to school for two years because his mother couldn't afford it, so he is particularly happy to have the support of the Condor Trust and to be making up for lost time. He is a very responsible boy. His passion is playing the guitar. According to his mother he spends every moment he can practicing. His great dream at the moment is to go to Loja at Christmas. This is a town in the south of Ecuador where his grandparents live, and Manuel wants to play them some songs on his guitar.

Sebastian was born in Loja in the south of Ecuador and lived for five years with his grandparents, while his parents went to other cities in search of work. For the last six months he's been living in Quito with his parents and his sister: the family has been re-united.

Luis lives with his mother, an older sister and two younger siblings. They live in a house with two rooms, a kitchen and bathroom. Their only income is his mother's irregular, low income. Luis is very keen on science and in his spare time likes to learn more about about it. At the moment, he is undecided whether a career as a doctor or as a mechanic attracts him most.

William lives in a household of seven people: his mother and father, two elder sisters, aged 21 and 16, a younger brother, aged 8, his 75-year old grandmother and William himself, who is 13. His father has a job which pays the minimum wage. His mother sometimes earns money by preparing and selling food at a local school, and the eldest sister has recently also found occasional work. William is a bright and keen student and enjoys going to school. His favorite subject is science and at the moment his ambition is to continue studying and to become a doctor. When he’s not studying, William likes to play the guitar. He attends the guitar classes that the Condor Trust runs every Saturday, thanks to a donation from the charity Keys of Change.