Susana lives with her mother and two brothers. Her younger sister lives with her father, who left the family home when Susana was small. She is a very lively girl, who has done well at school so far. Susana is very keen on music and dancing, and loves to help other children who are not as advanced as her.

Kimberly is the oldest of three children and lives with her brother, sister and parents in a mountain village just outside Quito. Another baby is on the way and Kimberly is really looking forward to his/her arrival. At the moment, her ambition is to become a teacher.

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.

Valeria lives with her mother and older sister. Her father left the family when she was a baby, and does not provide any support. Valeria got very good grades last year and likes studying, particularly natural sciences. She also likes to read in her spare time and spends a lot of time playing with her two cats.

Alison lives with her mother in a village just outside Quito. She likes listening to music in her spare time. At school her favourite subjects are Spanish and maths. In the future she'd like to work as a policewoman.

Magaly lives in a small village on the outskirts of Quito with her mother and two sisters. Her mother does not have a stable job.

Yanela is an only child and is sad that she has no father and no brothers or sisters. She is a determined student and has done well at school. In her spare time, she listens to music and loves to swim. When she is older, she would like to become a swimming teacher.

Jose is the oldest of three children. He loves sports and at school enjoys maths but doesn't know yet what he'd like to do once he's graduated. He lives with his parents and siblings on the outskirts of Quito.

David does not yet know what kind of work he would like to do. At school, he is keen on natural sciences. At home in his spare time he plays with his brother and his father, who is ill and cannot work. David is also keen on football.