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.

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.

Helena was born in Sofala province. She is a very quiet girl, humble and friendly. In her free time after school, she is doing her homework and likes to play with her friends. She is orphaned of parents since she was little and then moved in with her grandmother, who took care of her until she was of school age, then ASEM helped her to attend school. In 2013, when she was 12 years old, her Granny died and she stayed living in the house together with her 18 years old cousin. For sustenance, her uncle, when able to, helps the 2 girls. The uncle has a wife with six children, and no permanent job. When the 2 girls have nothing to eat, the neighbors sometimes help them.

Sebastian lives with his mother, step-father and two siblings; his father has a regular but low-paid job, but his mother only has irregular work. Sebastian likes to play the guitar. He is also enjoying learning the Quichua language at school. In the future, he is hoping at the moment to work in gastronomy.

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.

Both of Beatrice’s parents passed away and she now lives with a grandmother who has no source of income. Therefore, for Beatrice to go through high school she needs support. She loves her biology and mathematics classes and hopes to become a surgeon.

Francisca was born in Sofala province. She is a quiet girl and very friendly. Her preferred leisure is to play with her friends jumping rope. At the end of the day, she uses to review her school work. She is orphaned of parents. In 2003, her father died victim of disease. He used to be a farmer. Two years later, in 2005, her mother also passed away due to illness, she used to work in the field as well. Francisca started to live with her aunt that does not work. Her uncle is a “spare bus driver”, sometimes he is working sometimes not, and it is not a permanent job. The aunt has 3 other children so Fancisca is sometimes the last to be attended to in the family. But she does not give up on her dream to become a teacher and works very hard for it to become true.