João was born in Sofala province. He is a playful and smiling boy with many interests. He likes to play with friends in the same neighborhood. His father died in 2012, victim of illness. In life, he was selling products at the local market. After some time, his mother remarried, but the current husband pays no attention to his stepchildren. He is making little jobs as a driver here and there and he only provides food for the whole family with his low income, while the mother plants rice to help her husband with the household expenses. As there is no money to support the school expenses for the stepchildren, João hardly can fulfill his dream of becoming a teacher.

Sheilla’s father passed away and she does not know where her mother is. She and her three siblings live with her unemployed grandmother. She loves reading books and wants to be a journalist one day.

Pauline Moraa Pauline is a shy, bright, seven-year-old who is currently doing well in school after recovering from an unsafe family situation. Her loving grandparents sent her to Beyond Fistula due to concerns for her safety, and she has now happily adjusted to life here. The older women at Beyond Fistula are like her big sisters, and she loves her new 'family', as well as the opportunity to pursue her education.