I come from a family of four, my two siblings, my mother and I. My father left for the countryside after he separated from my mother. This separation left us under the care of my mother. My mother is a hardworking woman and she has inspired me a lot. I owe everything I have achieved in this young life to her. She is my biggest source of hope. I joined the football team in school and I hope to help my school achieve its highest feat. I work hard in everything I do and I go for the most challenging of experiences to gain more exposure. My philosophy in life is to always strive for the highest attainable glory.

Sereti’s parents are both subsistence farmers — cultivating crops and raising livestock. Sereti helps her family on their farm during the weekend. Her father has three wives and many children. Sereti is the youngest of five, having one brother and three sisters. None of Sereti’s other siblings were given the opportunity to go to secondary school. Instead, they were all married immediately after finishing primary school. Sereti hopes to be able to contribute to her family and make them proud by becoming the first in her family to complete secondary school.

I am the only child of a single mother. She works as a casual laborer and this helps in putting food on our table. Secondary education in Kenya is very expensive and this would require extra source of income which is not available at the moment. We live in the slums of Kibera. This is the largest slum in Kenya and poverty rate is very high. I work hard in school with one ultimate goal, to break the cycle of poverty. They say education is the best way and I believe in this philosophy.