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.

I am an ambitious football player with five children in our family from a God fearing and humble background. Living in Kibera has a lot of challenges like drug addiction, school drop outs, peer pressure among others. But I have tried to overcome them because I am a real change agent person, passionate to change the lives of poor people in the community and be a good role model to children of Kibera. I am committed to work hard in school in order to achieve my goal of opening an NGO that would change the life of Kibera community and I believe through God everything is possible. I am thanking Kennedy and Jessica for the opportunity to finish my secondary school education.

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.

"In our house, we lacked food and clothes. Sometimes I share clothes with my cousin. I rarely got anything to eat at home and sometimes it made it hard to concentrate in class. Sometimes my mom is able to make enough money washing clothes for us to eat but not always. My future plans and aspirations is that I would like to be a surgeon. My second plan is to help girl children in the community. In 10 years I would like to be in the United Kingdom helping Kenyan people with medical problems and doing research. I would also like to help street children."

I grew up in the hands of a single mother. We went through several challenges together but we have always managed. In 2014, we faced the most challenging part of the year. My mother was bedridden and I had to take care of her at the same time I had to prepare for the end year national examination. We mostly had to depend on the philanthropy of neighbors and a few relatives to survive. I have embraced this as part of life. I will not let it dim my spirit. The School Fund has extended an olive branch to me. A chance to redefine my life and come out of this mire.

I come from a big family. I have nine other siblings. We are all taken care of by my father who at this point is not working/unemployed. My older siblings have attended/still attend not-very-good schools. I was to follow suit until The School Fund came to my rescue. This is a "first" in my family. This is a common situation in Kibera. I am among the lucky few from financially disadvantaged families to get support from well-wishers.

Patricia lives with her three older sisters in a small wooden shack in Kissemah Village. After the death of her mother, Patricia was forced to drop out of public school because of her inability to pay school fees. After being enrolled at Mawuvio's School Patricia emerged as a leader within the student body as her academics greatly improved. Patricia believes that education is important for her to become successful in the future and aspires to become a teacher.

Felicia lives with her elderly grandmother whom she takes care of. Felicia was orphaned at a young age and brought to Kissemah Village by her grandmother. Her grandmother recently fell ill and Felicia takes care of her when she is not in school. Felicia started her education late, at the age of ten, but is learning quickly. She is very eager to learn and prefers to be in school than anywhere else. Felicia wants to learn everything she can so she can become a Nurse in her future.

I am the first born of seven children. I live with my aunt here in Nairobi. My parents are in the countryside and I came to Nairobi to search for a better education. Where I come from, not so many people take education very seriously. In fact, most girls get married at a very tender age. My sister and I were lucky to come and live in the city with our aunt. My aunt is so passionate about education. She does not earn much from her small business but really struggles to see we get a better education. She was able to secure me a scholarship during my time in primary school, but this ended when I graduated to high school. I am smart, compassionate and polite. I hope these three characters will help me be a good lawyer in future.