Matilda lives with her mother, three younger sisters, and two younger brothers inside the small hair shop that her mother runs. Her father is imprisoned. Matilda has been in and out of Ghanaian public schools due to financial troubles so she has enrolled at Mawuvio's School. She often helps her mother in the shop and enjoys playing "ampe" and helping her school teachers as well.

Sauya has a mother & five sisters. They stay in a rural area about 50 miles from Kampala, the main city. Her mother is a peasant who relies on growing food for sale but on a small scale. Being a widow, she can hardly sustain her family needs with her income. Sauya's father died of AIDS and so her mother is on medication. Sauya has been in a in a very poor elementary school and completed 7th grade there. She is now starting in High school (at Rita's school). She is very far behind, due to the low quality of her elementary school. She is very bright and we expect she will make good progress during this year.