Agnes is the last born child in a family of five children. Her mother is divorced and depends on casual labor to earn a living and support the big family. Agnes is a smart and hard working student who completed her primary education in 2015 and ranked top in her school after scoring 363 marks in her KCPE exam. She believes that education is the key to a successful life and has great determination and passion to excel in her studies to become a medical doctor in the future.

Carolyne is the third born child in a family of six. Two of her sisters have been sick since childhood they have never been enrolled in school due to their health conditions. Carolyne's father is a casual laborer while the mother stays at home to take care of the sick children. The medical treatment of the children has depleted all the family resources and they have to depend on the mercy of well-wishers. Carolyne has faced many challenges. Many times she slept hungry without food but was always looking forward to being in school as there was a free lunch served (thanks to the school feeding program supported by a charity organization). Carolyne was determined and worked hard and excelled. Carolyne wants to be a doctor in future to treat people whom suffering (just like her two sisters) and improve the health of the people in Kenya.

Since Ngirunga’s father died many years ago, his mother has supported her four children by herself. Ngirunga now lives with his mother who is a subsistence farmer, his younger sister who is in primary school, and his two older brothers. His older brothers did not have the opportunity to go to secondary school and now work at home on the family farm. Ngirunga hopes to be able to receive a quality education so that he can give back to his family and ensure that his sister also goes to secondary school.

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.

Veronica’s father has mental health problems and is mostly absent in the lives of his two wives and eleven children. Since her mother moved far away for work, Veronica and her other siblings live with their father’s second wife who supports the children by collecting and selling firewood in Monduli. However, she struggles to pay for expenses such as school fees. Veronica hopes to be able to finish secondary school and set a good example for her younger brother, who has just started at Orkeeswa in Pre-Form One.

Phelistus grew up living with ten siblings and her parents. At a young age, she fell in love with a traveling herds boy and became pregnant. Phelistus had a long, obstructed labor that, sadly, ended in her infant dying. She traveled to Eldoret seeking help for her trauma, and had her wounds surgically repaired. A Little 4 A Lot helped Phelistus with tuition fees and she is enrolled at Madira Girls School. She is currently at the top of her class with straight As, dreams of becoming a science teacher, and expects to graduate in 2018.

Priscillah suffered a severe childbirth injury (obstetric fistula) due to a prolonged labor, resulting in her giving birth to a stillborn child when she was 14 yrs old. The injury was so severe she has needed to undergo multiple reconstructive surgeries and is still not fully repaired. What is special about Priscillah, is her positive outlook and determination to succeed, despite her history and being bullied at school due to her continued leakage of urine. She hopes one day be dry. Priscillah has gone from being ostracized to now being the pillar of hope for her family. She and her family are grateful that she has been given the opportunity to be in school. She hopes to do well and become a doctor, so she can help girls with fistula.

I was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I am the first child in my family. My parents were both born in Haiti but they both came to the Dominican Republic to search for work, which is where they met. In this country, public schools don't always accept Haitians, and although they did accept me, they do not give a very high quality of education. Private schools give a much higher quality of education, but my family didn't have the possibility to send me. Then I got the chance to go to the Change My Stars English camp where I met many foreign counselors who were teaching us English, and teaching us about successful practices. They liked me and congratulated my work ethic and started tuition for me to go to private school. At first I missed my friends and wanted to return to public school, but then came to see the reason that they were sending me to private school. I am very happy and grateful for this privilege and I am working hard to get good grades and graduate. Thank you.