Patrick is a 13 year old sixth grader at the Rama Primary School in Mushaki. He studies hard to be first in his class, but he gives extra attention to his favorite subject French. Patrick worries though. He lives with his grandmother, but soon she will make the nearly two hour move to the city of Goma. Staying with his parents is not an option as they are both dead. His father was a police officer killed in the war recently, and his mother died when he was so young he does not remember her. Patrick worries now too, for himself and other children, who are the victims of murder and kidnapping at the hands of rebels.

Imana is a 10 year old fifth grader at Rama Primary School whose name means “Thanks, God”. She lives with both of her parents in Mushaki where her mother sells “Irish” potatoes and her father sells beans. Imana loves geometric shapes who one day hopes to become a doctor.

Despite being 12, Moise is only in the second grade at Kinyasi Primary School. He has only been enrolled in school for two years because his family struggles to pay for school fees and to purchase the mandatory uniform. Though his parents are married, they live separately as his mother is a farmer in Mushaki and his father a soldier in Rubaya. The second of six children, Moise likes going to school because he wants to become “more smart”. When not in school, he helps his mother with her farming.

Samuel attends Rama Primary School and is a 12 year old fifth grader who lives with soldier father in Mushaki. His mother fled her abusive husband, but did not take Samuel. Samuel’s father routinely threatens to kill him, angry the child was left behind when his wife left. While Samuel loves Mushaki, he wants to leave so his father can no longer threaten his life. He wants to continue his education to become a teacher so that he can help other children in difficult situations.

Musa loves everything about school and everything about the DR Congo. Aged 11 and in the fourth grade at Rama Primary School, he is the third of six children who lives with his mother in Mushaki. Musa’s parents are divorced, and his mother struggles to provide for her children. He hopes that his education will one day allow him to support his mother and his siblings.

Erick is a 14 year old sixth grader who studies at Rama Primary School, and is incredibly grateful for the recent reconstruction of the school. He is one of 10 children, the son of two farmers. Erick hopes to reach secondary school in the nearby city of Goma. When he is not in school, Erick is in Mushaki’s market selling sugar cane that his family grows on their farm. When he is older, he wants to visit the United States so he can learn English in person.

Pitier is in the seventh grade at Mushaki Institute and has big dreams. The 13 year old hopes one day to be the Minister of Education so that he could help all Congolese children to receive an education. He plans to do that by making public education free for everyone and to provide transportation to and from school. If he cannot be the Minister of Education, he will settle for being the President! His mom sells milk in Mushaki’s central market and his father sells cows.

Aziza likes school because she believes education will lead to a more peaceful world. A 10 year old in the third grade, Aziza hopes one day to be a doctor in Mushaki so she can help the people of her town. She lives with her grandmother while her father works as a taxi driver in the town of Rubaya. Her mother died from an illness when she was young.

Augustin wants to help his six siblings, that is what motivates this 12 year old fourth grader attending Rama Primary School. He hopes one day to go to university and get his degree so he can work at a job that pays well. He loves living in Mushaki and hopes one day Americans will come and visit his country of DR Congo to see how beautiful it is.

Eliya is a fifth grade student who, at age 12, is the fourth of six children. He loves that by attending school now, he is on the path towards a college degree; though geography holds a special place in his heart. Eliya’s father died fighting against a rebel group, leaving his mother as the sole provider for their family. Eliya would love to live his entire life in Mushaki.

Anaweza attends Rama Primary School where the 14 year old is in the sixth grade. She is the oldest of seven children who live with their farming parents. Anaweza hopes to learn English so that she can visit Europe and the United States, specifically to see the many different types of towns the United States has.

Salama attends the Rama Primary School in Mushaki. The 14 year old sixth grader who hopes to travel throughout her country, to visit the cities of Goma and Kinshasa; and to cross the Atlantic Ocean to visit the United States. At school she looks forward to her French lesson. Both of her parents are farmers in Mushaki, where she enjoys “too much milk”.

In Congo, boys in primary school wear shorts, but young men in secondary school wear pants. Those pants are what 15 year old Musa likes the most about secondary, as they earn respect. The seventh grader has big aspirations: to be the President of the Republic. As president he would redesign the flag and ask that American children learn French and Swahili so they could visit DR Congo and communicate easily. If that goal is too ambitious, he will happily be a teacher of Swahili.

Weza’s passion as a small boy was building structures using mud and sand. Now the 13 year old sixth grader hopes to turn that passion into a career as an engineer. His father is the Secretary of Mushaki Center, a local government position. His mother sells “Irish” potatoes in the town’s market. Weiza hopes that people in the United States will visit Mushaki to see how nice the town is.

Bahati’s short stature has earned him the nickname “Taller” amongst his peers at Mushaki Institute. The 12 year old seventh grader wants to be a doctor so that he can save lives, motivated by his father’s death five years ago from an unknown illness. Bahati is the second of five kids who lives with their mother in Mushaki, where she sells “Irish” potatoes. He loves Mushaki because his mother is there. If he could speak to all American children, it would be to share the advice his mother gave him as a small boy, “Respect others and you will have no problems.”

Jibu is a 15 year old seventh grader who wants to help the country’s poor and suffering in rural areas when he gets older by becoming a politician. To help these areas, Jime would have new roads built that would connect the rural areas to the cities. His desire to become a politician is what motivates him to do well in school. Jimu would also like the world to know that the DR Congo is suffering, but it has many riches to offers any country wiling to help his peiple.