“I started first grade as one of thirty students . . . I was the only one who continued on to middle school.”

“I had to fight hard. My father didn’t understand the value of education for women and he wanted me to stay close to my family.”

“There was a ‘before’ and ‘after’ in my childhood. Everything changed when my father died and family finances obviously became more difficult.”

“My mother never attended school at all and she doesn’t know how to read or write. My father didn’t make it past elementary school.”

“My father always told my brothers and me that life is very hard and that good preparation helps you succeed.”

“When I was six, my mother left. At eleven, my father died and I rented a room for six dollars a month. My sister gave me a bed and a dresser but, beyond that, I was on my own.”

“One year, I was in the hospital for five months. . . . My teachers came to give me my lessons bedside and my classmates brought me school supplies and letters of encouragement.”

“The problem with my town is that even if you graduate from high school, the most you can hope for is to work as a small farmer or a chance to own a small store.”

“Everybody said that I had to work because I was the oldest child in the family and we were not rich enough to waste time in high school.”

“My mother was one of eleven children born to a single mom. They had a system worked out: Each of the older siblings would be responsible for the expenses of one of the younger ones—paying for their food, buying them shoes.”

“I remember my teacher asked me a simple question in English—‘Are you happy?’ I looked around, because I had no idea what she had said.”

“My neighbors thought middle school and high school were useless.”

“In the rainy season, the river would rise by as much as fifteen feet. During one very wet year, my sister, my cousin, and I missed months of classes because it was impossible to cross the river to get to school.”

“My first house had one room, a dirt floor, and walls made from cornstalks. When it rained, wind and water swept through our home.”

“People used to say to my father, ‘Almost all girls. What a shame.’ My father would answer, ‘Why? Girls can do the same things that boys do.’ ”

“After my father died, I had to take on responsibilities like budgeting for the household and making sure we had enough food for the week.”