"I want to be a good leader. I want to change my community. There are so many bars than schools and hospitals combined. I want to make a difference- I have to walk miles bare foot to reach my school in time" "What have you done to make your dream a reality?" "So far am always the first at school. The distance has not deterred me at all at least not now"  (Budadiri, Sironko)

"You know in working with gold we use mercury, sometimes we use alot and we just touch with our naked hands. I remember when I was pregnant with my son I still used to use the mercury without any protection, sometimes even with utensils like spoons to burn the gold, or even using my basin. Here we didn't know how dangerous mercury is until an NGO working on a community project came and sensitised us, it is when I realised that all those years of using mercury even when I was pregnant may actually be the cause of the eye defects that my son was born with" (Tiira, Busia)

"I love to draw, I enjoy drawing pictures in my free time. Immediately after my medication I always grab a piece of paper with a pencil and just draw out whatever comes to my mind- It's fun and keeps me busy" "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "I think I want, I want to be a doctor" 

"I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk. I'm already late I have some work to finish up in my garden. You must be new in this village. Here no one talks to me except strangers and those that are so so close to me" "Can I ask why people don't talk to you here?" "It all goes way back to when my co-wife and I had an argument. I said something to her out of anger and by coincidence it happened. I was shocked too. Since then she went around spreading rumours that am a bloody witch- In return people hated me" "What really happened?" *Walks away* "Oh please! I told you am already late just ask around"  (Budadiri, Sironko)

"My husband is an officer in the armed forces and as such he is never always around most of the time, so it fell to me to be my family's bread-winner during the time that he is away. To do that, I had to turn part of my land into a makeshift mine for mining gold since it is the most common means of earning something in our village. I employ several people in this mine, men, women -- anyone who comes and is willing to work for the pay i offer." (Tiira, Busia)

"We go to school at Marine Base Primary school. When we get home from school we have to take the goats out for grazing. We don't mind be cause we enjoy doing it since we don't have to be at home all the time. We graze the goats from 4pm to 6pm" (Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Wakiso)

"I pray to God that I can be like the rest of the people. Living with fellow cancer kids motivates me. It's fun they're my new family. But I also want to be out of this cancer home and be able to do work like other kids my age without anyone worrying that I might hurt myself or anything"  (Makerere, Kampala)

"One time while home alone, I picked up our neighbours bicycle and went riding around the village with it, It was fun. Little did I know I had caused myself a lot of trouble back home. I got home late with a flat tyre, I was nervous and scared to death that my mother was going to kill me. Instead she was excited to see me and told me of how the neighbour had reported a stolen bicycle to the local council" "What's best the piece of advice you ever got from your mother?" "My mother asked me never to steal or pick up someone's property without their permission and always admit my mistake"  (Makerere, Kampala)

"I remember my mom said to me, 'Always love and pray to God. Respect your parents and elders and your days on earth shall be joyful. Forgive all those that wrong and hurt you'" "Describe me a moment when someone hurt you?" "Before I got operated, I had this huge cancerous tumor in my left side of the cheek. I could hardly smile or speak, it affected my sight too. People in my community used to finger point at me and laugh, others called me names some didn't even want to associate with me. So I covered my face with a veil each time I moved around the neighbourhood depressed but left with no choice- I thank God the operation was successful as you can see the tumor was removed, I don't look like a monster anymore. Can't wait to have my dentures fixed too"  (Makerere, Kampala)

"Waking up very early in the morning on a daily basis is probably the hardest thing about my job, It's fun everyday that's the best thing about it- It feels like am just paid for having fun with my best friends everyday" "What would you say to a group of strangers out there?" "Life is short and many people need help. If you can help, it's free and doesn't cost you a thing but you gain a lot"  (Makerere, Kampala)