When I turned in my letter to Mrs. Miller the following day, I felt giddy, like this was the start of something big.
-- Caitlin (Caitlin: September 1997)

Importance: Caitlin explains here how excited she was to be able to write to Martin. She reveals she chose Zimbabwe because she had never heard of it before, did not know much about Africa, and because it was the last country on the list of countries in which students could write to pen pals. Her letter ends up in the hands of Martin.

School is your only hope.
-- Martin’s mom (Martin: October 1997)

Importance: Martin explains to readers why his mother places so much emphasis on his doing well in school. His own mother had to drop out of school at the age of 12 because her family could not afford tuition, and so was not able to do well in life financially. Martin’s mother knows that education is key to the future, and...