Don May began his reporting career at the Washington Daily News in 1950. He then worked for United Press International for twenty years, covering foreign and national security policy and later the global economy. This led to a lasting interest in poor countries, especially in Africa. In 1996 Don and his wife, Alison, founded the Salikenni Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit organization that pays tuition for needy boys and girls in one cluster of rural villages in The Gambia in West Africa, sponsoring students from middle school through four years of university. This book tells the story of that project, its successes and failures, focusing on the students, who yearn for education but must overcome huge obstacles to achieve it.