A primary school in the slums of Burundi

A remarkable man of great strength and inexhaustible energy. Sylvestre is 39, married, and raising three children of his own and one foster child. He grew up in a large family himself, with two brothers and four sisters. In 2018 he completed a master's degree in Russia. Sylvestre likes reading, plays sport — bodybuilding and football above all — and follows politics closely.

Arcade is 40, has four years of teaching experience, is married and has two daughters. He holds a bachelor's degree and hopes to study further. He became a teacher because he wanted to share what he knows with children, and he loves talking with them and getting to know them properly. His interests are religion and sport. Arcade has also visited Moscow and St Petersburg.

Pascal is 34 and has twelve years of teaching experience. He became a teacher to open up new knowledge for children, and outside lessons he enjoys talking with them about all sorts of things. His interests are prayer, sport and music. Pascal's dream is to become a great teacher.

Violette is 30 and is raising two children: a boy of eight and a girl of six. She became a teacher because she loves children, and that is what she values most in her work. The hardest part of teaching in Burundi, she says, is the pastoral side of classroom work. Her interests are prayer and music.

Consolate is 72, married, a mother of four and three times a grandmother, with more than 35 years of teaching behind her. She became a teacher because she loves children, and her dream is to go on teaching for as long as she can. She enjoys sport and time spent with her colleagues and with children in difficulty.

Émeline is 34, married, with three children and ten years of teaching experience. What she values and takes most pride in is her pupils' progress. One of the goals she sets herself is to show that teachers in Burundi are first-class professionals. Her interests are prayer and sport.

Jérémie is 38, married, with one child and eight years of teaching experience. He chose the profession because he wanted to help his younger brothers in Burundi by teaching them. His interests are politics and prayer.

Françoise is 40 and is raising two children, with more than five years of teaching experience. She is deeply religious and became a teacher because she believes the profession comes from God. Her interests are music and prayer, and she dreams of trying her hand at trading.

Furaha is 48, is raising five children and has been teaching for 24 years. She finds no difficulty in the work: she loves teaching and sharing what she knows. "I live my profession — I teach my pupils and my own children," she says. She likes reading and learning something new.

Augustin is 36, married with two children, and has four years of teaching experience. He became a teacher because he has a gift for teaching others quickly what he knows. The hardest part of the work, he says, is bringing every child to the same level of understanding; what he likes most is seeing how fast children learn. His interests are prayer and sport, and his dream is to go further in his career.

Michel is 27, married with five children, and has three years of teaching experience. He became a teacher because he likes sharing what he knows. The hardest part of the work, he says, is that children remember at different rates; what he likes most is hearing the children sing well. His interests are prayer and contemporary music, and his dream is to record many albums.