A photographer asked these kids what they hoped to become. Here's what happened.

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A photographer asked these kids what they hoped to become. Here's what happened.

This is Kadijatu Mamane Zeinan and she wants to be a teacher.

She may seem familiar, like your child, little sister, or even like you when you were younger. Her eyes sparkle with a carefree joy and wonder most of us tend to lose as we grow old.

But Kadijatu has it in spades. Happy and full of life.

All photos by Vincent Tremeau, used with permission.

Her sweet spirit is especially impressive considering Kadijatu is growing up in country prone to crisis.

She's living in Niger, a west African country plagued by external threats. Attacks from terrorist group Boko Haram have killed thousands and driven families from their homes. And new threats from Libya make it tough to secure her country, which is about twice the size of Texas.

But despite the uncertainty, Kadijatu remains optimistic about her future.

"I want to be a teacher like my father," she said.

Photographer Vincent Tremeau captured Kadijatu, and dozens of other children living in western and central Africa for his latest project, "One day, I will."

The series features portraits and stories of the children dressed up as the people they want to become.

Like Salifa Adamou, who wants to protect forests in Niger.

Tremeau, a former aid worker turned photographer, began the project while completing an assignment on the humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR). He decided to get to know the children at the refugee camp and came up with the idea for portraits.

"It is a game to come dressed up as what you want to become," he told Upworthy. "So it is always a fun activity to do, especially for the kids..."

Now in between assignments, Tremeau travels to schools throughout the region and chats with the teachers about participating in the project. In the small villages he travels to, many of the kids don't have access to cell phones or computers, so many are excited to be photographed.

The kids at this school were so excited to dress up and share their big dreams with Tremeau.

The career goals and kid-made costumes are as creative and inspiring as the kids themselves.

This young lady in Niger wants to be a journalist.

Georgine, 13, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) wants to be on the radio.

And then there are electricians, like this little guy in the CAR.

Sakima, 10, from Niger hopes to be an educator.

Yakouba Senou, 11, from Kolondieba, Mali wants to be a science teacher.

And check out this fabulous future pilot from the CAR.

Healthcare professions are popular too. Like this future nurse in the CAR.

And Sekou, an aspiring doctor from Mali.

Some of the kids hope to work with their hands, like Rajikou Ibrahima of Niger who wants to be a mechanic.

Or Issouf Konaté of the Fakola Village in Mali who wants to become a chicken farmer.

And get your first look at David Kamaté , age 9, who is just a few decades away from becoming the president of Mali.

But even after photographing dozens of children, some of their responses still catch Tremeau off guard.

"I think about this young girl who said she wanted to be a basket makers, so she can sell baskets and take care of her future children if she has to get married with a drunkard or a irresponsible husband," he told Upworthy.

"When you are still a kid, it is surprising to have such a maturity. But unfortunately this is the reality she lives in too, and she already knew she had to take care of herself, even at this young age," he said.

And for every aspiring teacher, nurse, or president, there are soldiers and diamond collectors.

Their countries are plagued by war and conflict, and many of the young boys in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic hope to become soldiers, not to pillage and destroy, but in the hopes of protecting their families.

12-year-old Patrick of DRC is one of them.

Children also look forward to working in the diamond industry, which employs many people in western and central Africa, but is incredibly dangerous and unforgiving.

Many use makeshift boats to find diamonds in the riverbeds.

This young girl in the CAR even made a paper boat as part of her costume.

But with education and opportunity, these creative, talented kids can turn their dreams and ambitions into reality.

Ibrahim, a young boy in the CAR who wants to be a soldier.

"It is something I deeply believe in," said Tremau, whose parents were both teachers. "Education should be at the center of every priority, even in time of turmoil, so it can change mentalities, and hopefully bring a better future for the next generation."

For years, many children in the region didn't have access to primary education. In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, millions of children remain out of school, as the region struggles to come back after war and continued violence.

But things are turning around. Just ask Francoise, a teenage girl with an infant son, who's determined to become a nurse through hard work in school. She shared her story of resilience with Tremeau.

“My name is Francoise, I am 15 years old, I have a child named Chance. He is 1 year and 4 months old. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I wash my baby’s clothes before I go to school. While I am away, my grand-mother looks after him.
When I go to school, I am not ashamed of anything. But others cannot understand why I am a student while I already have a child.
I tell them that if I study, it is exactly because I want to help my child. Even though others make fun of me, I let them talk and go to school anyway."

Tremeau is continuing his project in other African nations and hopes to expand the series to other continents as well.

"I would be curious to do it in developed countries like in Europe, the U.S. or in Canada and see what comes out of it. We will see if I have the opportunity to," he told Upworthy.

Tremeau is also sharing a picture from his series every day on his Instagram page, where you can find even more pictures and personal stories. And he hopes to put the photographs on exhibit sometime in the next year.

Driver Hassan poses dressed up as a driver, in Carnot, Central African Republic. "I want to go to school so I can learn traffic regulations so I can be a good driver". Photo by @vtremeau Carnot is an isolated city, in Western CAR. Most of the car you can see belongs either to humanitarian organizations or the UN soldiers. It can take days to reach the capital Bangui by road. In 2014, there wasn’t any gas stations in the country anymore, except in the capital. Play the game! Join us on @1day1will and use #1day1will to participate in this project and show that #youngmindsmatter #Africa #CARCrisis #CentralAfricanRepublic #everydayafrica #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #portrait #dressupasthefuture #driver
A photo posted by One Day I Will (@1day1will) on Mar 9, 2016 at 3:55pm PST

Here's to these bright, hopeful young people.

They're on the path to amazing things. And thanks to photographer Vincent Tremeau, we can see and share their stories and work together to encourage their education and push for greater opportunities.

Culture

Fearless 6-year-old skater impresses, dropping into a 12-foot bowl in her pink party dress

It's one thing to see a little kid skateboarding. It's another to see a stereotype-defying little girl skateboarding. And it's entirely another to see Paige Tobin.

Paige is a 6-year-old skateboarding wonder from Australia. A recent video of her dropping into a 12-foot bowl on her has gone viral, both for the feat itself and for the style with which she does it. Decked out in a pink party dress, a leopard-print helmet, and rainbow socks, she looks nothing like you'd expect a skater dropping into a 12-foot bowl to look. And yet, here she is, blowing people's minds all over the place.

For those who may not fully appreciate the impressiveness of this feat, here's some perspective. My adrenaline junkie brother, who has been skateboarding since childhood and who races down rugged mountain faces on a bike for fun, shared this video and commented, "If I dropped in to a bowl twice as deep as my age it would be my first and last time doing so...this fearless kid has a bright future!"

It's scarier than it looks, and it looks pretty darn scary.

Paige doesn't always dress like a princess when she skates, not that it matters. Her talent and skill with the board are what gets people's attention. (The rainbow socks are kind of her signature, however.)

Her Instagram feed is filled with photos and videos of her skateboarding and surfing, and the body coordination she's gained at such a young age is truly something.

Here she was at three years old:

And here she is at age four:

So, if she dropped into a 6-foot bowl at age three and a 12-foot bowl at age six—is there such a thing as an 18-foot bowl for her to tackle when she's nine?

Paige clearly enjoys skating and has high ambitions in the skating world. "I want to go to the Olympics, and I want to be a pro skater," she told Power of Positivity when she was five. She already seems to be well on her way toward that goal.

How did she get so good? Well, Paige's mom gave her a skateboard when she wasn't even preschool age yet, and she loved it. Her mom got her lessons, and she's spent the past three years skating almost daily. She practices at local skate parks and competes in local competitions.

She also naturally has her fair share of spills, some of which you can see on her Instagram channel. Falling is part of the sport—you can't learn if you don't fall. Conquering the fear of falling is the key, and the thing that's hardest for most people to get over.

Perhaps Paige started too young to let fear override her desire to skate. Perhaps she's been taught to manage her fears, or maybe she's just naturally less afraid than other people. Or maybe there's something magical about the rainbow socks. Whatever it is, it's clear that this girl doesn't let fear get in the way of her doing what she wants to do. An admirable quality in anyone, but particularly striking to see in someone so young.

Way to go, Paige. Your perseverance and courage are inspiring, as is your unique fashion sense. Can't wait to see what you do next.

From Your Site Articles

We asked three people about how vaccines have impacted their lives. Here’s what they said.

Images courtesy of John Scully, Walden University, Ingrid Scully

True

Since March of 2020, over 29 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the CDC. Over 540,000 have died in the United States as this unprecedented pandemic has swept the globe. And yet, by the end of 2020, it looked like science was winning: vaccines had been developed.

In celebration of the power of science we spoke to three people: an individual, a medical provider, and a vaccine scientist about how vaccines have impacted them throughout their lives. Here are their answers:

John Scully, 79, resident of Florida

Photo courtesy of John Scully

When John Scully was born, America was in the midst of an epidemic: tens of thousands of children in the United States were falling ill with paralytic poliomyelitis — otherwise known as polio, a disease that attacks the central nervous system and often leaves its victims partially or fully paralyzed.

"As kids, we were all afraid of getting polio," he says, "because if you got polio, you could end up in the dreaded iron lung and we were all terrified of those." Iron lungs were respirators that enclosed most of a person's body; people with severe cases often would end up in these respirators as they fought for their lives.

John remembers going to see matinee showings of cowboy movies on Saturdays and, before the movie, shorts would run. "Usually they showed the news," he says, "but I just remember seeing this one clip warning us about polio and it just showed all these kids in iron lungs." If kids survived the iron lung, they'd often come back to school on crutches, in leg braces, or in wheelchairs.

"We all tried to be really careful in the summer — or, as we called it back then, 'polio season,''" John says. This was because every year around Memorial Day, major outbreaks would begin to emerge and they'd spike sometime around August. People weren't really sure how the disease spread at the time, but many believed it traveled through the water. There was no cure — and every child was susceptible to getting sick with it.

"We couldn't swim in hot weather," he remembers, "and the municipal outdoor pool would close down in August."

Then, in 1954 clinical trials began for Dr. Jonas Salk's vaccine against polio and within a year, his vaccine was announced safe. "I got that vaccine at school," John says. Within two years, U.S. polio cases had dropped 85-95 percent — even before a second vaccine was developed by Dr. Albert Sabin in the 1960s. "I remember how much better things got after the vaccines came out. They changed everything," John says.

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