LEXIE MURRAY,
AUSTRALIA
What is your favourite thing
to do after school? Mum will
hate me for saying this, but I love
watching TV. I also like after-school
activities like netball, gym, hip-hop
and cheerleading (that’s my uniform
in the photo). What do you want to
do when you grow up? Go to New
York. My friends and I are all going
to live there together. Tell me a time
that made you feel sad? I only got
to say eight lines in my recent school
production. To stop feeling sad I
decided to learn my lines really well
and do the best I could. What do you
love most about yourself? Everything.
But most of all I like that I’m funny!MARIKA SHIMIZU,
JAPAN
What are you excited to do
when you grow up? I want to
research the human body, how
the brain works. Who do you love
in your family? I like my hamster.
When she sleeps she bends her
body and makes this shape, like
a donut. Tell me about a time
that made you feel sad? I don’t
normally have upsetting things.
But today I wanted to go shopping
and Mum said, “No, we want to
relax at home.” So I was upset.SOPHIE SWINGLER,
USA
Who do you love most in your
family? Anna! Anna is four years
old. The best part of being a big
sister is I get to take care of her,
and she’s always depending on
me. What is your favourite thing
to do after school? Theatre. I like
to be in front of everybody, and I
like to sing and dance. What do
you want to be when you grow
up? I want to be a designer for
clothes or maybe an actress.MARIAM SAIDI, KENYA
What activity makes you happiest? I like to play football
with my friends. I play in my school shoes as I don’t have
football shoes. What do you want to be when you grow
up? I want to be a doctor, so that I can earn money but
also help people. What are you excited to do when
you’re older? I would like to have my own house. I’m not
thinking about boys as I am focused on my studies but if
I do get married, I don’t want to stay at home and not go to
work. What do you love about yourself? My good figure!DID YOU KNOW31
million
primary school
aged girls
currently do not
attend schoolˆDASHA (DARIA)
LEONTIEVA,
UKRAINE
What do you want to be
when you grow up? I might
work in IT or be a stewardess.
Stewardesses are beautiful and
they go everywhere. What are
you excited to do when
you’re older? I want to have
a rich husband, a small panda,
and a big apartment. What is
your favourite subject? I like
nature-study because I love
animals and sometimes my
teacher brings some to class.
What makes you sad? I miss
Gorlovka [her home town] and
our house. We left two years
ago when the war began.ˆUNSTATS.UN.ORG. COMPILED BY DANIELA ELSER66 marieclaire.com.auSpecial report