Fatma recently turned 16 and is the youngest of three children. She lives in Zanzibar with both her parents whom she looks up to with great admiration. Fatma is first in her class hopes to become a pediatrician and focus on helping children with malaria. Fatma has an inquisitive nature, brilliant work ethic, and continual yearning to learn.
Fatma understands the problems facing Zanzibar and appreciates the tourism it receives as it boosts their economy. More insightful is the fact she realizes how tourism can bridge the gap between Zanzibar and the rest of the world. Her desire to learn from other cultures is shown by her ambition to visit China. Here she wishes to learn their different culture and observe how the students there differ from those in Zanzibar.
Increases in access to education among girls accounted for a decline of 43 percent in the malnutrition rates between 1970 and 1995.