Kids For Real series

California’s Central Valley is the country’s heartland but it also has a poverty rate nearly double that of the rest of the state. In this final installment in our Kids For Real series, 10 year-old Ramiro gives us a first-hand look at how his family copes with hunger.

Nearly one million children in California are without health insurance. Each has a family and a story. This one is Alex’s.

In hospitals and doctors’ offices across the state, children are often asked to translate complex and sometimes embarrassing medical information to their parents or family members. Two siblings, ages 10 and 12, describe their experience interpreting for their mother.