Today, four siblings whose birth drew international attention 16 years ago celebrate their birthday after defying the gloomy odds of a multiple birth.

To mark the occasion, siblings Marjani, Dakarai, Raziya and Makiri Smith will spend the day watching brother Dakarai, under 18 Boulevard Blazers player, in a match at BAA field and with friends.

For mother Robin Smith, the anniversary is not without poignant thoughts about son Makesi, who died at 21 months from complications relating to the premature birth.

They were delivered successfully at Howard University in Washington, DC, in 1991, amid media frenzy and an army of doctors, who had never seen such a birth since the 1960s.

They are instantly recognisable on the Island and are Bermuda's only remaining survivors of a quintuplet birth.

According to kidshealth.org, during the past two decades, there's been a phenomenal rise in the number of multiple births in the United States.

Between 1980 and 1997, the number of twin births increased by 52 percent and the number of births involving three or more babies has quadrupled.

An increase in the use of fertility drugs, the organisation states, is responsible for this dramatic rise in multiple births, which have a one in 25 million chance of occurring. Overall, the two brothers and two sisters are thankful for just being alive and equally, for all of the things others might take for granted.

After their performance at the Berkeley Institute started to sway, it was decided to send Raziya and Makiri off to boarding school in Florida, having started in September.

"It's very different," explains Raziya about her boarding school experience, "because you're not home with your family and I'm not out there with my siblings, except for one of my brothers."

Makiri echoed her sentiments: "There's a lot more opportunity out there in terms of what you can do — there's a lot of new things you can do, academically and making friends."

Marjani and Dakarai are being home-schooled by their mother, who recently earned a Master's Degree in reading and is also a reading teacher at Francis Patton Primary School.

All have plans on attending college. Dakarai, a passionate footballer, said he wants to be an entrepreneur. Makiri, hasn't decided yet, Raziya, a paediatric nurse and Marjani, a dental assistant.

Despite the siblings' commonalities, each has their own personality, added Mrs. Smith: "Dakarai is very humble and reserved in his actions.

"Marjani is very outgoing and likes to have a lot of fun; Raziya, I'd say is very outgoing as well, a real people person, independent and Makiri, he's pretty shy and humble as well."

Certainly, raising one child in Bermuda is costly enough nowadays, but raising four children at once is exceptionally costly — an issue Mrs. Smith is often questioned by others about.

"Having to purchase everything times four; four blazers for school, four pairs of shoes, four times the price of one, was not an easy thing to do," she pointed out. "As far as college for the each of them, I just ponder about it as far as how I will make out sending four children off to university but I would like all four of them to go."

Mrs. Smith, married to father Troy Smith, highlighted the mere fact the children are celebrating their 16th birthday is a blessing from God, who she believes never puts more on one's shoulders than they can handle.

She reflected: "When we were having them, the doctor told us that lots of times with quintuplet births, they only live for an hour, or two and would all pass away – it was a really high risk.

"To see these guys here at 16-years-old is a real blessing that they're still here and strong because it's the fittest of the fit that survive."