Childhood can be tough wherever you live but in Burundi nearly one fifth of all children up to the age of 14 are orphans, one of the highest rates in the world, mainly due to the Burundi civil war and AIDS. Of these 600,000 orphans just a few thousand live in official orphanages, the rest living on the streets or land, as head of child households with a small group of these children living with families other than their own. Living outside an orphanage significantly reduces these children's willingness and ability to attend school or receive appropriate health care.

Many of these orphans go on to become 'former street children'; a term used once the child has reached adulthood where they may remain on the streets, often with addiction problems, unable to find work or establish normal relationships. Only early intervention, equipping these children with a warm and caring secure environment together with an education, can break this cycle and offer some hope for the future. This video explores the challenges faced by these Burundi orphans and the work undertaken with some of them.