Life is tough for the 800,000 children under the age of fifteen living in Lesotho; nearly one in three of them is an orphan, and few can expect to live more than 40 years. These child have very poor life opportunities. Most have to walk two hours to school and the same back, often arriving at school unable to concentrate due to malnourishment. On their return from school many are required to look after sick parents in addition to other chores such as collecting sticks for firewood and replenishing water supplies.

Many of the older children head up households and drop out of school to provide for their younger siblings and, inevitably, children caring for children impacts on their psychological development and wellbeing, not least because such children are unlikely to address the health issues of the younger children in a country where access to to health facilities is already scant.

And as these Lesotho children grow up, they face a real risk of their country facing extinction as AIDS ravages the population of just over 2,000,000. A quarter of all adults have HIV/AIDS and half of all women in the country are infected. Just as disturbing, it is estimated that 12,000 Lesotho children have the virus, not least because 30% of boys report that they have had sex before the age of 15yrs compared with 6% in developed countries. Such sex is often with older, unprotected partners.

Many Lesotho children are also being abandoned on the streets. Save the Children in Lesotho reported that relatives are either incapable of looking after them or do not want to be "overburdened by someone's HIV-positive child who is going to die anyway". Many of these children end up living on the streets placing themselves at risk of abuse and sexual exploitation. This video documentary explores the challenges children in Lesotho face and work programs undertaken to address those needs.