This is My World is a series of ten 12-minute episodes about children aged 5-12, living in Asia whose definition of home ranges from a polluted river, to a makeshift shack by the main road, to a huge house by a beautiful lake up in the mountains.

There are 2.2 billion children in the world, 1.9 living in developing countries with 1 billion of them living in poverty and most others under conditions very different from those of children in occidental countries. This series wants to let young viewers know how the others really live. From their living conditions to issues such as pollution, water shortage, exploitation of children and unusual marriage customs, we see life through their eyes and realize that they too have dreams of making a better life for themselves and their families.

1) I Live In a Train Station (Indonesia)
Meet a young boy and his monkey from a small village in Indonesia as they entertain commuters on the train by performing tricks in exchange for a few treats. Find out how he and other street buskers like him live day by day, with little food and meager earnings. 

2) I Live By the River (Northern India)
Meet a child who grew up along the Yamuna River in Northern India – one of the most polluted rivers in the world. He talks about how poverty has forced some people in the community to forage for coins on the river bed, thrown there as a sign of respect for the river goddess.  

3) I Live in a Busy City (Philippines) 
Meet a girl from the Philippines as she leads you through the busy streets of the country’s capital of Manila. Get a taste of the locals’ favourite soya bean curd snack, see remnants of Spanish rule through the old churches and horse drawn carriages, and take a ride in one of the many jeepneys plying the roads.  

4) I Live By a Beautiful Lake (China)
Meet a dreamy-eyed girl from Yunnan province in China as she shares what it’s like to be part of the Mosuo tribe – one of the few remaining matriarchal societies in the world. Learn about a special ceremony that declares one an adult, see how boys court girls, and join a lively traditional dance around a bonfire.

5) I Live in the Mountains (China)
Meet a boy who is a native of China’s Yunnan province. Hear about the peculiar courting and marriage rituals of the Yi and Wa tribes, one of the least known people in the world. Sugar cane, bananas and salt as a sign of friendship? Find out how they communicate mostly through objects, since they do not have a written language.   

6) I Live in the Slums (India)
Meet a curious young lady living in India’s largest slum area, Dharavi. Follow her around as she introduces you to the people in her neighbourhood – like the potters’ colony making huge water jars, the embroidery masters working on beautiful sarees, and the leather makers producing quality handbags. Find out too how they manage to survive with only 1 toilet for every 1500 people.

7) I Live By the Train Tracks (Philippines)
Meet a bright and talented child from the Philippines. Listen in as she sings her heart out – to earn a little money along the train tracks, or to get a shot at stardom by joining amateur singing contests. Find out why singing has become so ingrained in the country’s culture.

8) I Live in the Desert (India)
Meet a precocious little girl from Rajasthan in India. Watch her traverse a tightrope as she explains how the women in her village walk hours and hours everyday just to fetch water from a faraway well. Find out how they manage to balance the jars of water in their heads and stand firm against the obstacles that life and society throws at them.  

9) I Live on the Streets (Indonesia)
Meet a streetwise young boy who begs for money on the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia. Find out how he and his friends live in makeshift houses along the sidewalks, see how they work the streets, and hear him talk about his hopes and dreams for a better future.

10) I Live Next to a Padi Field (Indonesia)
Meet a boy who grew up in the rice fields of Java, Indonesia. Experience what it’s like to run around open spaces and play to your heart’s content. See also how Mother Nature can take all these away as he tells us about a mud volcano that has wiped out towns similar to his – covering houses with mud and destroying schools in the area.