Every year, thousands of children travel to Casablanca from far-flung shantytowns. Living rough, many fall prey to sexual exploitation and cruelty. It is a problem the government prefers to ignore, but there are some local people brave enough to stand up and make a difference.

Cleto Choque is a Bolivian shoeshiner who's fighting the negative stereotypes surrounding his profession. As he struggles to pay his way through school and support his younger brothers, he's being helped by the Nuevo Dia Foundation.

The Australia-Pacific Technical College's vocational training centers in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuata are helping Pacific Islanders improve their employment opportunities at home and abroad. But the ultimate aim is to make the system self-sufficient by training local instructors to replace the Australian tutors.

Thanks to Brother Andrew de Carpentier, deaf children in Jordan have a place of their own to learn. In addition to academic and vocational training, the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf matches up younger children with older mentors to foster a spirit of self-assurance that helps them grow into confident and independent adults. 

In cooperation with UNICEF, monks in Northern Thailand are implementing sustainable, low-cost, community-based programs that help local people whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. 

In Namibia, a training program funded by the UN is helping local people learn new skills and start small businesses. Each dollar earned is another small step toward achieving the Millennium Development Goal of eliminating poverty. 

In Mumbai, thousands of young girls are forced into the sex trade against their will after being kidnapped or sold by their families. This film documents the work of the Rescue Foundation, which searches out imprisoned girls, and provides a refuge for them after their escape.