Every morning, the three sisters Julia, Yulissa and Kenya climb into their dugout in order to row to school. They live on the east coast of Nicaragua, one of the world’s poorest countries, and the youngest of them has just turned five; the oldest is nine. They row across the Rio Escondido. Not only is it one of the largest rivers in the country, it is simultaneously one of the most dangerous routes to school. While they have to watch out for snakes lurking in the trees over the river, the three sisters also struggle against the current and must ensure the dugout does not fill up with water - because it has multiples holes and could sink at any minute. Other classmates do not necessarily have it easier, because they live far from the river - and their journey to school takes them through the deep jungle...

The ice covering the river is treacherous and ever-changing in appearance. Despite this, Tuguldur has to find a suitable point at which to cross the river. The 10-year-old nomadic boy rides his horse alone to school and each time must cross the frozen Tunkhel river in the north of Mongolia. His school day begins in the afternoon. Because the sun has softened the ice on some parts of the river’s surface, he cannot trust the ice everywhere. One wrong decision and his horse could slip on the ice - with him on its back - or break through into the cold water below. Even if he were to remain unhurt in such a situation, little Tuguldur would not manage to get back on the horse’s saddle by himself. For nomadic Mongolian girl Delgertsetseg, the route to school is equally difficult. The 12-year-old starts school early, when the thermometer at her home shows -30 degrees Celsius...

Every Monday, little Lorenzo struggles alone as he makes his way over slippery scree and past steep canyons. And all this just so he can go to school and receive something to eat there. The 6-year-old lives in northwest Mexico in the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental. This is the home of his people, the Rarámuri. These indigenous peoples live well-hidden in the mountains and have hardly any contact with the outside world. Their daily lives revolve around agriculture and livestock; poverty is a big issue for the Rarámuri. To escape this fate, Lorenzo must literally overcome more than 1.000 metres altitude. One small lapse of concentration, one careless step and Lorenzo could fall off the edge....

When the schoolchildren wake up to the first rays of sunshine, the temperature is already over 30 degrees Celsius. They live in the Danakil desert in northeast Ethiopia, near an active volcano, in a region that is the world’s hottest on average. Amongst these children are 6-year-old Looita and his sister Khadiga. Their route to school, which is many kilometres long, takes these children of the Afar tribe over jagged earth, over seemingly endless lengths, and every day they are confronted with much more than just the astounding heat. Not one shadow offers coolness; water is a rare and expensive commodity. Even if a breath of wind blows through the desert it most often quickly evolves into a sandstorm, the grains of which temporarily blind the children and whip at their skin. The very young schoolchildren deal with this until they finally reach their destination: school. But it isn’t over yet. There is still plenty of danger to come...

They live in Papua New Guinea, an island in the Pacific Ocean, in the middle of one of the world’s largest rainforests. And some of them take a route to school which will blow your mind. That is certainly the case for 8-year-old Junior and his cousin Ruth. Their journey in the so-called ‘Land of 1000 Rivers’ is a five-day one which leads the students through jungles, in which new and unique animals are continuously being discovered, and in whose branches the notorious green tree python lurks. For the children these snakes are not just a threat but also a delicacy, because they hunt their own food every day, as well as climb steep mountainsides and cross countless rivers. Their journey to school is too risky to tackle alone; that is why father Michael accompanies his son and niece on this adventure...

The children from Madibago in the southern Philippines have one of the most spectacular and dangerous ways to school in the world. Some walk alone through the jungle for hours, others risk their lives, in order to make it past a steep face of rock and boulders, overgrown with moss and tree roots.

In northern Colombia, more than 180 miles north of Medellín, the landscape is marked by water and seemingly endless expanses. Every day, the children who live there face this rough, unpredictable wilderness - with just one goal in mind: making it to school. Because this is their chance to break out of poverty and create a better life. Like the ten year old Kendys and the other schoolchildren.

The Yungas Valley in Bolivia: a unique landscape, where the Andes Mountains meet the Amazon Rain Forest. In this remote section of one of the poorest countries in South America, children have a very long and incredible dangerous walk to school ahead of them. All for one goal: education - for a better life.