The Survivors Guide to Growing Up - Series One
SERIES FOR THE BBC - 11 x 23-minutes

A brand new series which looks at what it takes to survive childhood. These are very personal stories of children who have often experienced difficult and painful situations, plus their hopes and their fears for the future. They're also uplifting - these are the people who made it and their stories serve as examples to others. Each film gives a detailed look at our survivor's life to build a character of interest and sympathy. The programme examines all aspects of their lives, including their family, work, school, and their community. Each story is the starting point for exploring much bigger issues.

Tanzania: Returning Home
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 594

Watch Video
Thousands of the children caught up in Burundi's tragic civil war fled to Tanzania. Many are now making the return journey, many as orphans. What will they find? Returning Home follows the painful and emotional journey of Vanise, who has been away from her country and parents for 13 years. Taken in by other Burundians, she has lived in Congo and then Tanzania, as a refugee since she was 10. However, the time has come for Vanise to go home, and be reunited with her family and friends in Burundi. However Vanise has mixed feelings about retuning home.

Uganda: Annabella's Story
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 595

Watch Video
Uganda has been hit hard by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, the country is now fighting back and the number of Ugandans infected has dropped from 15% to 6%. Part of this can be attributed to access to ARV's, particularly for children. Recently Annabella was told she had HIV. Her mother was ill and her father died of AIDS shortly after. Luckily both Annabella and her mother have had access to ARV's, meaning that they are able to carry on with life as normal. Without these her mother would not be able to work in the fields and feed her family and Annabella would not be able to help when her mother is not feeling up to it. Annabella can go to school and carry on learning, and contemplate having a baby that is HIV free. Without these drugs Annabella, and many people like her, have little hope.

USA/Kenya: Against the Odds
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 585

Watch Video (Part One) (Part Two)
Against the Odds is an extraordinary story about an extraordinary woman. Ten years ago Kakenya was living in a small Masai village nine hours from Nairobi, with no running water, no electricity and no education. Like many of her friends she should have been married in her teens. Instead she challenged the male dominated traditions in her village. She made an unusual deal with her father to win her education: she agreed to be circumcised first. Now she is studying for a PhD in the USA and plans to build a school for girls in her village in Kenya. Against the Odds follows Kakenya from America back to her village in Kenya, where she is visiting her family for the first time in two years.

Cameroon: Child Labour
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 596

Watch Video
Many children in Africa have to work or their families will starve. Often they work long hours alongside their parents. Etienne Babila survived two years of working in the cocoa plantations of Cameroon, but he is one of the lucky few. He and his family received help from the International Labour organisation to help get Etienne out of work and back to school. There are estimates of up to a quarter of a million children being used in dangerous exploitative labour across West Africa, this removes a child's right to an education and an adult's right to work. Child Labour meets Etienne as he tells NGO worker, Julius Fonboh about the ordeals he went through, and what life holds for him and his family now he is away from the fields and his parents have been helped to start their own business.

Zambia: We are what we eat
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 597

Watch Video
A third of the world is starving. Every day 16,000 children die through hunger. It's often not just a simple lack of food. Many children who battle against hunger have to deal with chronic under-nourishment and vitamin and mineral starvation, sometimes leading to blindness. Experts believe improving food by adding vitamins and minerals is one of the most successful ways of fighting the effects of hunger and starvation. But does it work? We are what we eat takes Margary, mother of five, and shows how fighting hunger is a day to day struggle, and how without those vital nutrients, her children's lives are at risk.

Ireland: Castle of Hope
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 598

Watch Video
Barretstown Centre in Ireland provides specialist relief and treatment for children suffering from often terminal diseases. Many travel to the centre for the last days of their young lives. Over the years Barretstown has helped children from across Europe, including Beslan and Chernobyl. Castle of Hope follows Ray Cronin, a 17-year old boy from England who has had leukaemia. The cancer in now in remission and he had arrived at Barretstown to rediscover the time he has lost and have some fun.

Bangladesh: Living Dangerously
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 599

Watch Video
Every year in Bangladesh at least 30,000 children die through accidents and almost a quarter are drownings. But burns, traffic accidents and electrocution are also common causes of childhood deaths and injuries. Families regard these tragedies simply as a fact of life. This is the story of nine-year old Shahnaz whose cousin died while they were out playing in a local pond. This common fact of life is slowly being changed. Simple measures such as swimming lessons and a crèche for young children means that people like Shahnaz can play safely without putting themselves in danger.

Malawi: Relative Values
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 600

Watch Video
In many parts of Malawi girls have a very low social status. In the more traditional communities, such as amongst the Yao people, young girls and boys go through initiation rites as they move into adulthood. In some cases girls are forced to have sex with older men as part of this, and often girls as young as 11 are married off to escape poverty. As a result they are especially vulnerable to early pregnancy and HIV. Relative Values meets 16 year-old Ajamia who had a child by her stepfather. She lived with him to escape poverty, doing the job of a servant. Ajamia's stepfather, who is four times her age, sees nothing wrong with their relationship. Against the background of initiation rites that are taking place at the time of filming, Relative Values explores the struggle between cultural traditions and female health and wellbeing.

India: Sharmila's Journey
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 601

Watch Video
 Although there is a huge and growing appetite for greater education in India, girls are still getting a raw deal. In the state of Bihar, for example, a large proportion of girls simply don't bother with school and are often married off to older men, often suffering violence and abuse as a result. The Mahila Samakhya schools have been created to change that. Learning skills such as karate, how to ride a bike and weaving, as well as the traditional subjects, girls learn to fend for themselves and earn a living. This film joins Sharmila, a 25 year old dalit,
or untouchable, who 9 years ago could not read or write. Now she can do all of that and more. She owns her own house and land, helping her family, and teaching young girls who will go on to attend a Mahila Samakhya school.

Ethiopia and Bednets (fighting malaria)
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 602

Watch Video
Malaria is primarily a disease of the young and of the poor, many of them children who live in remote areas with no easy access to health services. Most malarial deaths in Africa are among children. Nearly 3,000 die each day. But the use of simple prevention and control methods has shown startling results. Trials conducted in The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Ghana, the use of bed nets treated with biodegradable pyrethroid insecticide have proved to be highly effective in protecting sleeping children from malarial mosquitoes. The results have been dramatic. In children under five the number of deaths in some of these areas has been reduced by a quarter. In Ethiopia Fatumo knows all about Malaria, having lost two children to it. Following her heartbreaking story of how this deadly disease has affected her, we learn how these new bednets can save future children and families in Africa.

HIV Stigma in Nigeria
23-minutes, 2007
Ref: 603

Watch Video
Gloria was diagnosed with HIV when she was 13. She is now 18 and trying to live a normal life. However, being HIV positive in a country like Nigeria is an uphill struggle. Facing hostility from her mother, church, community and education, Gloria has had to drop out of university in order to pay for her medication. This film looks at the problems that HIV positive people face, in order to live like any other person, and how they are speaking out against stigma to try and overcome it.