When the schoolchildren wake up to the first rays of sunshine, the temperature is already over 30 degrees. They live in the Danakil desert in northeast Ethiopia, near an active volcano, in a region which is the world's hottest on average. Amongst these children are 6-year-old Looita and his sister Khadiga.

Every morning, the three sisters climb into their log-boat 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.

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. Because the sun has softened the ice on parts of the river's surface, he can't trust the ice everywhere.

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 the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental. This is the home of his people, the Rarámuri. These indigenous peoples live hidden in the mountains and have hardly any contact with the outside world.

They live in Papua New Guinea, an island in the Pacific Ocean, in the middle of one of the world's largest rain-forests. And some of them take a route to school which will blow your mind. That's 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.