Erlen is 14 years old and is pregnant for the third time. She lives in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her home is a small shack. She usually sleeps on the floor, but now that she is in the later stages of her pregnancy, her mother has swapped places and allowed her to sleep in the bed. Erlen was twelve when she first became pregnant, but her baby was stillborn. A year later, she lost a second baby soon after its birth. If her new baby survives, Erlen is unlikely to return to school as she will need to stay at home to look after it. She will be a single parent. Erlen would like to be a vet when she is older, and to live somewhere else.
Tzvika is nine years old and lives in Beitar Illit, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is a gated community of thirty-six thousand Haredi (Orthodox) Jews. Televisions and newspapers are banned from the settlement. The average family has nine children, but Tzvika has just one sister and two brothers, with whom he shares his room. Tzvika wants to become a rabbi when he is older. He also likes to play religious games on his computer. His favourite food is schnitzel and chips
Joey lives in Kentucky with his parents and older sister. He is 11 years old. He regularly accompanies his father on hunts. He owns two shotguns and a crossbow and made his first kill—a deer—at the age of seven. He is hoping to use his crossbow during the next hunting season as he has become tired of using a gun. When he is not out hunting, Joey attends school and enjoys watching television with his pet bearded dragon lizard, Lily.
Maria lives in Mexico City with her parents and older sister. Their home has three storeys and is set around a courtyard, behind security gates. The family has taken security very seriously ever since one of her cousins was kidnapped by a gang. Maria is 12 years old and attends a private school. Maria enjoys socializing with her friends at school but does not like working hard. Her hobbies include all types of dance—tap, ballet, Irish—but she would like to be a professional jazz dancer one day. Maria has two stereos, an iPod, a cellphone and her own private doorbell outside her room.
Indira lives with her parents, brother and sister near Kathmandu in Nepal. Her house has only one room, with one bed and one mattress. At bedtime, the children share the mattress on the floor. Indira is seven years old and has worked at the local granite quarry since she was three. Indira works five or six hours a day and then helps her mother with household chores. Her favourite food is noodles. She also attends school, which is 30 minutes' walk away. She does not mind working at the quarry but would prefer to be playing.
Alyssa lives with her parents in Kentucky. She is an only child but her grandmother, uncle, and orphaned cousin live close by. Their small, shabby house, heated only by a wooden stove, is falling apart. The ceiling in Alyssa's bedroom is beginning to cave in. The family would like to buy a trailer if they could afford it. Alyssa's mother works at McDonald's and her father works at Walmart; everything they earn goes towards bringing up their daughter.
Jaime is nine years old. He lives in a top-floor apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York. His parents also own luxury homes in Spain and in the Hamptons. He has a younger brother and sister who are twins. In his spare time, apart from playing the cello and kickball, Jaime likes to study his finances on the Citibank website. When he grows up, he would like to be a lawyer like his father.
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