Over 100 million children worldwide have never spent a day in school. One in four does not complete even five years of basic education. Now, 182 nations have promised to provide access to free and compulsory education for every child in the world—by 2015. To test the reality of that sweeping commitment, this Wide Angle installment profiles children in Japan, Kenya, Benin, Brazil, Romania, Afghanistan, and India who have managed to enroll in the first year of primary school—in most cases despite great odds. Exploring cultural comparisons from viewpoints that are too often overlooked, this program offers an in-depth study of the lives of young people in widely differing circumstances, as each one takes a hopeful first step into an uncertain future.