The other top 9 finalists: Child Rights Award 2009

1. "For the Special Coverage of Children and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"
Production company: Sanyo Broadcasting Company (Japan)
Synopsis - The report examines the impact of the Gaza war from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009 on the lives of the Palestinian children who lived through the conflict.

2. "Skylark"
Production company: NTV Production (Mongolia)
Synopsis - 10 year old Surdaa looks after her family of 5 people, including her mom who is disabled, her grandpa, 3 year old sister and another sister with a mental disability. She supports them by collecting coal and selling it in the street.

3. "The Pearl Report: Our Parents Are Prisoners"
Production company: Television Broadcasts Limited (Hong Kong)
Synopsis - When a parent goes to prison, children are often left to fend for themselves or must live in the prison with their parents. In Mainland China, there are more than 600,000 such prisoners. The Pearl Report visits an orphanage in Fuzhou, Fujian province, where 80 percent of the kids are there because their parents are in jail. And even though they seem well cared for, the scars and stigma of having criminal parents, may never be erased.

4. "Sunday Report: The AIDS Orphans of China"
Production company: Television Broadcasts Limited (Hong Kong)
Synopsis - In the early 1990s, among the poor families in central China, selling blood for money was a common practice. The "blood plasma economy" resulted in the spread of the HIV virus through the use of dirty needles and contaminated blood. One after another, the infected succumbed to AIDS and many died, leaving behind a large number of orphans. the decision to sell blood not only claimed their lives but also brought misfortunes to their offspring.

5. "Children of a Nation"
Production company: Giving Voice (New Zealand)
Synopsis - A child from Asia's poorest country, Timor Leste, is able to attend a private school because of a New Zealand sponsor. The sponsor learns that the girl and her family have been forced to abandon their home and flee as violence escalates in Dili. Set amongst the chaos of youth gang fighting in 2006 that forced tens of thousands of East Timorese families to flee their
homes, an inspired East Timorese teacher develops a vision for the children in her school. Sister Aurora Pires, along with New Zealand teacher Anne Fisher, trains teachers to nurture their young students so they can heal wounds and break the cycle of trauma. This is also the universal story of the needs of all children in every culture.

6. "The Place We Can Call Home"
Production company: The Sapporo Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Synopsis - Ten years ago, to save its junior high school from closure due to the declining population, a town on Rishri island started a homestay program. The programme follows the lives of three students from inner cities, who shared a year with loving foster families and helpful island friends.

7. "Walk Towards Hope"
Production company: SAMAA TV (Pakistan)
Synopsis - Pakistan is one of only four remaining countries in the world where Polio still exists and the disease threatens to cross national borders and affect other countries in the region. The documentary highlights the basic rights of every child to be immunized against this crippling disease.

8. "Stateless Children: What Will Happen When I Grow Up"
Production company: TNN24- True Visions Channel 7 (Thailand)
Synopsis - The documentary reports about the situation of stateless children from the border district of Mae-Ai, Thailand, close to the Myanmar border.

9. "Children With No Home Address"
Production company: Education Channel Television (Mongolia)
Synopsis - The programme is based on a real life story about a boy who is abandoned by his family and ends up living in a hospital for children with mental illnesses. After seeing this programme, an international non-governmental organisation extended its help to the boy, and brought an immense positive change to his life.