Storybook, a new documentary series following the lives of children in developing countries, was launched yesterday by RTÉ.
Radio presenter Tom Dunne, comedian Colin Murphy, Euro-starwinner Lucia Evans and Kathy Sheridan of The Irish Timesparticipated in the series.
It aims to "raise awareness about the real challenges that children face every day in developing countries".
Each episode tells the story of one specific child. In Ms Sheridan's case, she spent time with an 11-year-old girl who lives and works on the Phnom Penh dump in Cambodia.
Ms Sheridan said of her experience, "The bustling tourist scene provided a context in which the utter degradation of how some people live could be shown.
"Seeing around that municipal dump will never leave me.
"As soon as lorries dumped rubbish, children would scramble to claim the best of it, looking for items such as plastic spoons and metal objects.
"With their sacks and hooks, they basically combed through the detritus left by the rest of humanity."
She believes that many of Cambodia's problems can be traced back to the influence exerted by former prime minister Saloth Sar, better-known as Pol Pot.
"A lot of Cambodia's problems stem from Pol Pot's regime and the atrocities committed during this period," she said.
However, Ms Sheridan was keen to point out that the series is not "an unrelenting catalogue of misery".
She added that it is also uplifting in parts, such as those moments in Lucia Evans's episode where she deals with human rights in Burkina Faso, a country in which women are viewed as second-class citizens.