♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ young acrobats sail through

the air. clowns coax laughter from the crowd. a troupe of girls shows off their incredible flexibility. this circus performance is being held in a city in northern mongolia. it's a shohow from a group know locally as the street kids circus. just over a decade ago, life for the performers looked very different. half of the circus were street children living in extreme poverty in the dark sewers below the city. the children were taken in by the owners of the circus, a pair with over 15 years' experience working in circuses around europe.

they used f ed their savings to the children and began teaching them circus skills as a sort of physical training. >> this time on "asia insight," we meet the kids escaped the streets for the circus and the couple who stood behind them.

about 200 kilometers north of april call ewe lulaanbaatar lie mongol mongolia's third-largest city, dahhan. home to around 120,000 people, dahhan is known for its industry. aid from the ussr in the 1960s helped build a host of iron and steel factories. a theater in the center of darhan is where the circus trains.

the group's official name translates to "the good children's circus club." the group is made up of 30 performers aged between 8 and 25. nearly half of them are former street children. the circus focuses on three types of performance. juggling performances using balls and clubs. contortion where performers twist their bodies into astonishing shapes. and acrobatics where the members show off their incredible strength and skill without the help of trampolines. 15-year-old munkbayar has amazing balance. he's been learning these skills since he was 3.

holding him up is his 21-year-old brother otogonoyun. the leader of the acrobat team is his other brother munkhtur, who's 25. between training, the brothers head into the city. 12 years ago, they lived on the street. their parents had no work or home and couldn't afford food. this is the neighborhood where the brothers would often go begging.

the sewer where they once lived still exists. there's a small area below the manhole. sewewer pipes give off a n nast stench. but hot water pipes keep the space at around 15 degrees celsius even in winter. in the winter the average low in mongolia is minus 20, and can

drop as far as minus 40. cities have central heating that requires pipes to carry hot water to offices and apartments. this is tumur, the head of the circus. he was born in darkhan in 1970. he met his wife b achatsetseg w they joined a national circus school in ulaanbaatar.

at the time only one in every 50 applicants was admitted to the school. the two both studies in the ussr, a hub of circus culture. they became elite performers with a bright future. they married in 1991, two years after graduating. but it was a time of instability in ththe regn a as thehe ussr collapsed, and mongolia ended nearly 70 years of socialism.m. one after the other firms went bankrupt and unemployment are soed. they used connections to find work in a european circus and left mongolia. for the next 15 years they performed in switzerland, the uk, spain, and other countries.

in 2005, they returned for the first time in six years. it was then that they discovered the plight of mongolia's street kids. at the time, cities like ulaanbaatar and darkhan were overflowing with children living on the street. some had been abandoned by their families due to extreme povertr. others s had escaped alcohololi abusive parents. they banded together and started living in the sewers.

tumur and his wife began to discuss ways to help darkhan's street kids. they spent the free time they had walking around the city and talking to the children. the couple were both christians and they borrowed a corner of their church to start a circus school. the kids had no opportunity to do physical exercise in the streets or sewers. they learned the circus skills for fun. the school served the children

food and kids with no home or who feared returning to their parents slept at the church or at the couple's house. they used their savings from their time in europe to fund the operation. however, many local residents were critical of their work. tsengel is 20 and also the circus' top juggler. he met tomuru and his wife one

winter when he was just 8 years old and living in a sewer.

living in the cramped and unhygienic sewer caused the boy to develop a slight malformation in his legs. he decided to focus on juggling instead. he lives with another member of the circus.

their home unless the basement of an apartment block. he lives together with a boy he knew on the streets together his parents. many blocks in mongolia will rent out a basement for free in return for the residents cleaning the stairs and public areas and taking out the trash. the group has continually held performances ever since tomuru

and his wife opened the school. in 2011, after six years in operation, they began formally operating as a professional circus. but the group has always struggled with funding. their current rehearsal space is provided to them for free by the theater manager who wants to support the group. they perform 20 times a year, mostly charity visits to children's homes. from which they rarely take home a profit. tomuru and his wife have already used up almost all of their savings.

the members have many other handmade props. acrobats train their balance atop round, unstable objects. the troupe uses cheap plastic pipes meant for plumbing. the girls' hula hoops are also handma handmade. they take a 2.5-meter section of plastic hose normally used for underfloor heating, bend it into a loop, and cover it in gold tape. everyone still eats together once a day in the practice room.

the meal consists of soup and bread. rarely anything more. the circus isn't able to pay its members. the older performers work as day laborers or pick up night shifts at construction sites and factories. children collect metal scrap to sell. tomuru says that members often donate the money they earn to keep the circus running. in 2018, the circus held its first proper overseas tour. between may and november, they performed in 14 hotels across turkey. they received high praise and made the first significant profit the group had ever seen. performers were paid around $300

a month. it's been a week since they returned to darkhan. the circus club decides to celebrate their success abroad with a paid performance. two members set out, tickets in hand. they arrive at a local elementary school. both performers used to study here before they started living on the street. it's been years since they were last here, but they head straight to their former teacher. each ticket costs about $2. the members want the teacher to sell them to other staff and

students' families. muhuturu heads the acrobat as the oldest of the brothers in the circus. after morning practice he walks home, just five minutes away. he also lives in an apartment block basement. his father has passed away, but he and his brothers, his sister, and her baby, all live together with their mother.

he begins cooking in the empty kitchen. it takes 10 minutes to make babusha, a mongolia staple. it's noodle soup with mutton. he puts the soup in a flasks and heads to the hospital. his mother has been there for the last 10 days. mongolia's hospital does not provide food for patients. this responsibility lies with families. his mother unless the bed by the

window. she has recently been diagnosed with liver cancer. mongolia does have a national health insurance system, but it's not nearly enough to cover costs. patients still have to pay for most of their treatment. he and his brothers sent most of the money they earned in turkey to their mother, sister, and relatives. very little is left. later he's told by his mother's

doctor that she n needs new medicine. in mongolia, buying medicine must also be done by the patient's family at an external pharmacy. that night, the circus holds a rehearsal on the main stage. the usually mild-mannered tomuru raises his voice.

tomuru and his wife have decided that any profit from the next performance will go to hospital bills for the brothers' mom. the entire troupe agreed. november 24 the, the day of the performance.

the show opens at 12:00, but people have already begun to gather half an hour early. many of the performers' families have also come to see their children on stage for the first time. he's brought his mother from the hospital. all 500 seats have sold out. and it looks like the group will turn a profit. it's showtime.

♪ ♪ each of the 30 performers puts on a spectacular show. a juggling sensation escaped from life on the streets at just 8 years old. jengaru shows off the skills that make him the best juggler in mongolia.

at last it's time for munhuturu and his team of acrobats to take the spotlight. their mother watches her three sons intently. the team's big moment comes at the end of the performance. as munhubayara leaps onto his big brother's shoulders. perfectly executed. the troupe will g ge t their hour-long performance twice today. both play to a full theater.

munhuturu is all smiles as he leaves the stage. his mother comes backstage.

the former street kids have put on a stellar performance for the brothers' mom. despite their poverty, the troupe are held together by a deep and unbreakable bond. ♪

>> happy 2019. people around the world ring in the new year and thousands turned out in paris to celebrate. emmanuelle rock on -- emmanuel macron telling them an antigovernment protest will not keep him pushing through the economic agenda. a warning to the u.s. from kim jong-un in his new year's speech. he said he is getting frustrated with the lack of progress since he met with donald trump, telling washington not the test of the north's patience with sanctions and pressure over thte nuclear issue. the first day of 2019 brings a new president for brazil.