These kids from Lyari show us what it means to be model citizens

An excerpt of a documentary is making the rounds of the internet, and its subjects - two girls and one boy from Lyari - have won over social media with their candid defense of their neighbourhood.

Lyari is a neighbourhood in Lyari Town, one of the oldest of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. Although it is known to produce football and boxing champs, Lyari also often makes headlines for gang warfare. The result is a perception of the neighbourhood as one of Karachi's most volatile, dangerous parts.

Also read: Lyari's Michelangelo: The man behind the Obamas portrait

However, young students of the Kiran School System, think that isn't true. And they spread that message through this video gone viral.

"Lyari is a good place. Those people who think that Lyari is a violent space, they are totally wrong," says one.

"We are also living here. It is nothing here. The people say that it's bad, it's not bad," quips another.

"What bothers me is the litter. Because whenever people enter, they think it is littered, so it won't be a good place," she goes on to observe.

Read more: The untold tales of Lyari

When their interviewer asks how they would change Lyari if they were President, the girl says, "It's not important to be a President [to bring about] change. We can [effect] change as well. It's not always important to be a big person to do things. We need a degree, and then we're free to do anything."

Another adds, "We are also having our own society, the Kiran Dream Society. We give back to our community by cleaning our streets and doing many good things."

How's that for community ownership?

This video clip is an excerpt of a larger BBC documentary being produced by British-Iranian journalist Benjamin Zand. The full documentary comes out in July.