>> hello, and a very warm welcome to another edition of global 3000. are you sitting comfortably? i only ask, because if are, you might want to be rethinking that cosy armchair position, because we're off to one of our most energetic starts yet. morning drill practice -- early learning, taiwanese style. ancient answers to a modern problem -- using inka knowledge to fight drought in the andes. and exporting democracy -- ghana's role in training u.n.

troops for deployment around the world. >> for years now academic studies have emphasized the importance of early learning. sadly, it's often a matter of whether parents can afford to give their children a good start to their education. we're off to an unusual nursery school in a moment. i did, after all, promise you an energetic start to the program. first though, here is some background -- in developing countries, 39% of under fives suffer from poor cognitive performance as a result of poverty. education can help them escape the poverty trap. and that is nothing new. in ancient china, for example, the children of paddy field workers could rise to top positions in the emperor's court if they were learned enough. in taiwanese culture, too, education has traditionally played a central role, so much so that some parents choose to pay to send their children to kindergartens offering an almost

military approach to both work and play. >> here, where the suburbs start to give way to rice paddies, is where 6-year-old bo-han lives. he's an early riser. he's always been a bundle of energy, say his parents. but also cheeky and restless. >> in our day, children were raised with a lot more rules. that was a good thing. there was martial law in taiwan until the late 1980's. we were far better-behaved, but we also had more fight. these days kids are lively, but they are not willing to listen. >> at the age of four, bo-han's aggressive behaviour towards other children made his mother decide enough was enough. she did some research and came across the albert day care center in the city of taichung. it is named after albert einstein. it's director is fong yun-i.

she does not put up with any nonsense. >> the way children are raised in taiwan is too soft. most parents send their kids to daycare so they're looked after and get something to eat. if parents dont like the way i treat their children, they can go somewhere else. >> today is a special occasion because there's a tv crew visiting. the children are decked out in camouflage gear. much to the delight of bo-han and his peers. time for a drum roll. drills clear the head, says the day care director. this two-hour-long quasi-military exercise is performed every single morning under the watchful eyes of ms. fong. her educational philosophy might not be to everyone's taste, but she has the courage of her convictions. >> if you're too nice to your children, you're not doing them any favours. it stops them from learning to

fend for themselves. they end up failing to contribute to society and wasting their potential. and the country's potential. >> bo-han spent his first few days at the albert day care center in tears. then he hit his nursery teacher. ms. fong hit him back. she says he's settled in since then. >> i like it here. i like doing backwards somersaults and playing with toys. i want to be a vet when im big and look after stray cats. >> the center costs parents close to 4000 euros a year. 10 times what a standard day care center costs. blisters, scratches, and bruises are complementary. >> before i started here, i always had itchy skin. i had to take lots of medicine. now i gets lots of exercise, and my skin isn't itchy anymore. >> ms. fong is in charge of 70 children.

the albert day care center has a long waiting list. there are prayers before lunch and traditional tea eggs. afterwards, the children do the cleaning up themselves. every single day. aren't they exhausted? well, they obviously are. after lunch, it is nap time. the kids are woken up in time for a music lesson. chiu studied the harp in germany. here in taiwan, she teaches children to play the recorder. >> i have really not much time. so i want them to listen to me every time when they come in here. so they know exactly what they should do. >> what do you do if they misbehave? >> yelling, yelling at them. >> the kids are also taught english, japanese, german, and art.

they do not get a chance to get bored. taiko drumming class use up whatever energy they have left in the afternoon. ms. fong also manages the taiwanese taiko association. if the neighbours complain, the kids practice on old tires. the formidable ms. fong's basic message is surprisingly warm-hearted. >> bringing up children is about showing them love and setting a good example. >> chiu is doing her best. at home, bo-han's day is as regimented as it is at daycare -- football, shower, homework, bed at 9:30. a 14-hour day. a taiwanese childhood. >> let's catch our breath quickly before heading off to the andes. the longest continental mountain range in the world, extending across seven south american countries. our story comes from peru, where retreating glaciers are only one of the many signs of the impact of climate change. drought is hitting the region

hard with many indigenous mountain communities forced to abandon their villages in search of water. there is no easy answer to their problem, but ancient inka knowledge could help them to adapt to their changing environment. ♪ >> there's only one glacier left here in the yauyos-cochas national park in peru. there used to be more. to robejildo taipe, the landscape here is beautiful. so long as the glacial waters don't disappear, this region 4000 meters above sea level will remain a place he loves. >> there was no glacial ice left here when i was born.

there's some snowfall in winter. it settles up there on the peaks, but as soon as winter's over, it looks like this again -- what we can see now. >> he lives in miraflores, down in the valley. the elderly folk in the village worry about an impending water shortage. they still remember what happened to their ancestors. life in the valley is becoming increasingly hard. there's some tourism to the region, but the main local industry is agriculture. these days, though, the sector is frought with problems. many locals have moved away. robejildo himself spent four years in lima training to be a welder, but then he came home. >> if you go away, then it's because you want to learn some skills. now i can pass on my expertise

to the younger generation, so they can make something of themselves here. >> but robejildo is an exception. these newly-built villages in the foothills of the andes are home to many refugees from the unstable mountain climate. they're hoping that living closer to town will widen their options. >> things have changed. the harvests are more meagre than they used to be when there was more regular rain. these days it sometimes doesn't rain for months on end. everything's become unpredictable. >> higher up in the mountains around miraflores, it's plain to see that many farmers have up and left.

the peruvian government is introducing a number of measures to stem the exodus. fish farming, pasture farming, and alpaca wool production are still viable industries. now that there's more room, fields can be left fallow for one or two years before they're farmed again. but there are other problems to deal with. >> climate change has brought with it caterpillars, frost at the wrong time of year, seed corn maggots. they ruin the crops, the corn and the potatoes. >> 4000 meters above sea level is what's left of the old inca village of huaquis. 100 years ago, the locals were forced to move down the mountain because their water supplies had dried up. this is how the village of

miraflores evolved. but there have long been concerns that the same thing could happen there now, too. scrambling up steep pathways to the nearest spring is exhausting. the people of huaquis had to give up the horses they'd kept because they had no water to give them. they had no choice but to make the long and arduous journey to fetch water by foot. these days, their great-grandchildren show visitors what they went through. plinio reyes is the mayor of miraflores and says once a year, villagers celebrate the harvest festival amongst the remains of huaquis. the fate that befell it isn't unusual in the andes. >> there are ruined villages the residents had to leave in other regions, too. caranja was a very old village that was relocated.

so was larraos. only ruins are left. other villages are less public about what's happening, because their situation is precarious. >> robejildo taipes is unwilling to leave his village to its fate. he helped build this fence to create a water protection area. the barbed wire is designed to keep animals away from the yanacuncha glacial lake -- a lifeline for miraflores. reed beds are being planted and water tanks built to prevent the water from evaporating or draining away. >> this pipe system is intended to provide the valley with water.

it should be easy to manage. it will irrigate the pastures and ensure the animals' troughs are full. >> it's the same system used by their ancestors, say robejildo taipes and plinio reyes. >> we have a precise rotor for irrigating the fields. tomorrow it is dennis' turn. but today, senora linda's fields are being watered. we can even determine how much water the fields get, and when. >> making the most of resources is a skill locals here have mastered for centuries. it is just a question of putting it into practice. senora linda's alfalfa, which

she feeds to her cattle, is flourishing. so long as locals practice sustainable water management, they will have as little to worry about as these rare torrent ducks, which have returned to the region after a long absence. >> and from the wisdom of the ancients to the lives of contemporary teenagers. it is time for another installment of millennium teen. like the other young people featured in this ongoing series, layne quintero gonzales is 15 years old, meaning that she was born in the year 2000. layne comes from colombia but is considering an overseas education. >> i'm 15. >> i am millennium. >> i'm 15. >> i am millennium. ♪

>> my name is layne quintero gonzales. i live in colombia, in the town of salento in the district of el quindio. i have three brothers and sisters. i really like learning english. i have learned a lot of new words. my friends and i can already talk to each other in english. ♪

i listen to just about anything, but i think i like pop and dance music best. my mother makes arts and crafts. she makes necklaces, bracelets, religious trinkets, like rosary beads. most of what she makes has to do with religion and the church. i am afraid that i won't get to

finish my schooling, or that my mother might die young and i won't get to spend much time with her. or that my brothers and sisters might get sick or have an accident or something. i would like to study medicine. when i finish school, i would like to help people who are needy with health care, for example. i would like to live here, i think. or maybe i will go abroad. i would like to study neurosurgery. ♪ >> and just a reminder that our millennium teen series has been commissioned to mark the years the u.n.'s millennium goals are replaced by new sustainable development goals. good education for all is just one of them.

the delivery date for those targets is 2030. if you go to dw.com/my2030, you will find something devoted to exactly this topic. check it out. it has articles, videos, and audio reports galore. now, what is ghana's most important export? gold, cocoa beans, petroleum? well, if you are measuring importance in terms of impact on gdp, then, yes, in that order. however, ghana also sees itself as an exporter of democracy to the african continent and beyond. after all, it is amongst the top 10 providers of the u.n.'s peacekeeping soldiers, or blue helmets, worldwide. and ghana's contribution doesn't just stop with troops on the ground. police, politicians, academics, civil administrators, they all come to the capital accra for training in the kofi annan peace institute.

it's named after the previous u.n. secretary general, who is himself a ghanaian. >> a refugee camp somewhere in africa guarded by u.n. peacekeepers is under attack. the soldiers successfully drive the attackers away. fortunately, this time the incident is just an exercise. this is actually an army training camp in ghana. major edem akagbor is a veteran of many u.n. missions. he now trains ghanaian soldiers to be deployed as peacekeepers. >> the first peacekeepers were sent from ghana in the 1960's by our first president. since then, the passion to keep the peace in other countries has become ghanain. we are so much interested in going out there to help others to also enjoy the peace we are enjoying back in ghana. >> before a mission, the soldiers undergo weeks of training at the bundasi camp,

which is situated near the capital, accra. these troops are preparing for a mission in south sudan. ghana deploys more soldiers to u.n. peacekeeping missions than almost any other african country. the country is proud to be a major contributor to u.n. peacekeeping. the kofi annan international peacekeeping and training center opened in accra in 2004. it's now a leading center for the training of armed forces, police, and civilians in african peace and security. this is a group exercise in a class on election management. participants from across the continent are spending two weeks learning how to conduct effective, free elections.

the participants hail from 13 different countries -- from ghana, which has successfully held numerous democratic elections, to war-torn somalia, which will be holding elections in 2016. in terms of their ethnicities, religions, and languages, the students at the kofi annan institute represent a microcosm of africa. monica karanja is a police officer from kenya. she'll be helping prepare for the somalian elections >> we have come from different diversity. and appreciating different people from other countries is something i enjoy. because learning is a continuous experience. you learned through experience, learn from what people do. you decide on your own. >> the trainers are confident that fair elections are a prerequisite for stability. the institute offers dozens of courses geared to peacekeeping.

the participants range from police officers to civilians, university scholars to politicians. >> in africa, we have to learn the respect the law. if the law says you can only have two terms as president, then you shouldn't push through a third one. you're not the only candidate. they are others who are also efficient, maybe even more so. today is open day, when the institute welcomes diplomats and ngo's to look around. since it was inaugurated by its namesake, former u.n. secretary general kofi annan, it's prepared 12,000 people for peacekeeping missions. conflicts continue to rage in many parts of africa. but the institute director says that's no reason to lose hope. >> perfection in society is, i think, utopian. we have got to be realistic to

know that there are still bad characters who want to have their way. we cannot be disappointed and cannot be discouraged. we have to forge ahead if we are to make the world a better place than we found it. >> an estimated 1 million people died in the 1994 rwandan genocide, partly because of the international community's failure to intervene. general henry anyidoho was deputy commander in the united nations' assistance mission for rwanda. the ghanaian contingent violated orders from the u.n. security council to withdraw and stayed with the u.n.'s beleaguered peacekeeping mission throughout the genocide. >> what we did, which was very useful, and when i say we, i am referring to all the commanders and sergeants with me, we went around everywhere. every small team we sent out to do a piece of work we made sure , there was an officer in charge

of the group. so it's not like we stayed in a comfortable zone and sending out troops to go and do something risky. it was small number that became a closely-knit family and accepted the risks every day. >> anyidoho is a deeply committed peacekeeper. it pains him to hear any criticism of u.n. peacekeeping missions. >> we have scars on our hearts, on our minds. others have lost their legs. some paid the ultimate price, they died. can't people give them any credit? >> the soldiers at bundasi camp are getting ready for the mission in south sudan. it will be fraught with danger. for a poor country like ghana, the financial rewards of peacekeeping missions are an incentive, while the u.n. also provides a reimbursement package. but ghana also driven by a deep-rooted commitment to help maintain international peace and security.

>> ghanaians are naturally peaceful and peaceloving. when we see other countries tearing apart, we see images from other countries, we tell ourselves we will not allow this to happen in ghana. this is the only country we have. we will ensure that this kind of conflict will not happen in ghana. >> hopefully he and his soldiers will succeed in maintaining peace at home -- and helping to bring it to other, less stable countries. >> and that is all for another edition "global 3000." if you have got comments or ideas for the program, then please get in touch via our facebook page. until next time, thanks for watching and goodbye.

steves: while dedicating a month of your life to walk the camino may be admirable, it doesn't work for everyone.

but any traveler can use this route as a sightseeing spine and as an opportunity to appreciate some of the joys and lessons that come with being a pilgrim. just 5 miles before the spanish border stands the french basque town of st. jean-pied-de-port. traditionally, santiago-bound pilgrims would gather here to cross the pyrenees and continue their march through spain. visitors to this popular town are a mix of tourists and pilgrims. at the camino office, pilgrims check in before their long journey to santiago. they pick up a kind of pilgrim's passport. they'll get it stamped at each stop to prove they walked the whole way and earned their compostela certificate. walking the entire 500-mile-long route takes about five weeks. that's about 15 miles a day, with an occasional day of rest. the route is well-marked with yellow arrows and scallop shells. the scallop shell is the symbol of both st. james and the camino.

common on the galician coast, the shells were worn by medieval pilgrims as a badge of honor to prove they made it. the traditional gear has barely changed -- a gourd for drinking water, just the right walking stick, and a scallop shell dangling from each backpack. the slow pace and need for frequent rest breaks provide plenty of opportunity for reflection, religious and otherwise. for some, leaving behind a stone symbolizes unloading a personal burden. the first person to make this journey was st. james himself. after the death and resurrection of christ, the apostles traveled far and wide to spread the christian message. supposedly, st. james went on a missionary trip from the holy land all the way to this remote corner of northwest spain. according to legend, in the year 813, st. james' remains were discovered in the town that would soon bear his name.

people began walking there to pay homage to his relics. after a 12th-century pope decreed that the pilgrimage could earn forgiveness for your sins, the popularity of the camino de santiago soared. the camino also served a political purpose. it's no coincidence that the discovery of st. james' remains happened when muslim moors controlled most of spain. the whole phenomenon of the camino helped fuel the european passion to retake spain and push the moors back into africa. but by about 1500, with the dawn of the renaissance and the reformation, interest in the camino died almost completely. then, in the 1960s, a handful of priests re-established the tradition. the route has since enjoyed a huge resurgence, with 100,000 pilgrims trekking the santiago each year.

>> memphis, tennessee. it has been written, if music were religion, then memphis would be jerusalem and sun studio its most sacred shrine. and you are here. with jarrod dickenson. >> my name is jarrod dickenson. i'm here at the legendary sun studio and i will be playing a few songs with david grove and lee grove. i'm originally from waco, texas, now based in brooklyn, new york.