announcer: opportunity. prosperity. opoptimism. remaining intact stretches of rainforest, to find out how local orangutans are faring in the wild. in iran, we meet a kickboxing champion for whom courage is as essential as passion. but first we go to the u.s., to meet children of drug-dependent parents. what do they do to cope? the u.s. is in the midst of a major drug epidemic. the foundations for it were laid in the 1990's.

back then, doctors churned out prescriptions for opioid-based painkillers. and pharmaceutical firms pushed products with aggressive marketing strategies. sales of prescription painkillers quadrupled in the first years of the 21st century -- and at the same time, the drugs got stronger. in 2015, 33,000 people in the u.s. died from overdoses. a year later, 42,000 suffered the same fate. the u.s. government's tactic so far has been to toughen controls on prescriptions -- driving many people with dependencies to turn to street drugs like heroin. it's estimated over two million americans are now opioid addicts. it's a desperate situation -- for the people affected, and their families. reporter: it's a moment 15-year-old athena gregory can enjoy -- when she can focus just on herself.

behind her lies a horrific childhood as the daughter of drug addicts. she bore sole responsibility for herself, her little brother, and her parents. athena: you always have to stick by your parents' side and even when they are doing what they aren't supposed to do, you have to help as much as possible, and be as brave as possible. reporter: back then, there was no such thing as cooking a meal together. the family moved constantly. they often lacked basic necessities. at the end, they lived in a motel. athena's parents existed in a drug-fuelled haze -- first pills, then heroin. jesse: you know, i went and i bought heroin and i had athena with me. and i was in the basement of these people's house, and i was shooting heroin in their house, and she was upstairs in their living room watching tv. sarah: and she'd run through the house to try to get rid of

everything she would find -- our heroin -- and she would flush it down the toilet, or she would break the needles. and then in the end, we're just getting mad at her, like, why? you know? why would she do that? it was very clear why. she just wanted us to stop. reporter: the authorities intervened when athena was 11, and she and her brother were to come with me. and we were walking down the reporter: drug abuse dictates many people's lives, especially in poorer areas. one result -- neglected children. orphanages are rare in the u.s. instead, the government relies on foster families to take in children at risk. ngo's seek out suitable foster

families for increasing numbers of children. in this region alone, there are almost three times as many foster kids as there were three years ago. when a child is taken in here, he or she needs comfort, clothing, and a new home. the safe children coalition also has presents on hand, just in case a child is removed on his or her birthday. if no relatives are willing or able to help, brena slater and her team have four hours to find a new family, in accordance with regulations. brena: our entire circuit has been removing an average of 85 children a month. so, we had a day last week where we had ten children removed in one night, within two hours. so, when situations like that happen, we're calling foster parents. reporter: but there are not enough foster families to take on this important responsibility. kate dumbaugh is a foster mother.

she took in aidan when he was nine months old, and made sure that his contact with his birth mother never broke off. kate explains how it is when drug-addicted parents suddenly take a sober view of their own lives. kate: to keep that momentum going, day in and day out, when you're sober for maybe the first time in your life, and you're confronting all sorts of -- it always chokes me up. when you think about what they have to go through day-to-day, reporter: a court gave aidan's mother one year to get her life in order after she had overdosed on heroin. katherine: since i had a background of drug use, and my other two children aren't in my custody because of my drug use, that's it. so, i wasn't going to lose

another child into the system because i wanted to go and use drugs. reporter: katherine has made it. after eight months, she got her child back. but she fears her past might destroy her children's future. katherine: yeah, i'm very scared of that because it's more likely for an addict's children to become addicts. and, i know that i've struggled with it for a while, and that would absolutely kill me to watch my child go through it. reporter: in maryland, the gregory family are picking up their youngest from the school bus stop. for years, big sister athena was the only reliable parent-substitute for anthony, who suffers from autism and epilepsy. his mother even used drugs while she was pregnant with him. now, she is plagued with a guilty conscience. mutter: i'll never know if my actions had anything to do with how he turned out, but i can't help but think about it. and i'll always think about it, that he's going to pay for something that i chose to do for

the rest of his life with it. reporter: she's not as worried about athena -- the teen vows to never go near drugs. athena: i just want to prove to people that i don't have a higher risk of that and that i am myself, me and my brother are us, we are not based off of our past. we are the family that we are now. we are nothing like we were before. reporter: athena knows exactly what she wants -- after high school graduation, she wants to go to beauty school. her dream is to have her own salon. host: from the u.s. to the other side of the world -- iran, a nation where women's freedoms are heavily restricted. there, even activities like applying for a passport or travelling require permission from men.

and getting a divorce if you're a woman is extremely difficult. iranian women have been campaigning for equal rights since the beginning of the last century. back in 1936, the first women were admitted to university in the country. now, over half of all iranian students are female. despite that advance, women are still prohibited from doing many things in public. it's particularly hard to break with traditional set-ups in rural communities. and yet, time and again, some courageous women do exactly that. reporter: susan rashidi lives as a nomad in the kurdish region of northwestern iran. during the winter, she and the other members of her community head south to warmer climes. she always has plenty to do.

women here work just as hard as the men. but they don't enjoy the same rights. susan: there are certain customs and rules that we have to obey. traditions are especially strong amongst us kurdish nomads. for example, girls aren't allowed to participate in sports. for ages i didn't dare tell my parents that i wanted to do sports. when i finally did, my father was furious. reporter: but she remained undeterred, and despite her father's displeasure, she took up kickboxing. the memory of her childhood struggles makes susan sad. the restrictions placed on her as a woman have had a profound effect on her. susan: neighbors and family members looked down on my father because of me. they talked about me behind my back. many also said bad things to my face, but i ignored it and

continued to do my sport. even when i started winning tournaments and all the media reported on this nomad-girl who had become a winner, it still wasn't acceptable for the people here. reporter: but it was acceptable for one person -- sadjad mirzayee -- a young man from a nomad family from illam in southwestern iran. he had been admiring susan from afar. he was impressed by her courage and strength. when he asked her to marry him, she had one condition -- that he not interfere in her sporting life -- a condition that sadjad was happy to accept.

sadjad: i see men and women as equals. women can do sports just like men. i have no problem with that, regardless of what other people say. in fact, i'm proud that my wife is a kickboxer. i like that, and i support her as much as i can. reporter: the couple have decided to continue living as nomads. that's unusual for people of have moved to the big cities in the hope of having a better future. but sadjad finds a sense of freedom in this solitude. susan loves the great outdoors, too. and she loves her new life. her struggles as a young girl paid off.

she has won kickbox competitions at the national level. she has a supportive husband and has achieved more than she ever dreamed. the next tournament is coming up soon, so susan needs to practice extra hard. and here, too, her husband is happy to help. susan was first inspired to do kickboxing when she was a child and saw bruce lee movies. she said she wanted to be like him. she noticed five moves that she secretly practiced at night -- left, right, right. left, right, right. susan: we women just need places to train. i have never seen such strong-minded women as here in iran. iranian women are really strong. they're able to achieve what they want even under the most difficult conditions.

all they need are opportunities to practice, places where they can train that are safe and secure. reporter: susan didn't wait for someone else to take the initiative. she opened up her own kickboxing school in abdanan, the city nearest to her camp. men dominate the public sphere in this conservative city, which is home to 50,000 people. there aren't many women on the streets here. unemployment and frustration abound. married women are often the victims of domestic violence. when susan decided a few months ago to teach kickboxing to girls, the students came in droves. ♪

small city. if so many want training, then reporter: since then, the girls have been winning one tournament after another. back home at her camp in the evening, susan proudly shows us her medals. she only has one regret. susan: i don't have a single photo or video of me actually

fighting. this here is all i have because in iran you're not allowed to film women doing sports. that's why i can't show my students or children footage of me competing in a tournament. the security services wouldn't allow that. reporter: susan pursued her dream against all the odds. now her students are following in her footsteps. their inspirational instructor has given them the confidence to believe that the sky is the limit if they're prepared to over the past 50 years, deforestation has destroyed all but a fraction of the country's rainforest -- the natural habitat of the orangutan. now, bukit tigapuluh national park is one of the animals' few remaining refuges. three years ago, our reporter inga sieg witnessed the

reintroduction of a female orangutan into the wild. now she's fought her way back through the forest, to see how dora is doing. reporter: we're on a mission to find dora. she's here somewhere, deep in the sumatran jungle. zoologist peter pratje and his team released the orangutan into the wild, equipped with a transmitter. peter: dora has been in the jungle for quite a while now. so we can no longer predict where she is. we have 2000 square kilometers of forest here, so it takes time. but then suddenly you hear a rustling in the trees and you find her again. reporter: in the end, dora's curiosity gets the better of her, and she appears. she's now eight years old. three years ago, she was

released into the wild. but before that, she had been taught all she needed to know to survive in the jungle -- how to climb, how to build a nest, and how to find food. these are things baby orangutans normally learn from their mothers. but dora was an orphan. she had spent most of her life being kept -- illegally -- as a pet. as a result, she's very tame. even after three years in the wild, she readily takes to humans. the conservationists are keeping a close eye on dora. right now they're worried because she appears to be losing

weight. andhani: you are so happy. i love dora because dora is an adorable orangutan. she is calm. she interacts with the staff very well, also. but she is really smart. i mean, she can survive in the jungle. reporter: peter pratje has been working with orangutans for 17 years. he and his team have released 170 into the wild so far. but they'll need twice that number to produce a population that can survive on its own. peter: our main aim is to protect lowland rainforest. the orangutan is like our poster child, the ambassador of the rainforest if you will. and if we don't protect it, we will lose the orangutan. 80% of sumatra's rainforest has disappeared over the last 50 years.

that means the orangutans' natural habitat is disappearing. none of them could survive in an oil palm or acacia plantation. these monocultures are completely different from their natural habitat. that's why it's so important that we preserve the remaining 20% of the rainforest. reporter: the focus now is on preserving the protected areas that already exist. it's too late for anything else. amoy has also found a new home in the bukit tigapuluh national park, where she's now living in the wild. all the orangutans in this nature reserve were born in captivity -- each one with its own story. rimbani has lived in the wild for years. right now she's coming back to the center regularly to show off her young son radja.

peter: when you observe an orangutan, you often see behaviors that are typical of human beings. you can really see that we're closely related. each animal is an individual, with a different face, a different character, and a different speed at which they learn new things. they're like one big family. reporter: veterinarian andhani hartanti is going to check dora over. not only has she been losing weight, she's also been having difficulties climbing -- probably because she was in a fight with another orangutan and is injured. andhani: about three weeks ago, one of our staff found her

already on the ground. and they suspect that dora suffers something, or a problem. and we knew that the right foot has an open wound, deep enough so we need to stitch so the skin can heal. remaining lowland rainforests -- and one of the last remaining sanctuaries for orangutans. peter: if orangutans can survive here, then tigers, elephants, and all the other animals will be automatically protected, too. that's why it's so important to preserve what we have here. reporter: peter and andhani continue to observe the

orangutans they release into the wild for at least two years. the project will only be considered a success if the animals have offspring. peter: our hope is that the population here will become so large that the orangutans can survive on their own and reproduce, so that there will be a new population in bukit tigapuluh long-term. reporter: perhaps when she's a few years older, dora will also have a baby to show off -- helping to ensure that the region of germany known for its strong traditions. reporter: when you think of eating out in munich in southern germany, you're most likely to think of traditional bavarian

meat dishes -- sausages, meatloaf, or roast pork. but here, too, more and more people are turning away from meat, and animal products in general. one of them is erbil gunar. he was one of the first to open a doner kebab shop in munich -- that was over 35 years ago. his kebabs were a great success, but then erbil had a change of heart. everything at his snackbar is now 100% vegan. the doner kebab is made with seitan. erbil: what we're best known for is our vegan doner kebab. we introduced about 11 years ago. i would say we were pioneers in this.

reporter: over the years, erbil and his team refined their seitan to improve its consistency and taste and to ensure it keeps longer. seitan is made of wheat gluten. it's thought to have been first used in ancient china as a meat substitute for buddhist monks who were vegetarians. it took lots of experimentation. erbil: it wasn't easy. we tried out various types of grain, but it didn't turn out the way we wanted it. we also created four sauces -- first we have turmeric and ginger, then there's the classic herb sauce. we also make our own tzatziki, and then we have a beetroot sauce. reporter: so what do the customers think?

>> it's delicious and it's vegan -- that's pretty rare. i'm a strict vegan and i know how hard it is to find a snack that actually tastes good. >> you bring non-vegan friends here, and they become vegan too. reporter: good luck with that, and bon appetit. host: that's all for today. don't forget though that we love see you next time. bye for now. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: opportunity. prosperity. optimism.

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.

- [female voice over]: this program is made possible in part by the town of marion, home of the wayne henderson school of appalachian arts, celebrating 21 years as a certified virginia main street community. the historic general francis marion hotel and the speak easy restaurant and lounge, providing accommodations and casual fine dining. in downtown marion, virginia. the bank of marion. technology powered, service driven. wbrf 98.1 fm. bryant label, a proud supporter of our region's musical heritage. ("cherokee shuffle" by gerald anderson) ♪