♪ >> this week global l 3000 heas to india to visit a schooool whichs helping grgrandmothers learn o read and write. in bali young professionals are living a dream instead of being cooped up in a conventional office. but first we accompany a syrian family as they travel to italy by legal means, and with no perilous sea crossing. the central mediterranean route for many refugees it's the only option for reaching europe. but

it's an extremely dangerous one. at least 5 thousand people lost their lives attempting the crossing in 2016 more than any previous year. many of those who do make it only survive thanks to good luck. and then there is the daunting prospect of gaining legagal residency. italy, for example, rejects over half of asylum applications. ♪ >> this is the hilltop village of riace, in the southernmost part of italy. iman and a atieh al jedi and thr four children are building a new life here. their first step has been to start learning the language. the family originally came from syria, but fled from there to lebanon, where they lived forr five years. atieh remembers what a shock it was to arrive in italy after traveling for 30 hours.

>> when we got here my first thought was: take me back to lebanon. i was so tired. but then, bit by bit, i calmed down. the people here treated us well. the italians are good people, and the welcome was warm. >> flashback: beirut, the capital of lebanon -- syria's neighbor in the middle east. about two and a half million people live here. the 6-person family is paying 200 dollars a month to live in this windowless hole without any bath. it's in a palestinian neighborhood where they don't feel safe. >> rents are very high here. everyone knows that the palestinians take advantage of us even though they're refugees themselves. >> atieh has found work as a baker, but the childldren can'to to school. they want to build a future in europe, but not risk their lives crossing the mediterranean.

a lebanese initiative connects the muslim family -- they declare e the family to be especially in need of asylum which opens the way for legal immigration. >> i want to go to school there and learn something. >> they have left their syrian homeland behind. they don't even think they would be allowed to return there. to ensure a future for their children, they feel like they have to go to italy. >> i don't know anything about italy but i know europeans live in dignity. our children would be safe. every child can go to school there and live a normal life. >> they do not know much, they do not have much but they

trusted the italians to bring them wherever they need to go. the family sets out for a hospital where all refugees who are on their way to italy meet before departure. francesco piobbichi is a social worker in the project run by the italian evangelical church. in the wake of the lampedusa refugee disaster, which cost almost 400 lives, the organization is trying to bring refugees to europe legally and safely -- to build a humanitarian corridor that politicians have failed to create. >> it's not like they're doing nothing. but what they're stupidly working on is building walls. and that won't solve the problem. and it's a shame that they support governments that don't respect human rights. >> the religious organizations have managed to get the italian government to grant 1000 visas. last year they brought about 700 migrants from lebanon to italy, safely, and without having to

pay people smugglers large amounts for the dangerous crossing of the meditarranean sea. >> it's wonderful, like a dream coming true. i hope the kids forget the bad things they've lived through. that they won't >> be sad anymore, god willing. >> riace has been warmly welcoming migrants for almost 20 years. the little town has been a a se haven for some 500 people whose lives were in danger. >> i'm just the mayor of a small community of 15-hundred people. but i'm very proud that we've been recognized the world over for the humanitarian work that we started. >> the al jedi family's living conditions in riace are much better than in beirut. but the family will really only settle in when the father finds a j jb and starts to earn his own living.

>> in fact we had more money in lebanon, because we got support from the un. but the italians are much nicer than the lebanese. here they treat us with respect. there, they yelled a lot and always reproached us when they gave us something. >> the idea of the humanitarian corridor is spreading. france is also planning to begin flying in refugees like the al jedis. and the polish bishops' conference has also shown interest. >> sitting in an office from 9 to 5 can be frustrating. but budget airlines, the internet and other new technologies have given risese to a new phenomen: digital nomads. a growing number of yououng professioionals are mamaking the mosost of havig potetential clientnts all overe planet. these working globetrotters work where they want, when they want.

>> bali -- a beach paradise ... and a welcome escape for people looking g relax, rerejuvenate d recover r from the daiaily gr. others, however, become permanent residents. many of them dream of never again having to work in an office. countless digital nomads have come to bali from around the world. they work more or less out of their backpacks. their tools of the trade: a computer and a mobile phone. they're adventurers, visionaries, and one-e-person c companies with a suit in sight. >> some people come out here with the hope of trying something comepletely new, if you just want to try something new in berlin, you're going to find out prettty quickly if you can afford to do it. but if bali is at 25 percent of the cost, you can spend a lot of time not succeeding and still having a great lifestyle. >> bali has plenty going for it. it has a pleasant climate - not

too hot, not too cold. and it's cheap. for about a thousand euros a month, you can get an apartment, fooood, broadband internet, , and a moped.d. then of ubud is especially popular for the new residents. >> digigital nomads s are preseg us with a whole seset of completelyly new challenenges.y aren't touourists but ththey at classic c business-people eith. what kind of visa should they be workining on? we are very hapy that thehey are here t though.y stay far lononger than regegur tourisists, and ofteten find accommodation with locals. in that respect, everyone wins. > this is the 'hubud' offie collective. it's billed as the first co-working space i in ba. you can rent a desk by the hour. need a a photographer? a softwe developer or copywriter? well you just might find onone sittg nearby. or perhaps in ththe ca. patricia hails from canada, andrew is from australia.

they've been working remotely around the wororld for years n. the couplele do consululting r young entrepreneurs and develop brands, all the way from website to logo. and all while on the road. >> most people back in the real world, as we say, don't understand what we do. so when we go and visit family or friends, they think we are on permanent vacation. >> yup the f family goes, what e , you doing, w when are you u ci back to work? like, i am working, and even though you can say this message repeatedly, it just doesn't come out, it doesn't get remembered. >> patrica and andrew have a meeting in their outdoor office -- via skype. tracy also c calls herself a digital nomad, and does frequeut busisiness with andrew and patricic. >> the upsides of working with people virtuallyly ithat i it openens up the entire world.d.i haveve meetings s througho the day, whether its bali, canada, australia, the whole world is available and that's pretty amazing.

>> the hubud buiding i is made cocompletely out of f bamboo.s founder, steve munroe, is a candian who previously worked for a un landmine clearance operation in cambodia. he started the company about five years ago, and is planning to relocate soon -- to bigger and better premises, to accommodate the growing numbers coming here. >> more and more people are being g pushed out of long-tem relationshipips with theheir employers. it gives people the flexibility to be able to do that, andnd they're really surrounded by a super dynamic, exciting, excited community of people trying neww things. >> patrica and andrew are e offo to another unconventional woworkplace -- t the jungle. the just won a new contract. a client wants to sell cooling boxes online. marketing them successfully will also depend on the right presentation -- hence the phototographer, who has to hurry before the tropical sun melts the ice cream.

>> if you are dodoing more wok here, ththan you wouldld other, but you are enjoying it more, and you feel like ththings area lolot more on you u own terms t more t than other placesyou don't feel stilfled by thehe concrete jungle, you just have a real jungle. >> is living and working out of a backpack really a permanent option? continually planning new trips and booking flights? dealiling with departure times, finding friends -- andmore imrtantly, customers. at the end of the day, the didigital nomamads want toto make ney to. >> mananpeople fail, but i think iit's no necessarily failing, it's more of learning. when you're out here in bali, you have that time to develop that proficiency, and if you know where you want to go, it's a great spot. if you are trying to find it, i it's probably goingo be a really great vacation. >> living on an idyllic tropical island and being your own boss sounds tempting. but budding digital nomads might want to talklk to some of thoe who were not able to realize the dream. and of course they're nowhere to

be seen in ubud. they're back home -- cursing the weather and the 9-to-5. ♪ >> and now in today's global snack, we savor some of the world freshest seafood. >> the pacific waters off mexico are home to a delicious specialty. oysters. here they are harvested after one year of growth. this village in the western mexican state is renowned for its oysters. in other places they are expensive, here they are just a quick snack. a table, some water and lots and lots of oysters. that is all his a needs for his

street stands. >> i set up here where the customers are. sometimes lots of people come. sometimes only a few. sometimes i close down early and other times i am here quite late. >> his preparations are quite simple. >> i cleaned the oysters for my customers. >> then he has to shuck them, that is open the shelf, arranges the flesh and opens them nicely. a kilo of oysters costs about 30 paces. -- 30 pesos. fresh out of the ocean, the

customers love them. >> you put hot sauce on them and a little bit of lime. this is the best thing here you can eat. you will not find better oysters in all of mexico. super delicious. >> and now to our global ideas series, where we meet people committed to preserving our planet's climate, flora and fauna. a tiny island belonging to spain wants to be the first in the world to mamake do witht fossil fuelsls. that's what the residents of el hierro, one of the canary islands, have been promised, at least. our r reporter michael altenene ntnt to see how w much progrgs hahas been made.e.

> it's early in the morningn el hierro; the trade winds are blowing the clouds over the volcanic mountains. this spanish island off the west coast of africa is almost always windy - so why not make use of it? the smallest of the canary islandnds is trying to realize g plans: to supply all of its around 7000 inhabitants with sustainable energy through a unique combination of wind and hydropower. the energy shift has cost 83 million euros, and ran 20 millllion over budgeget. criticy that's's far too mucuch, evenf hahalf was covered by eu subsidies. but the project still has enthusiastic supporters. >> i think it's very positive that el hierro was able to actually impmplement this prpro. at the beginning a lot of people doubted it could be donene. bt totoday it's proroject that t w. one that creates j jobs and brbs in m money. in the next few yes

it'll turn a profit. >> the wind turbines produce more than enough energy to meet the island's own needs. the extra electricity is used to pump water 700 meters up to a reservoir basin. its 150,000 cubic meters are a kind of natural insurance against windless days. if it drops off, the water flows back downhill through a hydropower turbine, bridging the shortfall. this one-of-a-kind combination of energy from wind and water is aimed at reaching an elusive goal: providing a steady, unbroken stream of power, even when nature doesn't play along. but things haven't worked out quite as planned. because the region is earthquake prone, the basins had to be built smaller ththan originally designed. providing the entire island with green energy was always an ambitious goal. and it still

hasn't been reached. last year, the new facility only generated 40% of the power consumed on el hierro. >> the origiginal calculatiois were higher, but structural problems meant those plans couldn't be realized. what really threw them out t of kilr was the lowewer water basin, whh we couldn't builild to the sie that we wanted. that's now proving a hindrance to producing the amounts of sustainable energy w we want. >> that's disappointed many of the island's residents. they'd hoped electricity bills would fall. instead,d,ust like in the rest of f the country, costs fr power have a actually gone up. that's because prices for energy are regulated centrally in t te spain. lots of people now say the prproject was all l wind and noo substance.e. >> they announced that our island would be provided with

100% sustainable energy -- and that hasn't happened. we ask why not, and don't get any ansnswe. somebody needs to explain to us why it's not working. >> the developers ononce promid to shut dodown the old diesel-driven power planant. bt no onene talks a about that any more. a fuel tanker still makes regular trips to the island. and the old plant's smokestacks ill blow lots of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as the brand-new wind turbines spin on the heieights above. the operatoror's press spokeswon defefends the expensive investment. she says that despite speedbumps, el hierro's energy mix is now much m more enviroronmentally frfriendly tht was in t the past. >> in the first year of operationsns -- in 2016 -- we sasaved over 7,000 tons of dies, which means we emitted 14,000 tons less of co2. and other islands will profit from the pioneering work we've done. what did we get right? what wrong?

it's in the nature of things that pioneering projojts are experimentalal, and that they ao serve to help optimize future facilities. >> the engineers are certain they can improve efficiency in their r sustainable energy mi. but theyey've grown mumuch more carefuful about whatat they pro. a seseries of events is plannedo rereignite enthuhusiasm for the precect amonresisidents, and encourage other islands to follow in their footsteps. the unesco biosphere reserve is doing its best to continue to be a leader in enenvironmental protection. el hierro used to be viewed by european sailors as the end of the world. but when it comes to shifting completely to renewable energy, at least it's made progress toward a new beginning. >> not being able to read and write is extremely

disadvantageous in today's world. 758 mmillion adults -- 758 million adults worldwide are illiterate, two thirds of them women. india alone is home to 287 mmillion people who have never learned to read and write. here, too, women are disproportionately affected. but some are proving that it's never too late to learn. >> housabai kedar needs help from her daughter to get her school backpack on. she is able to manage the walk to school on her own, however, in the western indian village of fangane. she's there every day at 2 p.m. on the dot for her classes. her fellow-students also trickle in. while waiting, they play games just like regular schoolgirls -- except the youngest pupil here is a sprightly 65. stop it, i'm getting dizzy, says housabai. over a third of women in india

are illiterate. none of these elderly ladies ever learned to read or write. but now they're being given the chance to make up for that at this "grandmothers' school. and the students are always here before their teacher arrives. they have two hours of classes every day except thursday. starting school was a big step for most of them. >> it makes me proud to be able to write my name instead of signing with my thumb-print. i used to get my granddaughter read books to me, but i want to do that myself. and reading the holy scriptures is very important to me. >> sheetal more teachehes heren a voluntary basis. the pink

"school" saris and the teaching materials are funded by a charity orgnization. the aim is for the women to become more independent of their families. >> the women's standing in the village improves if they can read and write. in rural communities women are still supposed to stay in the kitchen. but education also means they enjoy respect. >> but the class comes with its challenges. housabai has poor hearing, and it's hard for her to keep up. but she still benefits. the women are like my own mother, so i could never bad-mouth them. it's important for them to each learn at their own pace. some are faster than others, that's just how it is. >> housabai was born in fangane, and has spent her entire life

here. she was married at 15, and raised three children. and she still helps them today with the cooking and other household chores. she's not exactly sure when she was born, although her daughter reckons she's around 80. >> well, i have been around for some time. all i know is that it will soon be time for meme to enter r god's house. >> but before that she has one last wish -- to learn how to write. her grand-daughter pranali helps out with homework. the old woman needs guidance when tackling the letters of the marathi alphabet. the granddaughter finds it simply unbelievable that there was a time not so long ago when girls did not have to attend school.

>> in fact we were not allllowd to go to s school. while the bs were getting their lessons, the only thing we learned was how to pray. apart from that we had to help our parents in the fields. >> fangane, population 300, is a three-hour drive from mumbai, and a world apart. traditional gender roles are largely maintained -- but there have been changes since the school opened. initially hostile, housabai's own son now finds the idea a positive one. >> women who can read and write do not pose a threat to us men. perhaps we will see more educated women marrying into our village. that would be great for us. >> the school for grandmothers charges no fees.

but in return, the women sit down with their teacher in the morning to help her make bread. she finds a lot of things have improved for women in recent years. but despite the efforts being made, india remains a long way from gender equality. >> given the choice, i would have been born a man. many women are still unable to marry the one they want to -- or just go out with someone. men have a far easier time. >> the school is a small-scale local project. but sheetal more's commitment has changed the lives of housabai kedar and her fellow students. something that nobody can now take away from them. >> that's all for today. but do drop us a line! check out

our facebook page - dw global society - or email us at global3000@dw.com. see you next time!

♪ damien: hello, and welcome to "fokus on europe." i'm damien mcguinness and today, we're off to one of europe's biggest pilgrimage sites -- medjugorje, in bosnia-herzegovina, where local catholics say they regularly see visions of the virgin mary. but the vatican isis not so su, so the church is now investigating the authenticity of these visions. catholics who are visiting here, though, are convinced. >> i h have been praying to te virgin mary to help me cure my left leg. i had polio when i was very young. damien: ildar dadin has spent