♪ host: welcome to "global 30." this week, we head to brazil to meet a homeless family man -- just one of the many victims of the national financial crisis. in china, we visit a weight loss camp dedicated to helping children and young people shed some pounds. and in bangladesh, a young german entrepreneur is bringing light to remote areas. for years, the brics countries -- brazil, russia, india, china

and south africa -- were seen as key players in the next phase of globalization. their economies were booming and their populations were becoming more affluent, shifting many out of poverty. but in 2017, things look very different. while, india's and china's economies continue to grow, the others have fallen behind. brazil in particular is in deep crisis. many brazilians are out of work. by mid-2017 the number of unemployed reached 14 million. that's more than ever before. reporter: central rio, just after 4:00 a.m. these people are called semtetos, or "those without a roof." there have never been so many. gilson de oliveira dias is one of at least 20,000 homeless people here. for 30 years, he worked as an unskilled laborer, but he lost his job last december. without work, he lost his home, and didn't receive a penny from

the state. gilson's greatest fear is that the authorities will now take his four-year-old daughter away from him. that's why the child and her mother, helen, stay with a friend as often as they can. but there's no room for gilson there. the family has been torn apart. both parents bring their daughter to nursery school in the morning, in their old neighborhood. gilson: how am i supposed to rent a flat? it's far too expensive. what i earn on the street is not enough for housing or even food. helene: it's really very sad that we can't be together as a family. what with him on the street, and my daughter and i living apart from him. reporter: at the nursery school, they act as if everything is normal. they don't want anyone here to find out they've become homeless. at 7:00 a.m., gilson begins his day. he walks 15 or 20 kilometers looking for any work.

the state doesn't even provide him a bus ticket, let alone a meal. that's left to charitable citizens, who sometimes come by with breakfast, like here in the flamengo quarter, not far from the atlantic coast. they give him water, juice, a sandwich, and coffee. gilson: these people do a great service, it's wonderful. i like coming here. and this coffee is important to me. reporter: around 300 homeless people have come here today. for most, their troubles began just last year. >> everything was fine up until the olympics. there were enough jobs. but after the games, it all fell apart. we were completely caught up in the crisis, and it's getting worse. reporter: not only has welfare been cut, the security situation in brazil is also deteriorating, especially in rio.

violence has returned. during the world cup and the olympics, the favelas were pacified with a huge police presence. now it's worse than before. so far this year, about twice as many police officers have been killed than last year. luis: there's no more security, because social justice has crumbled, and there's severe poverty. it's almost pointless to fight against it. for example, when a father with two or three children goes hungry for five months, that's sick and it's wrong. there is no decent healthcare system, and on top of that, there's high unemployment. some people earn millions, while others have nothing. reporter: by early afternoon, gilson is tired of waiting for someone to offer him a job. he says it won't happen, anyway. so, the former laborer heads to the shops, looking door to door.

he says he'll do anything -- clean, wash dishes, deliver messages, work in a stockroom. gilson: it's so hard -- there's no work anywhere. i knock on door after door -- but so far, it's been useless. i hope just once, something will appear. reporter: the hardest work has begun -- collecting cans in the deep sands of the copacabana beach. a kilogram of aluminum cans is worth about 60 euro cents. but winter is a tough season. the government has cut another half a million families off welfare. most of them will probably fall into the abyss, just like gilson. he meets his family again. for him, the brief moments spent with his daughter are the most important part of the day. gilson: how could i give up? the little one needs us.

just like we need her, but she needs us even more. this is the kind of life we lead. but thank god, we can keep going. reporter: the little girl knows that her father has to go away again, just like every evening. the short time together was enjoyable, and parting is painful. now he turns his attention to the night ahead. gilson recovers his bedding hidden beneath a manhole cover. he's learned a lot of tricks in his first six months on the streets of rio. he cooks with a few friends -- food bought for a few pennies. gilson never indulges himself. he gives all he has to his wife and daughter. then suddenly, noisy celebrations at the church across the street. it's a magical moment for gilson. he can only stare up in amazement, as if the fireworks

had been intended for him. after all, he deserves it. host: around 2.2 billion people around the world are obese. that's nearly a third of the global population. and it's not just adults. in 2015, an estimated 107 million children were overweight. the main cause is diet -- fast food with too much fat and sugar. the leader when it comes to obesity is the usa, but others are catching up, including china. there, as a result of increased affluence, people are piling on the pounds. reporter: toiling on the treadmill. zhang yutong is just 11 but already weighs 80 kilos. his parents have sent him to this weight loss camp for the

summer. for almost two months, he'll spend every day working up a sweat, hoping to lose 30 kilos. zhang: i have to lose weight for school. because if i want a good grade point average, i need better marks in sports class. reporter: this kind of reasoning makes sense in a country where competition is at the core of the educational system. it's a motivator for most of the boys here, though some girls say they are also here to improve their looks. others have no personal incentive at all. guo: it's my parents who are worried i'm getting too fat. that's why they sent me here. reporter: most of the camp participants are here because their parents stepped in.

but ironically, camp organizers say it's the parents and grandparents who are largely responsible for the problem. jia: most here come from well-off families. the parents are often very busy, so usually the grandparents look after the children. and because they survived famine, it's important to them that the children are never hungry. on the contrary -- they are spoiled, they should grow big and strong. and that leads to many children getting fat. reporter: obesity has been on the rise in china for years. almost one in three adults is overweight. beijing university and unicef have just published new figures on childhood obesity. they've found that 12% of children between the ages of seven and twelve are overweight.

they say that if nothing is done now, by 2030, that figure will more than double. the weight loss camp is trying to do something about these developments. mainly through exercise, but also by changing eating habits -- less meat and a lots of vegetables. 11-year-old zhang yutong generally doesn't mind, but he says the food at home is better -- there's a lot more meat. in fact there's hardly any meal without meat. 23-year-old li yang is very self critical. li: i didn't eat healthily at home -- much too irregularly, actually, whenever i was hungry. here, there are just three meals a day and that's good. reporter: the battle against the kilos is also often an internal struggle.

jia: of course sometimes children try to smuggle in extra food. not because they're hungry, but because their bad habits are so strong. that's why we have surveillance cameras everywhere and there are always instructors on site. reporter: changing bad habits. that's also the goal of the exercise program. four to six hours a day, only sunday afternoons are free. li yang has been following this intense schedule for three weeks now. the trainer asks how many she can do li yang answers, about 20. she is among those who are here on their own initiative. she has just completed her studies and wants to look for a job. but first she needs to lose 30 kilos she says, in order to improve her chances. she's already lost 17. li: i think i'm too fat, i can't buy any nice clothes any more.

i also have health issues. reporter: health problems are indeed on the rise in china. experts have been warning for years that obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and poor eating habits will all contribute to higher rates of heart attacks and strokes. however, it seems that not everyone has understood that obesity endangers much more than just grade averages at school. jia: you can see for yourself immediately who is motivated and who isn't. of course there are differences. this boy for instance is very motivated. the one behind him, not so much. reporter: this kind ort isn't likely to see long-term success -- even if his parents shelled out the equivalent of 3500 euros for the 12-week program. even if the kids and teens

understand the dangers of obesity, when camp is over, they're back at home, eating with their families. and so far, virtually no one in china is teaching parents about healthy habits. host: and now in "global snack," we head to the island of principe to check out a local delicacy. reporter: principe is an island off the west coast of africa, close to the equator. it's one of the two main islands of the nation of sao tome and principe, and is home to about 8000. the main language is portuguese. it's monday morning, and at beira mar, preparations are underway for lunch.

judith alfonso -- known as dona tete -- is cooking the specialty of the day -- moqueca de peixe, fish stew. five kilos of fresh fish have to be scaled, gutted, and cut into pieces. maqueque is the main vegetable in the stew. it's also known as african eggplant. then come onions, tomatoes, and coriander. dona: and mucua leaves. reporter: those are the leaves of the baobab tree. dona tete says they add a lot of flavor. and they're said to be good for digestion. dona tete opened beira mar 20 years ago. she started out cooking at home. the recipe also calls for red palm oil. on principe, almost everything

is cooked with it. dona: and more mucua. reporter: what do they taste like? dona: sour. i add the fish later, so it doesn't get too soft. we cook the fish separately, and add it to the stew once that's almost done. reporter: the stew is eaten with rice. beira mar has become a very popular lunch place. the stew has turned yellow. dona: that's the palm oil. each portion has two pieces of fish. reporter: it's lunch time, and the restaurant is filling up. a portion of fish stew plus dessert costs the equivalent of three euros fifty. >> the moqueca was very tasty. it's a traditional dish, and she

makes it every monday. after an exhausting weekend, we come every monday, and the stew gives us renewed energy. reporter: it's famous, right? >> absolutely, dona tete's stew is the best. reporter: that's why it always sells out, but dona tete keeps some aside for the children to eat as they head home from school. host: bangladesh is a densely populated country, and yet around 17 million people there are still not connected to the national grid. so, many are turning to solar power instead. now a german startup wants to enable those who can't afford solar panels, to illuminate their homes, too. our reporter, marion hutter, travelled to a village where everyone will soon benefit from

solar power thanks to the new technology. marion: these cables are in great demand. the national electricity grid in bangladesh doesn't extend to the island of rangabali on the bay of bengal. many vendors at the market here have solar panels. a company called solshare wants to network these individual units to create a local grid that will supply the entire market of the village of mollarbazaar. aziza: we need to find out where the densely populated solar home systems are installed, then only possible to make a grid, connecting the neighboring solar home systems. so yes, we need to look into many things, the feasibility of the technological setup, then, of course, we can move. marion: for the business owners here, a local mini-grid would

have a lot of advantages. they'd be able to connect their solar units to the grid, and sell any excess electricity. or buy electricity from a neighbor. the company has developed an electricity meter that enables peer-to-peer electricity trading in a smart-grid system. called a solbox, it also helps local businessmen expand their operation. for example, the local barber. shanjay: now i can stay open when it gets dark. but i need an electric hair trimmer, so i can serve even more customers. marion: soon, 150 businesses will be connected to the peer-to-peer grid. but the potential market is even bigger than that. bangladesh has the most private solar systems of anywhere in the world -- more than four million

of them. the solbox is manufactured in bangladesh. the start-up isn't turning a profit yet, but it's won over major supporters, including the asian development bank and germany's giz development agency. the boss sebastian groh is german, and a former investment banker. sebastian: we haven't always been here. we started out in stanford, california, then moved to berlin. but that wasn't the right fit. this is where we had our breakthrough. when you make something and then see it being used right away, at the very same location, see what people are doing with it, and that it works -- it's twice as nice, because you can see what you've accomplished. marion: groh's company is now based in dhaka. he's learned how businesses operate in bangladesh, and learned enough bengali to get by, day to day.

the problem is that people or companies that feed energy into bangladesh's national grid aren't paid for that surplus power. with national elections due late next year, that's not likely to change. the government is also promoting the use of nuclear power. not much is happening on the traffic front, either. sebastian: everything's close together here, the distances aren't that great. so bangladesh is just right for electromobility. marion: solshare is also planning another pilot project. this one will offer solar charging stations for the battery rickshaw drivers in the country. there are about 800,000 of them. the plan is to have local

microgrids sell their excess energy to the charging stations. sebastian: our goal is to help develop rural areas. energy trading is already helping with that, and it's helped boost efficiency. local people are trading energy, and allocation is improving. but we also need to bring money from outside into the villages. when the rickshaw drivers come into the villages, they bring entirely new opportunities for development with them. marion: bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries. more than 1000 rivers make developing infrastructure difficult. we're back on rangabali island, which is only accessible by ferry. next to roads, utility poles are lying on the ground, unused.

it's a common sight. 17 million households are too isolated to be connected to the national grid. in the village of mollarbazaar, the shops are open late into the evening, thanks in part to the new local energy grid. host: don't forget to check out our facebook page -- dw global society. there you'll find out about other topics we think are important. and you can meet our "berlin globals" -- people from all over the world, who now live in berlin. what do they like about the city? today, we hear from eddie chung from hong kong. dw global society -- follow us. ♪

eddie: how did i start skateboarding? i was 15, 16, and actually one day i found a skateboard, someone left his skateboard in a cafe, and i just kind of picked it up and started to skate. skateboarding is really more than a sport. it's a real lifestyle. i've been skating for so long, from cities to cities. i think the skateboarding community here, it's fairly small, so once you know one person, you kind of get to know another person very easily. and i think skateboarding is very creative, and also once you're a skateboarder, i do believe that you look at the world completely different. ♪

i was born in hong kong, and then i went to -- i moved to australia when i was 15. and then i did two years working holiday travel in europe. i design digital products, such as web applications and mobile applications. helping people to do what they want to do with the applications. to compare the other places i've lived in, berlin is a very special place. it has a pretty good balance of, you know -- you have of your life -- life and work. and it's such an amazing city

that -- u know, wi so many open-minded people here. it just has a lot of opportunities and just so, it has so much energy here. it's incredible. ♪ host: in our next program, we meet some animals who love the slow-life -- sloths. but in suriname, the habitat of these mellow creatures is being threatened by deforestation. that's all from "global 3000" this week. thanks for joining us. take care, and see you soon. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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