♪ what would we do witithout all e people across the world who help others? in sweden, we meet a woman who has opened her home to people who have had to flee theheirs. in iran, an entrepreneur offers former prisoners a n new startn life. his slogan -- come work for me. in the u.s., more and more people have e no choice but to live in motels. they, too, depend on the kindness of others.

the united states is the world's biggest economy, so surely people there must be able e to afford a place to live? unfortunately, the reality is very different. last year alone, average rents nationwi r rose by almlmost 3, and that has clear consequences. over the past few years, the number of those spending more than half their income on housing has tripled. they now total just over 11.1 million. more and more families are simply unable to afford the steep rents. so what's the alternative? theresa: what kind of homework you got? kyra: i've got math and a reading assignment. reporter: kyra is 11 years old and lives with her grandmother in a mototel. kyra's grarandmother is helpig her with her homework. theresa: that you hope to do and dreams that you hope to achieve. oh, i like this. reporter: a composition about

goals and dreams. the 54-year-old likes the topic. she wants to do everything to ensure that her granddaughter has a bright future and a better life, far away from the run-down motel. kyra: sometimes i miss my room where i can n just go down, st downwn, and you won't hear the neighbors going back and forth and knocking on the walls and stuff. and you can stay in your own space. it feels like a smaller, but still big classroom. reporter: kyra and her grandmother had to move out of their previous home because of mold, so they came here. belongings are piled up everywhere, and they don't get clean sheets regularly, despite paying $1200 a month. most of theresa's money, from her widow and d disability pension, g goes toward r rent. putting something aside, to save for a rental deposit for example, is not popossible.

ththeresa: don't g give up n yourseself. that's the most important thing. if you've got to cry, cry. because, hey, it's happening. it's there. don't go out and get all drugged up and get drunk. because when you come down off your high, the situation is still there. reporter: there are countless motels like this across the united states. they're not really for business travelers or even tourists. but placeses like this can prott people, who still have a bit money, from homelessness. good business for those running the motels, but a vicious cycle for the people who live here. donna howard wants to help people like theresa. here in brunswick in the state of georgia, there are hardly any affordable apartments. for many here, an even bigger problem is the lack of savings. donna: they still require them to have the first month's rent, security deposit, which is usually the same as the first month's rent.

although there are utilities required, they'll then have to have a deposit for that as well. so if you're making minimum wage, you can't afford to do all that, because that's all up-front cost. so that's why the motel-living is so rampant right now. because none of that is required when you live in a motel. reporter: together with her friend maria, donna has set up a non-profit organization. in their free time, the two women distribute food to people who have the tough choice between paying rent or buying food. all their handouts come from donations, including from restaurants. the partners have been doing this for almost two years. before that, they had no idea how many people lived permanently in motels. almost 20% of people living in the area are below the poverty line. many of them do have jobs, but still earn barely enough to survive.

>> they're a godsend. they're angels. their wings are just hidden. reporter: donna and maria know all too well that someone who works in a car wash is often paid only in tips, and lives in fear of losing even this roof over their heads. donna: look at this place. it is just so sad. and a lot of times i think they just want to talk to someone that doesn't live here. sosomeone that's kind of outsie of their parameters. but for the most part we feel they just need food. that's the biggest thing that they always take is food. reporter: also here in brunswick, near an old factory, is a small motel run as a family business. motel owner kamal patel knows that his 13 rooms are not exactly luxurious. he also wants to make money. but in spite of a rent of $200 a week, patel tries to maintain a certain standard.

he even washes the shower curtains regularly. kamal: there's a saying -- can i swear, or not? repoporter: yeah, sure. kamal: . do not serve up -- that you're not willing to eat. if i'm not willing to stay in one of my own rooms, what makes you think somebody else will? reporter: many of patel's tenants have been here for years. tamoka hughes is a waitrtress o lives at the motel with her partner and two step-children. when hughes became unemployed, she discovered she didn't have enough money to pay rent. from the first day of delayed payment there were reminder fees. tamoka: even though i've done everything that i was supposed to do -- i didn't have kids at an eararly age, i've worked, i finished school -- i did everything that i was supposed to do. and i can't get any kind of help. and it bothers me that these girls that are out here making babies left and right get everything, and they don't work for anything. but everything is handed to them.

reporter: tamoka's step-son ely proudly shows us the smileys in his exercise book. trey, his father, lays carpet for a living. in spite of being a two income family, they still don't have enough money to rent their own apartment. for dinner the family is having salad, and for a table, as always, they use the bed. trey: the american dream, pretty much. you know what i'm saying? complaining about it really won't help. you know what i'm saying? just take it in stride, try to do better every day. reporter: trey hopes that by the beginning of next year, at the latest, the family will be able to move out. until then, the oleander motel will be home -- the only one the family can afford. host: a woman in sweden is also dedicated to helping others. this week's global living room is in malmo.

jenny: hi,i, there. welcome to m my house and d ga. my name isis jenny. i'm a landscape engineer and psychotherapist. i live in my house here in malmo together with pullum and imaan. they bototcame to sweden as refugees three years ago. the heheart of my house isy tiled stove, w wch remininds mef the tibetan thangka clouds. whenen i was travevelling in e world, thehe world was v vey friendly and welcoming to mem. i used to live in south koa for a a while, and m my friende these lilittle people,e, a i t k

they definelely belongng in my i used to lhouse. south koa i lo carpets bause of the patterns and the colors, especially this one. it's a carpet from iran. one of the guys in my house, his sister, she makes carpets. coming back to sweden, i wouldh the world gagave to me whehen s traveling. liling together like this s isn one point of v view a comproro, but t i treat the e world the i lieveve ishe w world's onlyy fufuture. bybye. thank you for visiting. host: our next rort focuses on helping otothers, too. iran is a muslim country that strictly enforces religious laws. those caught breaking any of

them can be punished. they include homosexuality -- it's strictly forbidden and punishable by death. it's illegal to keep a dog in your apartment, or walk one in public. women are prohibited from riding a bike. dances like the tango are off limits, as is prostitution. officials come down heavily on those who contravene the laws. iran's prisons are bursting at the seams. around 230,000 people arare currtly in jaithere. and former prisoners areften ostracized by society. masoud: this is where we slept. i'm sure that in an hour or two, someone will show up and take shelter under this tarp for the night.

i've slept in worse circumstances. we'd put plastic bags like this over our heads for cover when it rarained at night. sometimes we'd lie under old blankets. reporter: we ask masoud whether anyone tried to help him. masoud: no, i never had anywhere to go. my society rejects drug addicts. and when everybody in your family despises you, then society does, too. reporterer: he lived here on te outskirts of the city of mashhad, in eastern iran, for two years. masoud turned to crime to support his drug habit and ended up in jail, normally a disgrace that you never recover from in iran. but masosoud was lucky, he gota second chance.

having a criminal record was no impediment to getting a job at ththis company. the workers herere process and package olives. masoud greets the founder of the company, alireza nabi. almost everyone on the staff is either a former drug addict, a woman who worked as a prostitute, or a single mother -- all people ostracized by iranian society. the scheme has enabled them to begin a new life. alireza nabi says, who are we to judge them? when he visits prisons to recruit his workers, he brings released from jail. you'll have a job with us. i don't understand how, for exexample, someone like hadi cod be put behind bars for 13 years. he's the guy standing right

behind you. reporter: where? alireza: behind you. reporter: are you hadi? alireza: no, him. reporter: i'm so thankful to you, hadi says. hadi now manages the company's finances. the boss has entrusted him with a big responsibility. the employees spend their breaks together. nabi wants the staff -- whom he refers to as his children -- to get used to a regular routine and to look out for one another. he also wants toto offer hope o those in s seemingly hopeless situations. >> we bought firecrackers, and threw them at a butcher's shop. the butcher came out and started a fight. i defended myself, i hit him in the face.

but the firecracker went off in my hand and tore it to shreds, as well as the face of the butcher. he died. i was sentenced to death. i'm supposed to be executed. i'm so tired. for the past four years, i could have been executed at any time. i almost don't care anymore if the sentence is appealed again. i just want clarity. reporter: alireza nabi is taking us to where he goes when he feels drained by all the tragedy he sees in the lives of his workers. he says the growing poverty in his country fills him with despair. alireza: poverty has enormous powewer. poverty can even deaden the sacred feelings a mother has,

driving her to sell her child for a little bit of money. i know so many of them who were forced to do this. to sell a baby, you really have to be in a terrible situation to do that.t. reporter: in a country that should be wealthy thanks to its oil and gas reserves, the middle class seems to be disappearing. the number of people who now live below the poverty line in iran is growing by the day. at the same time, a small elite is growing richer. alireza: the most valuable thing a country has is its people, not the tourist sites or the dams it builds. because it's people who either protect and preserve, or destroy, all that a country has. for example, people can improve the environment, but they can also destroy it. reporter: alireza nabi says he knows first-hand how it feels to

be poor. as a child, he had to sell newspapers on the street to help support his family. if he didn't sell them all, his mother punished him by forcing him to read the unsold newspapers. today, he's grateful to o her. knowledge is wealth, h he say. his hero is one of the greatest persian poets, ferdowsi, who was buried here nearly 1000 years ago. nabi recites one of his favorite poems. the translation -- i may have suffered all those years. but i left something behind for the iranians.

host: this week in global ideas, we're off to the island of grenada. a hot and humid country, keeping cool can be a challenge. grenada lies in the atlantic, jujust north of south america. outside, people cool off in the wateter. and inside, air r conditioning comes to the rescue. but the old machines are bad for the environment.our repe trtravelled to grerenada. she e spoke to peoeople thee working g on alternatitives. reporterer: it's 6:30 0 in the mornrning. here i in grenada, i it's blteteringlyot.. en early in the day. those whcacan, heato t the bch cool off. thanks in part titits carieann climate, grenada has become a . the crease in tourism s ovided an econom booststo

thisislandtate, , ablilingore pele t to ford certain marionit's's auxury product, soso ac's e sosomeing that are uslly y puhased when you hee a hier i ince. so, , we see actuaually now pee havingng this dispososable ine that thehecan spend on not just the refrigerator, bubut also nw on ac's. and with t that there a growi demand alslso in the whohole rn here, in t the world, bubut aln grenada. and for us it isis very importt that t this is done in a green way. reportrter: older aiair condiong units use hyhydroflurocarbrbo, greenhouse gases that are bad for the environment. they're now being replaced by a new system. marion: it's energy efficient, itit's climate friendly. meaning that i it's using nanal refrigigerants whichch don't m the enviroronment. so t they have a v very, very,y low w globalarmingng pentiala. reporter: the new refrigerant is propane, a highly flammable gas.

there arare strict safafety regugulations goveverning its . itit a new challenge for technianans in gnadada. dedennis: hope a all of you ha nicece weekend. porter: at this workshshop, paicicipantsearnrn abo the n new systems. dedennis: hope a all of you ha the training is orninized by polocal professionals,s, with te paicicsupport ofof the germannew corporatioion for internationl cooperatio dedennis: there e aren't really ririsks associatated with norl use.e. the only ririsks are en tenicicians me intnto ntact withth it. when trere's aroblem, and theyn. reporter: every st is discussed inetetail. these pipes e being g sembled to transport the fmmmmable propopane. they neneed to be toy leakak-proof. just like when aikike tu brbrks, you can see ght awaw

inin the water b bath if a wed joint t is leaky, bebecause it s jutiny bubbles.aikike tu dennis: th's's the lkageges we inare searching for.h if a wed jthat l like a uplele of ndredds grams a yearar refrigerantnt is akaking ouof t the stem. it's's important t to keep the leakage rarates in the c coolg faciland d we don't losose any. a a good refrigeran100leak-p-po with flalammable refrigegerantf course, it's's very importana, because every leak represents dang. a flmablble xture of gas ises. report: grenadhas aa populaon. the cotry encompasses e main land a a several smallernenes. despspe its relatively small area, gegetting from a to b ist always e easy. techchnician curtitis james in his waway to a job on the islad of carriacacou.

it's a a 2.5 hour jojourney by . he's w well known inin the coog sysyem businesess -- a man inn demand.. curtis: my parents decided to send mto c college to lelearna skill. i chose plumbing. but when i i got there i i saws of mfrieiends gning g upor refrfrigeration. so, i justst joined themem. i i just dive inin one time. and up to o today i am d doinge me skill. i have no regrets. i i am enjoying itit, yeah. report: carriau has apopula. unsurprisisingly, there's s noe hehere who knows how to workrke propopane systems.s. curtis h has come to i installe new sysystem in a hospital. the installation process is the

but t because theyey'll be trtransporting p propane in thte future, the pipes need to bece curtisisso if we look, if check r gages, iththere was leleak it would send the neede going down back to zero. report: when curtiwas trning, heould takhis me. w, he hato work ster. curtisis: so it's a a lot morek now becacause the s safy prececautions. butut it's fun. i'm enjoyingng it. reporter: whwhile some arere y ininstalli, otothers check t e sysystems alreadady in plal. at the m moment, the q questio, how much more enerergy efficiet are the e new models?? the e sults afteter the first w wes s come aa susurpri. marion: we figured out that basically just in that small period, , we figured out that e new w unit w using onla ththird mof the e electricity t that thd unit wasas using, whicich of ce

reportrter: that migight encoue more peoeople to invesest in aw unit. and by doing so, they'll also be doing g their bit for r the envinmnment. host: and now it's time for something sweet. this week's global snack comes from senegal. reporter: a fishing village on the coast of senegal near the city of rufisque. here, it's the women who sell the catch. the market stretches further inland. this is where kadiatou wade makes and sells her delicious beignets. she makes one batch of dough a day, starting with nutmeg, water, and yeast.

kadiatou: milk, sugar, and eggs. reporter: she won't reveal the other ingredients that make her beignets so tasty. apart from flour, of course. kadiatou wade got the recipe from her mother. her son moducisse helps her knead the dough. she doesn't do it anymore because her shoulders hurt. she tells us the oil has to be really hot. otherwise, the beignets won't get crispy. her customers are familiar with her daily routine, and know when the e first beignets will be ready. kadiatou wade fishes them out of the pan while they're still

light and fluffy inside. they turn golden brown as they cool off. >> a beignet and a cup of coffee, i love it. this is what i have for breakfast every day. it's good for me, and it's so tasty, really. >> they give you strength. the beignets here are really good. reporter: kadiatou wade takes breaks to pray. there's a mosque right next to her stall, and many people come by after prayers to buy her beignets. host: and that's all from us this week. did you enjoy it?

tell us what you thought. write to global3000@dw.com or check out our facebook page, dw global society. see you next time. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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