♪ host: welcome to "global 3000." coming up ththis week, fooood e and hunger -- we meeeet peoplen the e philippines determined o cut down on both. and what about other types of trash? far too much of it ends up in the nile river. enter egt's clean-n-up activists. and just where is our planet headed? how climate change is already affecting herders in kenya. climate change is incrcreasingy having an impact all over the plplet. tetemperatures are s soarin,

sea-levels are rising. droughts and wildfires are no longer the exception. more and more, they're becoming the rule. people in sub-saharan africa are particularly up against it. in some areas, average temperatures have risen by two degrees celsius or more since the 1970's. heat, crop failures and floods are forcing people to flee their homes. the world bank says around 86 million people could be displaced in africa in the next 30 years, more than anywhere else in the world. in kenya, we met a man who struggles with the effects of climate change every day. but he's not taking it lying down. reporter: these days, it takes a long time to find a place for his animals to graze. roba guyo has been a goatherd for decades. but conditions have never been so tough. roba: the climate is

overwhelming us. the biggest problem is the lack of water. there's nothing we can do. reporter: over time, the heat has become more extreme, and water supplies have dwindled. when kenya was hit by drought two years ago, roba lost almost his entire herd. that prompted him to take action, and file a lawsuit against the european union. roba: my message to you europeans is that you've got to stop it. i don't know whether you're personally to blame or whether you can talk with the ones responsible. reporter: an aid group helped him to get his case together. the aim, to hold those responsible for climate change to account. roba: i asked myself, "who can help me?" the aid organization told us that the causes behind climate change are human. i took part in the lawsuit because i'm desperate. it has to stop.

the heat is just about melting my brain. porter: roba and 250 o other fafamilies live e in the villaf badanreero i in kenya's nonortn bubushland. there's electrity, no tap war, no mole phoneetwork. viage lifes govern by the anals and e sun. he livesith his cond wif d their ildren. early morning breakfast is sometimes chapapati, a kind of pancake. but they often have to make do with just a cup ofof tea until evening time. he has t to get his heherd toe water r hole by 10:0:00. goatherds here only get one chance a day to provide their animals with something to drink. water is strictly rationed.

the aim is to make it last for as long as possible. but the strategy is not proving very effective. there are simply too many farmers to cater for. at midday, the villagers gather for a meeting. the water level is dropping too fast, right in the middle of the dry season. they reach a decision. the outside herders who've been staying in badanreero will no longer be welcome. dida: only two weeks ago two tribes fought it out in the hills. four people died, four were wounded. reporter: life has always been hard in this region. but the villagers fear that climate chchange is intensifyig centururies-olold conflicts. fayo: i'm getting frightened. i can't do anything about these problems. i can't fight the drought.

and i can't help myself. i'm stuck. you can't even sleep in your house at night becausese of te heat. reporter: the villagers have some firearms to defend themselves and their water, something we're not supposed to film. they've been driven off three times by neighboring tribes. in late afternoon after school, lelo and her mother set off to collect water. the villagers get their drinking water from a different pond and carry it all the way home. a yellow canister holds 18 liters. dima supports her husband's climate change lawsuit and hopes that it will encourage people to change their behavior. dima: these people have to change their ways and stop doing things that result in all this heat. our animals shouldn't have to die.

if it really happens, and our case is heard and something changes and the cycle is broken, then that would be good for us. reporter: the heat means they have to do the water run many times over. then it's time to cook. goat is on the menu today, but only because we're here, a special occasionon. normallyly the animals are sol. the guyos aren't after money with their lawsuit. their greatest wish is that e.u. countries do more to protect the climate. after all, it's their future, and that of their children, that's at stake. host: a tougher european climate strategy -- that's what roba guyo and plaintiffs from nine other countries want.

an e.u. court has since rejected their case. now the group is considering going a step further and taking it to the european court of justice. that casase shows thatat thinge happppening. many other people arndnd the globe are refufusing to stanany and d watch climatate change dey our planet.. worldwide, groups of people ee getttting getherero collect rubbish, like in the "lelet's o it" projecect. and d efforts likeke that ae desperatately needed.. it takes around 450 years for plastic waste to degrade in the environment. and every year, up to 13 million tons of it lands in the oceans. plastic has no place in other waterways either, like one of the world's longest rivers, which has been inundated by a mountain of rubbish. reporter: the nile is the lifeblood of egypt, and vital for the irrigation of its farmland.

but the river and its countless canals have become severely polluted and full of trash. over time, the plastic breaks down into ever smaller pieces. the microparticles enter the water supply, ending up in crops, and in fish, and then in their human consumers. samer is a fisherman working on the nile. he knows first-hand about the problems pollution causes. samer: when i'm out on the water i see lots of plasastic, bottls and other containers. all this rubbish tears up my net, and it kills the fish, too. reporter: shady abdallah is an activist who takes very practical steps to clean the river and its banks. he also speaks out against the scourge of trash and pollution. that takes courage. the government has little tolerance of criticism. shady is a co-founder of

verynile, an initiative that works with fishermen, ecologists, and the public to clean up the river and to raise awareness. shady: we have had a lot of comments. when i throw my garbage, we ask the question, where do you think it goes? theyey say it just goes away. it's not his problem anymore. he just throws it into a river, and just thinks the river carries it away so it's not my problem anymore. so people don't understand how this can backfire on them, and how it affects them. reporter: it would seem that some egyptians no longer revere and respect ththe river, t m mn source of wawater for ththe population. but the verynile initiative has won the support of the environment minister, yasmine fouad. a surprising development, given that initiatives even slightly critical of the state of affairs in the country are usually nipped in the bud. but the masses of trash choking the river are now too conspicuous to be ignored.

yasmsmine: we need to make an effective collection f for the waste, whether the organic or the non-organic, and then have the number of factories that are abable to recycle that and the appropriate number of the landfill. reporter: across egypt, only about 60% of waste is collected at all. and of that, only a fifth is recycled. shady sometimes visits the partner-enterprises that recycle the plastic fished out of the river by verynile volunteers. working here is considered a lowly occupation. abdel is 15 and earns a pittance. shady abdallllah and his t teae among the few who care about the people who process the trash. shady: it is not an easy process. the recycling here has a lot of health precautions a and consequences for the recycling. many people are trying to get more safe professions.

reporter: verynile is also active in southern egypt. luxor is a city of half a million with spectacular ancient ruins, frequented by tourists from around the world. it too has a trash problem. verynile has made a name for itself throughout the cocountr, despite all the obstacles itits encountered. shady: the first obstacle was technically the whole authorization to be in the street, because there is a law against gathering, to do whatever, so we had to talk to three ministries, we had to bring so many governmental support and partners in order to be legitimate, and not threatening to the security for being in the street. reporter: the scale of the problem is vast. today's trash-gathering effort will not save the nile, but is of huge symbolic significance.

raising awareness is crucial, inspiring people to care about the environment. shady: two years ago we thought we were only very, very, very few people. and this is what we have been told over and over again, that there is no hope, this is hopeless, we should stop. one year ago, we saw three or four people. today, we see tens of people in one governorate, we see thousands in cairo. so maybe next year we are going to see hundreds in governorate and hundreds of thousands in cairo. and this wave is going to grow. i had a very moving moment when i saw them. reporter: shady abdallah's green wave will keep rolling if his fellow-egyptians join in to protect and care for the nile. the river is central to their cultural heritage and to their economy. and it's a treasure of immense beauty.

host: waste is also the focus of our global ideas series this week. or to be more specific, food waste. food that's thrown away even though i it is clearly still edibible. it's a widespread problem in many countries, including the philippines. in tagaytay, south of the capital manila, an awareness of the issue is growing, and people are starting to look for solutions. our reporter gönna ketels was there, and took part in an innovative cookery course. reporter: poverty -- it's what drives these people to look through sacks of garbage in manila for something to eat. they've been sifting through the waste since early this morning. the food doesn't have to be appetizing, it just shouldn't make them sick. filipa: you can take it, it isn't spoilt. i take it home, wash it, boil it, and then cook it.

reporter: filipa balde feeds her family with food that someone else has thrown away. the term for such scraps in the local language, tagalog, is "pagpag." about 13 million people in the philippines can't afford three meals a day. this is the other side of the philippines, though. prosperous and wasteful. all-you-can-eat buffets are very popupular with those who can py for them. of course, restaurants throw away a lot of the food they prepare. melody: when you are wasting your food you are wasting a lot of resources, such as water, electricity, nutrients o of te soil, and even the intermediate processes when you transfer food, manufacture, distribute. so all of these things are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. reporter: melody melo-rijk runs the sustainable production and consumption project of the ngo wwf philippines.

she advises restaurants and hotels on ways to reduce waste. today she's visiting the resort town of tagaytay. it's about a 1.5 hour drive from manila. members of the city's growing middle class like to spend the weekend here chilling out and eating well. the picnic grove is a park where people do exactly what the name suggests. many bring along food from home. >> it's a cultural thing. so we always find excuses to get together, so we can share food. >> this is one way for us to have a bond with the family, with the friends. reporter: increasing prosperity goes hand-in-hand with growing wastefulness. an estimated 300,000 tons of rice are thrown away in the philippines every year. marlon azuelo is doing something to combat that. he's a cook who prepares healthy dishes at a spa hotel.

azuelo is determined to minimize waste. he uses every part of a vegetablble that can be eaten, d composts orgrganic waste. and he takes other steps as well. marlon: actually, the best way is through portioning. wewe used to serve big portionsf our dishes, and a lot was wasted. so we decided to downsize our portions. but on our menu, some items are still described as good for two persons, good for five or for a family, or a platter for a group of friends, so that's still there. but for individuals, we have downsized portions, and we garnish the dishes in such a way that they look bigger than they are. reporter: marlon azuelo is involved in the project run by melody melo-rijk. she often explains to chefs how wasting food is bad for the climate. melody: when you have food waste and they end up in landfills,

they decay naturally and they produce more potent greenhouse gas in the form of methane, which is more than 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in our atmosphere. rererter: the e hotel where azuo works even offers its guests tours of its own kitchen garden. as well as cooking classes. azuelo teaches guests ways to avoid generating waste when they cook at home. he also recommends using parts of plants that are usually discarded, like banana flowers. or making fries out of potato skins. or soup out of onion skins. >> right n now i feel likeke i shshould have e utilized all e ingredients, all the parts that i haven't cooked before.

so now i think i should be more responsible e in cooking or in preparing food. >> i never really knew that that can actually affect the environment. so, this is actually an enlightening experience. reporter: of course, classes at a luxury hotel don't reach a wide audience. and large volumes of food will continue to be discarded across the country.y. but there's now a bill before parliament in the philippines that would oblige food manufacturers, restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets to donate surplus edible food for distribution by food banks to the needy. for now though, huge amounts of discarded food still end up in a dump in the district of payatas. waste pickers here look for things of value in the garbage. filipa balde usually finds some food that looks edible. she started working as a waste picker two years ago.

after her husband died, the burden of feeding the family fell completely on her shoulders. the first thing she does with the chicken she retrieved from the refuse is boil it, to kill the bactereria. then she fries it with onions, and serves it to her children and grandchildren for supper. filipa: here you either have work or you don't. sure, it would be better not to have to eat this, but it's this or nothing. life is hard. reporter: her family will probably have to continue living off discarded food, but receiviving it from a food bak would certainly be better than pulling it out of a pile of garbage. she says the revolting stench is something you never get used to. host: sometimes it can be vital

to look problems straight in the eye. and not just figuratively. poor vision can be very frustrating, and even dangerous. problems with eyesight are common pretty much everywhere, irrespective of age or cultural circumstances. the world health organization estimates around 1.3 billion people globally have impaired vision. and many of them have e no accs to thehe devices that t can hp correct it. reporter: ascencion de guarayos is a rural town of about 17,000 people in central bolivia. jennifer is waiting to have her eyes tested. she can't see well anymore, and it's hard for her to read her sheet music. she plays the violin and is preparing for a big concert in a local church. jennifer: every performance is special, and we give our all to make it sound really good. we practice and practice and practice until it's just right.

reporter: they'll be playing a medley of european baroque music brought here jesuit priests, and traditional indigenous music. but jennifer's eyesight is causing her problems. jennifer: sometimes i can't read the music because it's all blurry. i want to be able to read everythihing properly again. reporter: jennifer needs glasses, and rider cereza works for an ngo that provides them. it's called lentes al instante, or "instant lenses." rider and his colleagues are spending over a week here. demand is very high. the ngo is based in santa cruz de la sierra, bolivia's largest city, 300 kilometers to the south. lentes al instante is part of the global onedollarglasses ngo based in germany. at its bolivian headquarters they make the frames for distribution throughout south

america. franz: there are three different sizes. small, medium, and large. we make about 200 a day. reporter: the frames have sturdy steel wire rims and can hold lenses of different thicknesses. it takes about a quarter of an hour to make each frame. in addition to helping people in need, the ngo has also created jobs for local people. the frames are then distributed to various towns. in this case, ascencion de guarayos. the 300 kilometer trip takes a full 11 hours, because the roads are so poor. there's been a shortage of frames in ascencios, so locals are looking forward to the new delivery.

including jennifer. so far, the ngo has seen about 700 people here. most can be supplied with glasses. but about 20% of patients need special lenses that the ngo doesn't have. for example,ecause t they have astigmatism. jennifer can read d the top for sentences, but then things get blurry. a school class have come to get their eyes tested here too. the ngo does not charge for the glasses. for locals who can't afford to go to a regular optician, it's an invaluablble service. teresita: there are so many children who need help. sometimes in class they tell me they can't see anything unless they go right up close to the blackboard. then i have to seat them at the front.

reporter: neysa has been blind in her lefeft eye since she hadn accident with a knife. and she has impaired vision in her right eye, too. neysa: it gets tired when i read. >> can you read this? nothing? you really can't read anything at all? neysa: not really. >> your eyesight isn't very good. is this better? even better? with the lenses, she can read four more lines. and that will really help her with her schoolwork. reporter: now it's jennifer's turn. rider: is this better? jennifer: it looks closer. reporter: then rider choses the right size of frame, mounts the

lenses, and adjusts the arms. jennifer: thank you. reporter: finally, it's time for the concert. it's a big event, and will be broadcast on local tv. jennifer is performing for the first time wearing her new glasses. ♪ jennifer: i was a bit nervous. reporter: could she read the music? jennifer: yeah, it was fine.

host: and that's all for this week. but do write to us, global3000@dw.com. and check out our facebook page too, dw women. bye for now. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> the following program is an original production of link tv. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. i'm so delighted to come here and talk about our work. and this i is an o occasion tha, uh, gives me the opportunity to raise more issues that we see in the connection with our work. grameen bank, which was started back in 1976... not as an fo