Global Us: What connects us all

The housing shortage in and around Rio de Janeiro has worsened during the pandemic: more and more are living on the streets or in impoverished neighbourhoods. One sustainable project offers needy people the chance to build their own apartment.

Clean drinking water is vital — but, for many people, access to it is difficult and expensive. A pastor in an Indonesian village encourages people to make use of a dependable water supply that comes free of charge: rainwater.

Restricted areas are a blessing for nature, allowing flora and fauna to flourish free of human influence. The once fortified Cold War border which divided the two Germanys is now a “Green Belt” nature reserve running through the whole country.

The Dominican Republic markets itself as a tropical vacation paradise. But behind the scenes lie heaps of trash from mass tourism. People like Eddy Rosado and the UN environment program are trying to shrink the Caribbean nation's garbage dumps.

Mario Fallas runs a fruit juice stand in Belén in Costa Rica. His speciality is freshly squeezed sugarcane juice.

Industrialized agriculture destroys soil and biodiversity worldwide. It also uses a lot of water and contributes to climate change. One alternative is aquaponics, combining vegetable farming with raising fish.

Using conservation to reduce property taxes and get landowners to leave their land to nature: Candice Stevens and her Wilderness Foundation have converted 500,000 hectares of land in South Africa into nature reserves.

Esther Yiampaine Tinayo and James Mokoire Moonka are Maasai. They show us their home near Amboseli National Park in Kenya.

Animals in need find sanctuary with Anjali Gopalan. There are now 800 animals living at her shelter near Delhi, from horses to budgies. But she is equally committed to helping disadvantaged people.

In Kyrgyzstan, women move in with their husband's family when they marry. Expectant parents want sons and heirs. As a result, abortion rates are high. But a growing number of women are rising up against the social pressure.