Global Us: What connects us all

Dakito Atestata is a spiritual leader of the Shekacho, an old Ethiopian clan. His favorites are the didos, sacred groves in Sheka Forest in the southwest of the country. “The gods listen to us in the forest,” he says.

The idea is simple: worldwide there are 20 times more smartphone users than starving children. If these users donated money via their smartphones, they could do a lot to relieve hunger in the world. A Berlin start-up has developed what it calls the "40 cent idea" with its app: "Share the Meal.”

Niras Bishwakarma is twelve years old and has lived in a tent in a Nepalese refugee camp since the major earthquake a year ago.

There are only about 8,000 Barbary macaques remaining in northern Africa. In many places they’re captured as house pets or tourist attractions, and their habitat is shrinking. An NGO is carrying out an information campaign to protect them.

Virtual reality technology is being used to help aid organizations raise funds. Potential donors are sent virtually to where aid is needed. The UN project has reported initial success.

There are 20 times more smartphone users than starving children worldwide. With “Share the Meal,” a Berlin-based start-up’s app, those users can donate small amounts of money to support food aid programs for children in crisis regions.

The Tanon Strait lies between the Philippine islands of Negros and Cebus. It is a resting ground for whales, dolphins and home to rare marine plants. As biodiversity comes under threat, locals are getting involved in its protection.

Gideon Saitabau Sinyok is a semi-nomadic Massai with eight siblings.

Style coach Lisa Pippus from Canada lives with her Japanese roommate in Berlin's Moabit district. Her furnishings are a mixture of old and new styles, artworks by her father and travel souvenirs.

The island of Corfu, which now belongs to Greece, was a British protectorate in the 19th century. The British cemetery is an oasis of calm in the island's bustling capital. 87-year-old cemetery gardener George Psailas enjoys cult status: not only does he devotedly care for the graves; he was actually born on the grounds of the cemetery, and he's already chosen his final resting place there.