areas of land in syria and iraq. 2015 saw it lose some of this territory. and the retreat has continued this year, too. but there's been no let-up in the group's violence. in iraq alone, 7,000 people lost -- 7500 people lost their lives in terror attacks last year, more than in any other country worldwide. reporter: their grief is indescribable. the al-darrajis lost seven of their family members to a car bomb attack. amar al-darraji: these are my two brothers. that is my nephew, and up here is my son ahmed. to the left are four of ahmed's cousins. and here is another nephew. his name was mohaimarn. reporter: ahmed was his father's pride and joy. he was 17 years old and had just gotten his university entrance diploma. his dream was to become a doctor, and he had the talent to do so. amar al-darraji: ahmed's girlfriend is still writing on his facebook page. she has the password. she is trying to keep ahmed alive this way. so i sometimes get new posts from my son on my own page. reporter: baghdad, july 3rd, at 1:10 a.m. local time. as ramadan ends, isis fighters detonate a massive car bomb in front of a crowded department store. more than 200 people died in the blaze, including amar's seven relatives. but where does isis produce such deadly bombs? we travel to fallujah, 60 kilometers from the capital. after controlling the city for two years, the militants were driven out by the iraqi army at the end of june. captain jasem commands a special unit of the iraqi army that specializes in explosives. all the bombs were produced in residential buildings. the terrorists used these locations to avoid u.s. air strikes. the manufacture of mortars, grenades, car bombs, and rockets here in fallujah had an almost industrial character. the bomb-makers were highly specialized. one group focused on producing detonators, with hundreds assembled here, ready for use. such simple material, but hugely effective. the captain explains how the booby-trap works. jasem mohammed mater: there's a battery inside the fuse. just a bit of pressure brings the metal strip into contact with the screws. the electrical current runs through, and the bomb explodes. reporter: the remains of isis's weapons arsenals are found throughout fallujah. and they are not old munitions like kalashnikovs, but modern precision-weapons. isis has many specialists working on their publicity, administration, logistics, vehicles, and scouting out potential targets. general abdel wahhab al-saidi: they supplied all of iraq from here. all of the terror attacks were carried out with explosives from fallujah. all the vehicles loaded with explosives were also from here. reporter: hundreds of explosive devices were produced here every day, often made with phosphate. to drastically increase the number of casualties, bomb-makers added metal fragments to the explosives, increasing their fatal radius. the army's anti-terror experts have found 50 weapons workshops in the city so far. and they believe there are more. our guide tells us that fallujah was the headquarters of the iraqi terror machine. we leave the former isis headquarters of fallujah and return to baghdad. a memorial for the victims now stands in karada, at the site of the explosion. amar al-darraji shows his brother-in-law the devastating impact of the detonation. the al-leif department store, once very popular and crowded, is now in ruins. in the blink of an eye, the lives of both men turned into a nightmare. shortly after 1:00 a.m. local time on july 3, germany and italy were facing off in the euro cup quarterfinal. amar's 17-year-old son, ahmed, was watching the match with friends at a cafe just in front of the store and giving his father updates on his mobile. amar al-darraji: he said on the phone, 'papa, there's going to be a penalty shootout. one goal after the other. it's crazy, another missed shot.' i said, 'my son, hang up. call me again when the game is over'' that was our last conversation. then a friend called me 15 seconds later and yelled, 'where are you? there's been a massive explosion.' reporter: the bomb that killed ahmed and 200 other iraqis was most likely produced a mere 60 kilometers from baghdad, in fallujah. host: venezuela has more proven oil reserves than any other country in the world. but its economy's dependence on the resource has become a real problem. since oil prices plunged lower than they have in years, the state is no longer able to cover expenditures. and now, the wider population are feeling the ill effects in their daily lives. more and more people are taking to the streets in protest, many of them still mourning the loss of their late socialist president. reporter: for as long as he can remember, the people here have called him che. it's no wonder. humberto lopez reveres che guevara. he was also a supporter of venezuela's late president, hugo chavez. humberto lopez: the name chavez gives me goose bumps, and i don't believe in god. chavez took over the banner from che. as a revolutionary, he fought against the injustice facing our people. venezuela needs a realist like him, not communists like the ones who are currently ruling the country. reporter: critics say president nicolás maduro is letting his people starve. almost everyone is affected by the crisis, not only those in the poorer areas. marta hernandez is disappointed. she is desperate. she can no longer feed all 13 members of her family, and her daughter died just a few months ago. marta hernandez: look at my fridge. what do you see? water and light. today again, i have nothing. in the cupboard -- nothing. now i also have to take care of my daughter's young children. i'm not blaming her -- it was god's will. but now i'm desperate. she died from a brain hemorrhage just a day after standing in the sun for hours, in line at the supermarket. humberto lopez: mr. president, for heaven's sake! you must see that you can no longer provide for your people, and neither can the opposition. both of you, you must face the fact that children are dying for lack of food and medicine. reporter: but other venezuelans who unconditionally supported hugo chavez remain loyal to his successor, nicolas maduro -- even though he's clearly struggling in his job as president. although chavez didn't bring prosperity, he gave many people a sense that they had an important contribution to make. jerusalen gomez does her job of collecting names with pride. the governing socialist party has begun to intercept and distribute food. anyone on her list can go to a local address and get some. but opposition supporters probably won't be getting one of these chickens to take home. jerusalen gomez: our door is open to anyone who comes in peace and supports the good intentions of our commander, so so that he may achieve something in support of our cause. that's the truth. reporter: for gomez, supporting the socialist ideals of commandante chavez and president maduro offers plenty of perks. that's true even though the new president has helped tip the country into a deep economic crisis. jerusalen has computers, a couple of televisions. and believe it or not, four refrigerators -- two of them still in their original packaging. the others, well-stocked. jerusalen gomez: unfortunately i can't show you any chickens. i'll get them later. but we don't want for anything. we have milk, flour, and rice. humberto lopez: i promise you, the party officials have no problem filling their refrigerators. it's the corruption that's destroying our revolution, our country, our treasury. and in the end, they'll all end up eating each other. reporter: venezuelan politicians have let the public health system deteriorate. we bring a hidden camera into this emergency ward at a state hospital. the government doesn't want images like these to get out. the doctors here can offer little more than a bandage. the situation at the children's cancer ward is critical. doctors can provide almost no treatment and are watching helplessly as their young patients die. we speak with some of the children and their parents, who are desperate for help. >> a boy in the next room died yesterday. there's no chemotherapy anymore. it's so hard. so hard. my little one is fighting. but her blood values must improve. but how, when there's no medicine? reporter: fiorela is seven and has leukemia. her parents are both teachers. at first, they were able to get medicine from abroad. but now, they have run out of money. a security guard discovers us and throws us out. one of the doctors tells us to come back later after the guards go home. a few hours later, he risks his job by leading us to the hospital's basement and pathology station. the cooling system in the morgue isn't working, but that's the least of his worries. doctor: we rely on these machines to diagnose if a tumor is benign or not. we need them to be able to diagnose cancer. but they're broken. the authorities know about the situation, but they don't even bother replying to our questions anymore. reporter: people who ask too many questions or criticize what's going on are often threatened. just like humberto lopez, who has long been one of the biggest supporters of the socialist ideal in venezuela. humberto lopez: in my own neighborhood, people who were my friends shot at me. they hit my car. they wanted to silence me, but i will continue. i'm not the president, i can tell the truth. reporter: humberto lopez believes hugo chavez would be outraged. he says the current government is betraying his legacy. chavez' dream of a modern socialist state is on the verge of collapse. host: and now we leave venezuela for myanmar, where we meet a woman who works out on the water. >> my name is rueangrong meenual. i'm 39 years old, and i commute between thailand and myanmar. >> ♪ >> i'm a cook on a ship. i'm happy that i can live well from my earnings each month. >> ♪ >> there are beautiful cherry trees in japan. that's why i'd like to go there. or to another country with beautiful cherry blossoms. >> ♪ >> i like thai food, especially meals with grilled fish and roasted vegetables. i like all kinds of seafood. >> ♪ >> to me, globalization means i can see the world. i can communicate with people from around the world. but i think the number of people coming here is a bit too much right now. >> ♪ >> i don't need a lot for myself. but i hope the situation in my country stays good, so that there will always be enough for my family to live on. >> ♪ host: now on to our "global ideas" series, in which we meet people dedicated to protecting our planet's plant and animal species. this week, we head to senegal, where nearly 80% of the population is dependent on agriculture. many families there survive by working in the peanut business and for generations have grown the crop almost exclusively. in the area around meckhé in the northwest of the country, that's now causing major problems. reporter: ibrahima seck is an agricultural expert and a visionary. he spends a great deal of his time in meckhé, a town in senegal. he's working to win people over to sustainable farming. much of that work involves peanuts. they're a traditional crop here in senegal. ibrahima seck: peanut farming was introduced by france when senegal was still a colony. peanuts were almost the only crop in the entire region. the impact of that was enormous. reporter: that was more than 100 years ago. even today, around half of all farmland in senegal is used to grow peanuts -- if they grow at all, that is. a century of monoculture has damaged the soil. the effects of soil erosion, loss of nutrients, and desertification are visible everywhere. local farmers say the soil is almost entirely depleted. plants can hardly take root anymore. ibrahima seck: peanut monoculture led to extreme soil degradation. a loss of biodiversity means a loss of natural resources. the soil, the water, trees, plant biomass -- it's all gone. reporter: the peanut harvest has suffered as a result. that's a major problem for people here in meckhé and all of senegal. peanuts are one of the country's main sources of export income -- but harvests have dwindled. this warehouse is where local farmers store their harvest. their farms extend over vast areas, but their harvests are meager by comparison. many farmers earn only around 200 euros a year. that's why many locals have been turning to other crops, like cassava. but even that can't assure their livelihood over the long-term. ibrahima seck: that's the reason why young people don't want to stay here. when they're old enough, ready to earn a living, they leave the villages. first, they go to the city. and then often, they continue onward to europe or the u.s. quite often, what happens is terrible. the young people are so desperate, so lacking in hope, that they get in boats, small boats, simple ones, and try to cross the atlantic in them. reporter: many of the farmers who remained in meckhé have joined together to form a cooperative, which runs a small oil production business. the peanuts are shelled and peeled, and then put through the press several times. the co-op members use the oil themselves and sell the extra at local markets. the days of ample harvests are long gone. but even a small increase in yields would make a difference. ibrahima seck believes the only way to make that happen is to switch to sustainable farming, without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. ibrahima seck: we have to work with nature instead of trying to dominate it. we need ethically sustainable fag thods. that means ecological and organic farming methods. that's the future of farming, not just in senegal but around the world. reporter: for many in senegal, organic farming is still an unfamiliar concept. but ibrahima seck is committed to making it a reality. host: millions of people are in poor physical shape because they don't eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise. in 2014, over 10% of men worldwide were overweight and about 15% of women. the world health organization recommends at least 2.5 hours of physical activity a week. studies say those who do this outlive their more sedentary peers by an average of almost 3.5 years. reporter: they're not exactly the youngest women in the world -- but they want to stay in shape. i am meeting alita seitisho. she shows me her favorite exercise stations. alita is 59 years old -- and one of the youngest here. >> do i have to go slow or fast? >> no, i like it slowly. reporter: she tells us she likes the leg press. the women come here every evening after work. many are still wearing their work clothes. they have housekeeping jobs in the neighborhood and can't afford to go to a 'normal' commercial gym. alita seitisho: i can turn like i want. i can turn backwards, rightwards. nothing can happen to me, the way i feel. before, i could not bend like this. reporter: another sporty grandma is virginia modise. she's 75 and the captain of this soccer team in pretoria. i'm refereeing their game today, and i've got plenty to do. they're pretty rough with each other. they're between 60 and 78 years old and have sought out a pretty challenging game to keep fit. but it's about more than just that. virginia modise: we thought, ok, soccer has been played by men all along. so we said to ourselves: let's just make a muck and play football. and that's just how it started. reporter: trainer ruth moromeng's sport program is strict. even captain virginia has to obey. >> with this exercise, we are mostly working our joints. but we also run, which is good for our legs. reporter: virginia thought up the next exercise using rugby balls. as an exception, the women are allowed to use their hands. the team trains three times a week. there is even a grandma's soccer league here in pretoria. ruth's team is currently third out of the league's six teams. some might say the team is ridiculous, but the women don't care. they know that diabetes and obesity are a major problem in south africa. people here love to eat. but unfortunately, it tends to be unhealthy food. after the training, the women usually go to virginia's house. today, she invites me along because she wants to show me her vegetable garden. she started it 10 years ago after suffering a minor heart attack. she decided to grow healthy food. virginia modise: we've got to do them both. healthy food and exercise and sports -- they go together. they're just like a horse and a chariot. they go together. reporter: and since she's had her garden and been eating healthily, virginia says she has been able to keep her weight and blood pressure under control. today's meal -- vegetable soup. alita: i can't! reporter: perhaps alita should have eaten a bit more vegetable soup. even with healthy food, the exercise is hard. some machines here are tough, even if the only weight the women are lifting is their own. alita and her friends will come here again tomorrow because it keeps them fit, and it's fun! host: and that's all from "global 3000." but we're back next week, and don't forget that we love receiving your questions and comments. so do write to us at global3000@dw.com or visit us on facebook. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] - [voiceover] this program is made possible in part by. the town of marion. historic marion, virginia, home of the wayne henderson school of appalachian arts. celebrating 21 years as a certified virginia main street community. the ellis family foundation. general francis marion hotel. the historic general francis marion hotel and black rooster restaurant and lounge, providing luxurious accommodations and casual fine dining. the bank of marion. the bank of marion, your vision, your community, your bank. wbrf 98.1 fm. bryant label, a proud supporter of our region's musical heritage. (country bluegrass music)

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