Are up to 900 Million People in the developing world living in slums. A figure which is likely to triple over the next few years. As a result, by 2025, over 1 billion new homes will need to be built at a cost of around 650 billion u. S. Dollars per year. Mexico city is home to the Worlds Largest slum. Nezachalcoitza has around 4 million residents. In dharavi in mumbai, over a Million People are cramped together in under 2. 6 square kilometers. Kibera in nairobi is probably africas largest slum. Its difficult to know how many people live there. But its several hundred thousand at least. Narrator its moving day in the kibera slum. Everything is packed in plastic bags. Patrick kiluzu cant afford moving boxes. Patrick, his wife, and t three children have lived in africas largest slum for the past 10 years. Now, theyre moving into a real apartment house across the way. Kibera is a synonym for garbage. For crime. For terrible living conditions. But theres also a Strong Social network here where neighbors look out for each other, so patrick has mixed feelings about leaving. Patrick you know, there weve actually mixed up. Because i dont know my friends we are still strangers. You know as a stranger, you cannot just move into a persons house thatat you are not u used. So i think its good, but also it is very challenging a bit. But i know as time goes by, well make friends. Narrator slumupgrading is the name of the kenyan governments project. The idea is that the slum should become more attractive. A few months previous in mathare, another nairobi slum, the streets were paved for the first time. The people in green tshirts are working on a government contract. There are plans to build a Medical Clinic, a Police Station, and a poultry farm. Those helping receive three euros a day much more than most in the area earn. The vegetable garden is new, too. Clarice akinyi studied social sciences but couldnt find the right job. Now shes planting kenyan cabbage known as sukumawiki in spacesaving plastic sacks. This project was also financed by the kenyan government and not by one of the various aid organizations. Clarice i can say this is the unique one of all because i can say whoever invented whatever we are doing at the moment was the best in africa. Because ive never heard about any country that is doing the same. Narrator they can sell the freshly harvested vegetables. The money they earn is in addition to their pay from the government. Could it all be too good to be true . Back in kibera, patrick kiluzu is still busy with moving. Smart apartment blocks now stand in the place where tin huts used to be. The residents were relocated and promised their own apartment. But they had to pay a down payment equal to 1,000 euros. Those who were able to pay are proud. [doorbell rirings] anna my life has changed. Dont knock my door, just ring the bell. Then i will hear, and i will welcome you to my house. Narrator anna wanjiru has been in the new flat for a week now. She was lucky. For her family of five, she was able to get a threeroom apartment. And for the first time in her life, she has her own real kitchen. Anna before, if you come that day, even you can cry. I was using stuff, but now god have bring for me gas. Im cooking with gas. I have water. I have somewhere to put my things. Im feeling very well. Narrator but patrick kiluzu has a way to go yet. He still has to lug all his things up five flights of stairs. And his new apartment is not in great shape. Theres water damage. Its supposed to be repaired, but patrick didnt want to wait any longer. Like many people from the slum, he felt disadvantaged when the flats were being handed out. Some were sold under the table. After taking so long to get the money for the deposit together, patrick didnt want to take any risks. Papatrick at first, we used t o say maybe our money can lost. So we were just saving little moninies, say 50 and in the course of the week, 1000. You know, it t took a lot of, so many yearsrs. Narrator it tooook him m 10 yes to save the money. Some still havent been able to raise enough and are hoping there will be a flat for them in the next apartment house. According to the governments plan, all of kibera will soon look like this. Back in mathare. Nine months after our first visit, the vegetable garden has seen better days. After a Corruption Scandal at the authority responsible for the project, the kenyan government halted all payments to the slum beautification initiative. A few young guys from the area are taking care of what plants are left. Clarice akinyi is not working in the garden anymore. Now, shes sweeping streets. For months, she didnt receive any payment. But at the moment, shes being paid again. Still, shes not critical of the government. Clarice government has tried to help my life, to reach the day and to earn my living, whether it is little, but i have something that i depend on than just waking up early in the morning, you dont depend on anything. Narrator the Police Station and the Medical Clinic remain empty. The poultry farm didnt work out either. The hopes for a better life in mathare remain unfulfilled. Clarice the best thing, we need to be informed and involved in any planning that government might have plan to do, so that we work together. We be one thing, we involve each and every person. Narrator the people in the slums suffer most from the corruption of politicians and officials when money is misappropriated and promises go unfulfilled. The slum Improvement Program is one bitter example. Still, patrick kiluzu is happy. Patrick now, im facing kibera. Narrator for him, its a new perspective on africas largest slum. Anchor for change to happen, two things are essential political willpower and economic investment. In 2009, brazil started its my house, my life program. Despite the criticism it received, 3 million families benefited from this social building project. The costs, around 3 billion euros. Of course, living space alone is not everythihing. Medical care and good infrastructure are also key to improving the lives of those in poverty. But largely, its the basics that are missing in the slums. Clean drinking water, sanitary facilities, toilets. Homes that are sturdy, safe, and of a decent size. Offering stability and permanence, because residents live in fear of being moved on. We head to manila, in the philippines, to a slum called happyland. Narrator even at night, its never quiet here. At 3 00 a. M. , children and adults are hard at work sifting through garbage. The stench is overwhelming. This is happyland, a sprawling slum on the edge of manila. Picking our way through rubbish, mud, and excrement, we find the most prized resource here discarded food straight from the rubbish tip. Lucy bantillo we dont have a proper job. But i can earn a bit of money from this leftover chicken. I couldnt just sit at home. My husband doesnt earn enough. At least in this way, i can help him. Narrator Norberto Lucion is just Getting Started for the day. His family runs a takeaway i in the slum. Norberto only got an Elementary School education. Hes had many jobs, inincluding one as a cooking assistant. He buys his meat every morning fresh so to speak. Norberto goes to the rubbish collectors, buying up the leftovers of manilas middle class d discarded b by fastd restaurants like kfc or jollibee. Its a battle for survival. Norberto was orphaned at the age of seven. But you never hear a word of complaint. Norberto as soon as the leftovers have been sorted, i go and get some. If ive got money, i pay straightaway. Ototherwise, i owe it to them ad pay them in the afternoon with my takings. Narrator more than a quarter of the philippine population lives below the poverty line. Happyland is home to the poorest of the poor. Preserving your dignity in the mud is a struggle just like finding enough food to eat. Norberto is in his early 60s. Hes lived in happyland for more than 20 years. He used to live in the notorious Smokey Mountain garbage slum, which was officially closed in 1995. He was moved here by the government, supposedly on a temporary basis. But plans to resettle residents have failed. So happyland lives on, home to some 25,000 people. Norberto has to buy clean water and then carry it back home. Theres no Running Water here and only communal toilets. Diarrhea and sickness are often a problem. If he didnt wash the food, things would probably be even worse. Norberto i wash the meat several times. After the first time, the water is still very murky. But after a second time, its already looking a lot clearer. Thenen i can take it to the kitchen. Narrator the waste water soon joins all the other waste out in the street. Those who have found themselves on the rubbish dump of life have learned to live with it and even from it making a living from this doubtful form of recycling. Norberto then leaves the putrid mountain of rubbish for a short while, taking only the aroma with him and the little money that he has. On the other side of the street, its another world. A local market Sells Everything that the philippines fertile soil has to offer. Norberto comes here to buy fresh produce. His food has a good reputation, and he wants to keep it that way. He buys spices, lemongrass, peppers, onions, and garlic. Norberto comes by every day. Hes very friendly, not at all arrogant. He always pays immediately and never tries to rip you off. Narrator back in the shade of his smoky hut, norberto gets to work with a certain professional touch. His specialty goes by the name of kaldereta a colorful dish dating back to colonial times. The original version used goats meat and was reserved for special occasions. Norberto and his wife, rosamarie, have modified the recipe to save money. A little annatto from the achiote tree is added for color. Norberto i prefer to invest a little more in my ingredients. I want it to taste good. I paid 60 pesos for this. I think its worth it. My family and my customers certainly like it that way. Narrator the leftover chicken was 80 pesos. That is a cost of 140 altogether the equivalent of 2. 60 euros. A portion of freshly garnished kaldereta with rice costs 20 pesos, just under 40 cents. So his maximum profit per day is 3. 75 euros. The midday heat is intense. But the first customers are soon queuing up. After eight hours of sifting through rubbish, theyre ready for a good helping. It tastes very good even if it is from the rubbish dump. Its the leftovers of the rich. Thats all we can afford. At least we have something to eat. It doesnt bother me. As you can see, as long as people here can make use of something, they will do it. Were happy to have anything to eat even if it is from the garbage. Narrator norbertos food not only feeds his customers, it also provides a meager living for his sixmember family. Norberto if i could change anything, id like the lord to bless us a little more. Not much, just enough for my family and m my customers who et what i cook. Narrator life goes on in happyland, the garbage slum, whwhe norberto is now cookoking his second batch of kaldereta. Anchor life is substantially better in australia. We now head there in global living rooms. Trish welcome. Hello, my name is s trish. Please come into my living room. Smell thatat one. I like that one. Thats really nice. Notot too bad. Trish i make my own soap. And the reason w why i make my n soap is because i like to use cocosmetics and d products on my skin more natural. And a lot of the stuffff that yu bubuin the shops is just full of chemicals, and thehey are not wt they say on the labels. Trish my living room is my life. Its about what i treasure. Friends. Ot photos of my familyly i like just hahaving thingngs ti love around me. I i have a tendency to leave the backdoor open and they walk in. Bluetongue lizards. Trish these are a few of my special pieces that i keep in my cabinet here. This was a glassblown, little wishing well that i got made up for our wedding cake. And these were the flowers. These e were actually handmade, these littlele roses. But as the years gone by, theyve gone discolored unfortunately. But thats still original. Trish id l like to say g good, from mysyself and my hususband,d frfrom perth, western auststr. Its been an a absolute plplease hahaving you her you are welcome anytimime. Thank k you. Bye. Anchor and now in global ideas, we meet people dedicated to t the protectioion of our planetets wildle. E. This week,k, we head to o colom. Many of the countrtrys rainforests are under r threat f dedestruction. Whwhile the illelegal plantingnf coca crops was once the main culprit, its now cattle farming. The legendary curassow birds live in the magdalena region, in the el paujil bird reserve. Colombian n conservationonists e bought up one of the few remaining lowland rainforests, hoping to protect the animals last remaining place of refuge. Narrator this is one of the last of the unspoiled forests in the Magdalena Medio region of central colombia. Rangers regularly patrol the area by boat, because the river is often used by smugglers to move illegally harvested tropical wood. The protected area is 4500 hectares in size. Its an important sanctuary for endangered spepecies, likeke ths own spiderer monkey. In just a few decacades, their populalation has droropped by 8. Thats mostly because outside the e sanctuary theieir habitats bebeing destroroyed. Alejejandro grajales there e ae still giant t trees here, lilike abarco a and ceiba, as w well as otothers that are endangereded. This relatively inintact tropicl forest offs s food to o many endangered species, among ththem birds, mammals, and amphibiansn. They find everything they need in this protected area. Nanarrator the e men are searag for the rarest bird in colombia the bluebilled curassow. There are only between 300 and 50500 left in the e wild. And they can only be found in this region. The conservationists are in luck. They find a bluebilled curassow or crax alberti which is the scientific designation. For the indidigenous colombians, birds of thihis family were consnsidered mystical creatures. They were reproduced many times over in gold sculptures. Luis rubelio you can only find the bluebilled curassow in this areaea, and thatss why proav bought this land and committed themselves to protecting it. This species has been especially affected by deforestation, as well as unchecked huntining. Thats how the population was drastically reduced to the point that the b birds are nowow almot extinct. Narrator outstside the sanctut, the clearcutting ofof the tropical fororest continuess unabated. According to estimates, half a hectare of forest didisappears every day inin the magdalena meo region. Pepeople here live from lumber d lilivestock. That has dire consequences for nature. This used to be dense vegetation with a rich biodiversity. Today, its just a series of pastures. The soil is eroding, prompting the farmers to encroach even more upon the ancient forest. The town of Puerto Pinzon is right nenear the protected area. Pepeople here makeke a living fm dadairy and cattlele farming. A Womens Initiative in thee villllage is trying g to find alternative sourceces of income. Handmade jewelry made of p palm seeds s is the new bususiness m. Alejandra castellon this project is importatant to us becaususe it helps us earn a little money on n the side. Up untntil now, everytything was concncentrated on lilivestock. K. But that destroys s the forest d many animal species. We w wanted to take e another ph and stop the dangerousus exploitation of the forest. Narrator inside the protected area, the women plant the palm trees that produce the seeds they use to make their jewelry. The conservatitionists are worog together with the local people. Proaves supports the womens efforts and sells their jewelry to tourists across the country. Tourism offers a ray of hope for this region. Nenew accommodatation has beenet in thehe hope of enticicing bird lovers to thisis remote part of cocolombia. The protected area is s certainy a paradise for bird watchers, boasting some 360 different species. Alonso quevedo our strate f r preserviving and fundiding this protecteted area is to introduce ecotourism, especially bird watchihing. Inin this way, we hope to fifine ththe work in the protected d aa longterm and preserve it for generations to come. Narrator the rangers dont just protect ththe birds. These monkeys have also found a refuge here. And there arare more than 8080 differenent species of r reptils anand amphibians. Small natural paradise. Orerest a but every day, it gets just that bit smaller. Creating wearable items that n change t the world. Im may lee inin los angeleslelets s te it full frame