My Calling

For many years now, Dadarao Bilhore has been touring the streets of Mumbai – always carrying a hoe and bags of sand. Ever since his son died when his motorbike hit a pothole, Bilhore wants to protect other families from this fate.

Urdu, Nyanja, Zulu – South Africa has 11 national languages! Royce Buda can speak them all. This is essential for his job as a court interpreter in Pretoria, to enable all attendees to testify in their own language. But Buda does more than translate, he also acts as a mediator between different worlds.

The glacial ice of Mount Chimborazo is especially prized: mixed into drinks, it is said to have healing qualities. In accordance with tradition, Baltazar Ushca mines the ice from the glacier and offers it up for sale. The 70-year-old is the last ice miner in Ecuador, keen to pass the tradition on to the next generation.

Although the Kurdish city of Erbil was spared by IS, the economy was hard hit. Undeterred by this, Iraqi national Ahmed Nauzad and his friends founded “Mr. Erbil” – Iraq’s first ever Gentlemen's Club. The fashion project combines Kurdish designs with western styles. The aim is to give their homeland a new image and inspire their compatriots.

When his Syrian home was destroyed in the war, Aeham Ahmad rolled his piano through the bombed-out streets of Jarmuk. And just played – to counter the incomprehensible suffering! Sometimes friends sang along with him, and sometimes the neighborhood kids. Today, the pianist lives with his family in Germany and plays in theaters across Europe – moving people with his story.

When she was just 15, an attacker burned Laxmi’s face with acid because she didn’t want to marry him. But instead of hiding away in shame the young woman took the courageous step of going public with her story. A fight against the stigma attached to the victims of acid attacks.

Vania Masías exchanged the glamor of Las Vegas for the streets of Lima. The professional dancer had a glittering career ahead of her but turned down an offer from the Cirque du Soleil. The passion of impoverished street artists inspired her to give up her own career. Today she helps young people realize their dancing dreams.

No more children’s clothes; custom-fit fashion at last! A start-up is working to enhance the visibility of little people in society.

Sajawal loves inline skating. A passion he’s sharing with many young people. Join us for the ride – through the streets of Lahore!

Glitter, glamor, gorgeous girls! The teenager Josh Birch Jones gets his break as a fashion designer – at the European fashion weeks!

To one day dance ballet at the Bolshoi Theater – that’s the big dream of 11-year-old Semyon! He’s been given a solo in The Nutcracker. He’s training hard for it in Vladivostok.

Women’s soccer is a minority-interest sport in Colombia. Yoreli Rincón aims to change that. Since 2020, she’s been at Inter Milan battling for titles – and against prejudice!

An eye operation in just a few minutes? In Nepal, Sanduk Ruit treats patients with cataracts – in his own way: cheaply, quickly and efficiently!

Deborah Henry was working as a model. But a meeting with refugees in her home nation Malaysia set her life on a very different path!

Taxi driver Menzi Mngoma likes singing arias while he’s working – even when there are passengers in the back of his car! And one passenger’s video launched his performing career.

Puspa Luhar was herself a victim of human traffickers. Now, the young Nepalese woman patrols the border with India – and sends girls back!

Doctors say Johnny shouldn't be able to walk at all. See how this sportsman battles with his own body – and deals with other obstacles in his path.

Teacher Maria has just one pupil on the Greek island of Arkoi. Will the school have to close?

For many residents in Soyga, train driver Petrovich with his ramshackle narrow-gauge railway is a link to the outside world - and a kind of guardian angel.

The Turkish singer Gaye Su Akyol is known for creating psychedelic dreamworlds, urban rock, but also criticism of her homeland Turkey!

Zukiswa Wanner: Born in Zambia, lives in Kenya, at home in Africa. The successful writer is an inspiration for young African authors. See for yourself!

Caron Rawnsley has lived all over the world. In India, he found a home – and a mission: to preserve ancient stepwells. Fancy a dip?