Seeds of change
More info At the foothills of the Himalayas lies the rural district of Jhanjharpur, a fertile region for agriculture. Yet with little money for equipment, life is a daily struggle for small-scale farmers.
Unfair dismissal
More info To his surprise, the request was abruptly refused. Despite having submitted the official fees, Patrick was told that he would have to pay more if he wanted to see his application progress.
Gold mine
More info When a gold-mining cooperative had to renew a certificate, its president had other ideas and re-registered the mine under his own name.
The price of justice
More info Your shop has been burgled. You go straight to the police, but as soon as you start explaining what’s happened, the on-duty officer stops you. He can’t write anything down, he says, until he’s been paid.
Balancing the budget
More info Government cars were frequently misused for private journeys, or by friends and relatives. Some were reportedly even being sent abroad.
Right to be involved
More info The lush rainforest of Central Kalimantan gets destroyed by reckless loggers. No-one was warned but villagers now have to live with its dire consequences.
Fair trade
More info His shop was bulldozed shortly thereafter, with the local authorities and police watching on
Justice can’t wait
More info The court proceedings dragged on without an outcome for 11 years, putting Neven under great personal and financial strain
Processing complaints
More info Residents feared that releasing waste water into the bay as planned could entice sharks into the busy shallow waters, where children often swim.
If not us, then who?
More info When a group of students in Indonesia suspected corruption in the financial management of their school, they refused to stay silent.
Student protest
More info When three students enrolled on a higher education course in Fiji, they hoped it would improve their career chances.
Bomb disposal
More info Suspicions were raised when a job advertisement for a position at the centre contained a most unusual prerequisite: a degree in Music
Hunger Money
More info When drought ravaged Zimbabwe's Hurungwe region in 2011, families were left destitute. Help should have come from a state scheme, but community members were telling a very different story.
A stronger voice
More info Forest protection programmes potentially lifts people out of poverty while saving trees from destruction. Yet when we visited one community in Vietnam, we found many families had no idea they could benefit.
We want justice
More info Coming from one of the most remote corners of the world, the people of Manus Province seem an unlikely match for the might of logging companies. But they’re not alone.
Dream job
More info Far away from home after responding to a recruitment advertisement, Leeroy soon learned that he was expected to work for food and accommodation rather than a salary
Who is to blame?
More info After a fatal fire at a nursery, despair turned to anger. Reports emerged that the state-funded nursery was privately run by the wives of two local officials, and had passed safety tests despite allegedly not meeting the criteria.
Paradise’s Dark Side
More info It’s not an image you’ll find in the tourist brochures: amid the luxury hotels of Maldives’s paradise islands, an estimated 200,000 migrant workers toil under sub-human conditions.
Future of hope
More info Bright and studious, Balkissa dreams of studying medicine after she’s finished school. But the future hasn’t always looked like this.
Healthcare under threat
More info At a rural emergency clinic eight nurses received an unexpected pay cut. When they protested, their bosses threatened to close down the centre.
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