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The word ‘slavery’ conjures up images of 18th century slave ships and people locked in chains.

On today's Global Activism segment, we meet Michele Baldwin, a 45-year old mother of three who is diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer. She's paddling 700 miles along the Ganges River to raise money for Global Initiative Against HPV and Cervical Cancer.

Mauritania, a large but sparsely populated country in northwestern Africa, has a rich musical tradition but virtually no formal music industry. That means no commercial radio stations. No record labels. No music clubs.

The West African nation Mauritania celebrated its independence from France 50 years ago on Sunday. Slavery remains widespread in the poor desert nation of 3 million, despite several attempts to ban it.Seventy-two-year-old Abdul Kamara is a French-speaking Fulani from Southern Mauritania.