Dumpsite Project
how it started . . . . . . .
It started with a visit to the Compost Production Area which was located within the perimeters of the city dump site. Standing in front of the makeshift building of the production site, I could see some people going to and fro carrying bulky sacks atop their heads to which I found out contained recyclable materials. What caught my attention was a kid carrying the same bulky sack the bigger and older ones were carrying. He should have been in school, it was Wednesday.
the site . . . . . . . . .
The dump site is located at the northern part of Tacloban City. The most dangerous area for a child to be in, where the garbage of every resident in the city is being dump. The place is accessible by anyone, specially by people who have no money to keep them from hunger. You can see people in all ages and gender, scavenging to survive their daily needs.
their stories
There are about 50 children with age ranging from 5 to 17 years old scavenging at the dump site. Based on interviews, some of these children are breadwinners, whose target is to eat once or twice a day. The children make at most 30 pesos a day if there is a good enough number of junks around to sell. Some kids just gather them and sell them later because its more practical to do so. Some of them help their parents scavenge for recyclable materials to be sold at the junk yard.
Most of these kids barely go to school. If ever they get the chance to be in school in the middle of the year they would stop attending school due to financial constraints. Only few of these children go to school regularly, some would scavenge after school so they could augment their parents' income to support their schooling.the project
How we made a start . . . . . . . . .
Our first step was to identify the families and individuals involved or working as scavengers at the dumpsite, to interview them and to understand the reasons for why they were driven to work in such an environment. We then began to work with the local council and the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to come up with possible alternatives to address the issue concerning the children and the families working at the dumpsite.
reaching out . . . . . . .
Starting with one, then five and now thirty five children serves as recipient to this project. These children are all attending school at present as to how long only few of them can tell. We attempt to support them as best we can, especially regarding their studies. The agreement between VFV and the families of the dumpsite children is that if the children is that they must continue to attend school if they are to receive the support of VFV.
the struggle . . . . . .
With limited resources, VFV has gathered donations like school supplies and used clothing for these children. These little things is more than enough for them to stay in school and not work after school at the garbage dump site. Additionally we offer a fortnightly healthy feeding option for the children, which is supported by local and international volunteers.
On a regular basis, a structured activity like awareness session, art session and games are organized for these children. To them this activities are breaks from the hostile environment of the dumpsite area. Each one of them look forward for this time, a time to have snack without flies sharing a bite with them or food not found at the garbages.
The Project At Present (2010)
It could be an achievement that we are able to address the situation of the children working at the dumpsite but to make sure a bigger certainty of achieving a secure future we also attempt to help the parents.
We at VFV with the help of the Department of Labor and Employment along with the local government of Brgy. Sto. Nino and the City Environment and Natural Resources of Tacloban City re-created the Composting Project - turning biodegradable garbage into a bio-organic fertilizer. A highly demanded commodity in farm areas and house-based gardening.
As of January 2008, there are 52 children working at the dump site in random. Only 23 of them are sponsored by VFV.
At present, we are supporting 30 children, seven (7) of these children no longer work at the dump site, a year after they received help from VFV).
Recently, 8 children expressed that they wish to stop going to the dump site just to continue their studies. While these 8 kids do not have sponsors yet and the funding is low, VFV accommodated them by letting join the feeding program and other activities.
How Can You Help?
We are constantly on the lookout to help this program and are extremely thankful of whatever assistance we can receive. Some suggestions in ways to help the dumpsite program are.
