LGFI Visits the Tondo Garbage Dumpsite

LGFI Visits the Tondo Garbage Dumpsite

Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila, was once a quiet, clean and thriving fishing village until some forty years ago, when the Philippine government decided to dump Manila’s waste onto the area.

Around 2 million tons of garbage sits on the once beautiful landscaped area and now inhabited by more than 30 thousand people who merely wait for the garbage trucks to arrive and dump fresh garbage from the cities so they can scavenge through it for recyclables and  sell them to junk shops and to middlemen who in turn sell them to large corporations that recycle their own products.   All for a measly few pesos.  Children as young as 3 years old roam the mountain along side their mothers and fathers helping to supplement the family’s income.  This has become the community’s main source of livelihood for many generations now.  Smokey Mountain has become the symbol of everything that is wrong in the Philippines; greed, corruption, dishonesty.

On Febnruary 7, 2011, the Lopez Group Foundation (LGFI) headed by its President, Raffy Alunan, Resource Mobilization Consultant, Mitos Santisteban and Program officer, Angela Lopez-Guingona were  invited to witness first hand what life is like in the midst of extreme poverty.

The Philippine Christian Foundation, Inc. (PCF) and WE International Philippines, two NGOs that have committed to make a difference to break the cycle of poverty in this highly impoverished community took the time out to show us their respective projects and their vision for its future.

Jane Walker, CEO of PCF, also known as the Angel of Tondo is currently building a new school made out of steel cargo containers for about one thousand children in grade school level which will eventually have high school students as well.  The objective is to motivate the parents to send their kids to school instead of spending the day scavenging for garbage.  The children are incentivized thru attendance and in return 2 hot meals a day, medical/dental care and rice subsidy at the end of the month.  Aside from education and health, PCF also assists in their spiritual care, livelihood and skills training.

Not too far away from the PCF school, just a few kilometers away by car, we visited a second site situated on the perimeter of an actual garbage dumpsite.  We were met by Geni Psinakis, WE International’s Director of Development and Trina Santos, Community Relations Coordinator.  Assisting three hundred children and youth ranging from severely malnourished infants to newly employed graduates.

Currently, We International is concentrating on their LOVE2LEARN Program, a Saturday alternative learning center, modeled after CNN Hero Efren Penaflorida’s Kariton Classroom. This program aims to give students enrolled in nearby schools a more positive learning environment wherein they can improve on technical as well as their literacy skills.  Aside from providing educational opportunities, WE international also supports the community’s economic development, promotes environmental sustainability and offers medical services to the families in and around the area.

Walking on the mound of trash, gives one a clear perspective of the harsh realities that exist today, poverty will continue to haunt us unless we can change our society’s culture and mindset.

For many NGO’s such as PCF and WE International, who are tirelessly working and giving so much of themselves, they have given the Tondo Dumpsite Community who were once almost buried in hopeless misery, a source of hope and a reason to smile and be proud.