The Dump

We took the Meeting Place to the Guatemala Dump where 15000 people live and work, 8000 of those being children. We hooked up with a Christian organization called Libre Infancia which is trying to help the people come out of the dump through day care and education at young ages. They currently have 50 children in their daycare and 60 in their elementary school. They provide breakfast, lunch, clothing, health aid, education and Christian education. They also provide food to the children's families. They are trying to change the mentality of the peopel that even though they are born into the dump, live in the dump, eat from the dump and work in the dump, they are not garbage. People working in the dump collecting plastic, metal etc. make on average about 7Q/day which is about one dollar. They have to feed families of 3-8 with this few Q. People actually have to fight the vultures for their food which they find in the dump. There are tons and tons of vultures. As you can see Jenni got pooped on and we were looking from the cemetery which is right beside the dump. Women work with their children all day collecting garbage and looking for food. If a mother cannot find food at the end of they day she might drug her child with glue or another substance so that they pass out and no longer feel the hunger pains. Another way for mothers to obtain a few Q is by prostitution. They may sell themselves for a measley 4Q just to buy a little bit of food to feed their kids. Violence, drugs, rape, and prostitution fill the dump. It is really so very sad. I felt totally helpless watching it all from afar. There is a higherarchy which permits certain people to be the first to search through the loads of garbage just out of the truck. People crowd around trying to find stuff first. You can check out my pics. I know they won't do justice to what it's really like, but at least you can get an idea.