One man’s waste is Another man’s treasure

I have returned from a trip where i visited the Smokey Mountains in Philippines. It has certainly awaken my senses to the poor and their real needs.

The New Smokey Mountain is a dumpsite whereby the poor ravages through the trash to salvage any sellable items they could, just for that few pesos (a few cents) for their meals.

The New Smokey Mountain Project brings a little glimmer of hope to the needy here. Groceries are distributed, games are played, clothes are given and most of all a heart to share the grief. (please refer to http://www.oikoshelpinghand.org/ for more info).
______________________________________________

Personal Reflections:
(an excerpt of my diary)

This is unacceptable. The air is pungent, mixed with choky fumes from nearby charcoal-making wood. This has been a day of great sunny weather but it seems that is the only good thing.

Everywhere you see is landfills of rubbish. It is a graveyard of waste. Somehow, the items that are found irrelevant by others have settled here, beneath my feet. This garbage has nowhere to go. Their final destination is Smokey Mountain. Daily, rubbish trucks make a pilgrimage and place them among their brothers. Likewise, Smokey Mountain is the final stop for the poor. In this rubbish, they found them relevant. They live and thrive on this trash. It breaks my heart. My discards turn out to be treasures for them. How can this be?

The hardy children are scavenging the garbage, hoping to find something useful. Buzzing flies, instead of justice, are their constant companion. They climb on top of rubbish trucks. With their iron claw, they rummage through the trash. They dig and dig; hoping to find something to heal their starving stomach. The chains of poverty have ensnared them. There is no hope. They cannot get out. They must keep digging in order to survive.

What is civilization when we have this nonsense around, whereby one man’s waste is another man’s treasure? My mind cannot comprehend this. Just like the poor in Smokey Mountain, it is empty. It simply does not make sense.

- ed -