The Sustainability of the Dumpsite Project

Maupay nga kulop,

It's a rather rainy Saturday in the Philippines but this morning I paid another visit to the dumpsite. To refresh your memory, the dumpsite is a huge waste area located slightly North of Tacloban City. It is used by many of the locals, who scavenge for plastics and metals which they can sell, in order to feed themselves and their families. The local communities that surround the dumpsite are particularly poor, even by regional standards. Volunteer for the Visayans provide a project which uses funding from donors to allow children in these communities to go to school and receive an education. In total there are 33 children, who were all previous dumpsite scavengers, unable to pay the costs of schooling. They now all receive a full education. The project also provides a weekly feeding for these sponsored children every Saturday. The food acts as a tool for getting all the sponsored children in one place at the same time so that the VFV staff can monitor their progress and have a weekly interaction. The project also offers support for the parents and additional tutoring sessions so that the children can catch-up on school material that they had missed.

Every third Saturday of the month, VFV conduct a head count at the dumpsite itself in order to determine whether sponsored children are continuing to visit the dumpsite (which would go against the sponsorship agreement) as well as to identify new scavengers and general trends. James and I decided to go along and help with this. Hazel has also began teaching a dance class every Saturday morning in the local community outside the dumpsite, so while this was taking place, James and I assisted Mano John with the head count.

Mano John is a born and bred Bliss boy. He lives next door to the VFV office and is a rather remarkable individual. He holds down a job, while continuing to study and conduct research, as well as being actively involved in a voluntary capacity with all of VFV's projects. He is like a sponge in that, although he has never stepped outside of the Visayans, he has a desire to learn and understand everything about the world we live in. The VFV Dumpsite Project is his greatest focus and something that he has invested a lot of time and effort into. Visiting the dumpsite was also the most impacting experience I have had in the Philippines and the Dumpsite Project is something that I hope to contribute to, after I leave. For this reason, I spent the entire morning quizzing Mano John on every aspect of the project, attempting to gain a full understanding of the in's and out's of it.

Firstly, I learned that there is a lot of controversy surrounding the dumpsite and the fact that there is little governmental support to change it's existence. The dumpsite is harmful for a number of reasons: It is destroying the local environment; It breeds diseases and pollution which are harmful for the local civilians; It is a dangerous place for children and has witnessed a number of injuries and fatalities among local kids.

Prior to the dumpsite's existence, the local, non-professional townspeople used to make crafts and sell them for profit in order to feed their families. Once the dumpsite was established, these people found that they could make money much quicker by gathering scraps to sell. Of course, this trade allowed them to make enough money to buy only a limited amount of rice, but so long as they were nourished, that was all that mattered - nutrition was an unattainable luxury. All that this led to was a cycle of making enough money to barely survive, whereas although the craft making required greater effort and time, the money they were making gave them the opportunity to save-up and have future prospects - Basically, the dumspite provided a lazy alternative...this is of course ignoring all the dangers and health problems that it also poses.

After conducting the head count with James and Mano John, we were able to visit the local high school and elementary school where the sponsored children receive their education. The high school currently has 60 children in a class, due to space restrictions. However, the government has plans to build a new high school in the new year and we were able to see the plot of land intended for this. We also visited the junk shops, where the dumpsite scavengers would sell the pieces of plastic and metal that they had obtained. Finally, we spent some time in the community speaking to the sponsored children.

Leaving the dumpsite cemented my desire to do something further for this project. I believe that every individual has the ability to make a difference by using the skills and resources that they have. Therefore, my plan is to firstly write an educational workshop for children in the Western World based around third world poverty, but using the dumpsite project as a case study. If not for anything else, this will raise awareness. Secondly, I hope to use my role at the NJY Camps next summer, to do some additional fundraising with Asher division for the VFV Dumpsite Project. Last summer, my division of campers helped raise over 500$ for the Against Malaria Foundation, through a couple of charity events. That money would sponsor two children, allowing them to attend school and no longer rely on the dumpsite.

The future plans for The Dumpsite Project are to be able to fund some of the sponsored children through college. This is where the project begins to show some sustainability as one of the clauses in this agreement is that upon graduating from college, these individuals would be required to give back to the community. They would need to offer their skills in the community and provide funding for future sponsored children. I now have absolutely no hesitations in dedicating some of my time and effort to this scheme!

Other news, today is Gabs 7th birthday. Gabs is one of Nanay's grandchildren and although he doesn't live with us, the family visit every weekend. So to mark his special day we had a big feast and played games with the extended family. Later on, Hazel and I have plans to visit Marabut, Western Samar for the remainder of the weekend. So long as the weather clears up by tomorrow, we're hoping to do some kayaking and island hopping!

Much love!

Sam