You know when you arrive at the landfill because you can't miss it by the smell. It is enough to have your head spinning, but this time around was shocking. I've never seen it so... full of garbage. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but as my friend put it, judging by our previous pictures the landfill appeared to be livable and decently civilized. This time the paths were covered, mounds of garbage surrounded us on all sides and the houses we were trying to visit were not visible at all. Tata climbed on top of his jeepney to see if the houses were on the other side still.. sure enough they were. The kids working at the landfill were eager to be our guides. So we followed them pile over pile, our shoes getting covered with tar and muck and off we went in search of the usual families. But alas, they were nowhere to be found. Some were either off working or gone to church. Well, that's nice.
We did manage to find a few families, so after we loaded up the children with presents we handed out the remaining home by home. I felt sad that we didn't have more. I stood next to one of the women as her newest born baby pooped and peed in her arms. I watched as the flies immediately swarmed her. Why didn't I bring more towels or diapers or something for the babies? There are so many kids here and my clothing wouldn't fit them... yet at least. I watched as a few kids ran around naked by the garbage. I thought, why do they live here? What would it be like to grow up in a landfill? How do they get treated? A few mothers try to send their kids to school with their fathers collecting garbage, but how much do they have to collect? How do they feed themselves? My heart grew heavy knowing just how much garbage we create, how much food we consume and how much we take for granted everyday. I don't hear a word of complaint from them and I hear endless bitching, moaning and groaning from people who have everything. What a strange world.
