a mighty heart of garbage

So this morning we went to the Mandaue Landfill for the third time since we've been in the Philippines. Ify came with us for the first time. We got picked up happily by Tata and his son Philip and nephew JB who decided to come along. All of us made our way to the landfill with our packages eager to make another appearance with gifts. Little did we know just what we had in store.



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.

We waved good-bye to the mother and the children as we boarded our jeepney and left the landfill. It's an experience I told myself, but it's a heart-breaking one. They choose to live this way, I thought to myself, but it's crazy. I can barely stand an hour in the landfill and there are people who live every single day that way. It's insane. I know there are squatters everywhere and some have chosen much more nicer places to live. Don't they realize how bad it is for their health? What about the kids? How do they shower? We got them toothbrushes with no soap or water. Sigh. Does it even make a difference what we do? I wish I could have done more. I wish I could have given more. But when you see their faces, it is their way. They don't know any other way, and in their hearts they don't believe there is another way for them. It is their home. It is their work. It is their life. And I am no one to judge them or change their opinion.

Moalboal

This past weekend a few friends and I decided to go to Moalboal in the southern part of Cebu. We left Friday afternoon, rented motorbikes and GTA-styled our way through the city and into the country parts, the mountains and the darkness to get to the lovely little town of Moalboal. It took us 4 hours and I lugged 4 giant paint cans on the back of the bike the whole way there. It was exhausting, beautiful and worth it. 

We arrived close to 8pm, ate a nice little meal and wondered the little strip of bars, restaurants and beaches. We stayed at Pacitas Beach Resort, the nicest place at the end of the strip and one of the cheapest. 700PHP for a night, 25p for the beer fridges, 15p for coke and water. Amazing. The little mini homes led out into a grainy beach and down stone stairs directly into the where old coral made up the majority beneath the water.

 We didn't stay up too late as we had an early start the following day. Our main goal of the journey was to meet Aida. I had been trying to meet with her for a few months now, but sadly I kept missing her due to our schedules.

She started a day centre where children are fed and schooled who are underprivileged and malnourished. Our mission was to brighten up the kindergarten room and fill it with visual aids and other fun colourful paintings that the children could use as references. We had one of the teachers even come help us and another friend we met on our last adventure with Lets-Share.

We started around 8am on Saturday. Being the one that instigated this, I still had no clue as to what we should be painting. I had to wait to see the room. After circulating ideas in my head, I knew we would do the alphabet around the top of the room, as well as numbers and shapes and a fun mural. We thought that as a kid it was fun to measure how tall you werre, so we painted a ruler near the front door.

While we began the painting, not too far down the road at Basdiot Elementary School, Lets-Share and Aida along with a few very well-known people (including members of the Rotary Club in Cebu) had organized a dental care and eye care for the people in the school. Free. This on-going mission will be brought to many children through the Philippines in the coming months. We didn't get to see much of the event as we were busy painting, but we did catch up to Aida and Richard at lunch where we joined them in eating the lovely food made just for the volunteers.

Our painting took us to just about 3pm, where afterward we rewarded ourselves with a swim in the ocean, mango shakes, delicious sandwiches and for a few a nice, long sleep. The rest of them went out to the disco and stayed out til all hours of the night. Our plan for the next morning was to visit White Sands Beach, swim, hang out and then take the long motorbike home around noon. We did just that and while it poured rain on us a good portion of the bike ride, we were nevertheless happy and satisfied when we arrived safely in Lapu-Lapu.

Moalboal is a beautiful place. Many tourists visit for the diving, the scenery and the small-town vibe. For us it was a place to clear our minds, be creative, and appreciate everything we have in our lives.

White Sands Beach, Moalboal