Garbage

Toxic fumes, unbelievable mountains of waste, circling buzzards, and a steady stream of dump trucks.
Images flood my mind as I reflect on my first trip to the city’s only dump.
But what sticks with me most is the eyes: the eyes of the people who call this work and/or home. Some are filled with desperation and anxiety, others with contempt. Certain eyes reflect thoughtfulness and determination while others are glazed over due to the toxic yellow glue they inhale. The eyes are what speak to my heart.

There are also young eyes that shine with hope and excitement. These are the eyes of the 70 children who live and work in the dump that have been given a chance...they go to school! It doesn't matter that most of their schooling was done under trees in a soccer field; they are learning to read, write, and think beyond the dump.
The Micah Project has started a small school for the children. Most parents are resistant to letting their children go to school since it means they miss work. Thankfully, parents of 70 of the approximately 300 have been allowed to come. Some parents actually are paid so they will let child go to school.

This is an incredible ministry and I'm excited to see the effects it is already having on these beautiful children of God.

"Tegucigalpa's city dump is an enormous land fill that covers acres of mountainous land about six kilometers outside the city limits. Trash trucks and other vehicles arrive in a steady stream from sunrise to after sunset, bringing the city's daily refuse to the ever growing mountain of trash.
"But a mound of trash is not the only thing that is constantly growing at the city dump. Daily, more people call the dump home...1,200 people at last count. These are the poorest of the poor, those who can't even scrape up enough capital to sell candy or clothing in the cities bustling outdoor market. The dump is poverty's last stop, it shows human misery in its starkest form. The people fight with the buzzards to locate the 'best' trash. Such a thing would be hard to believe, except for the pictures that don't lie."
(Micah Project, City Dump Ministry, Life in Tegucigalpa's City Dump)


Below is the link to the Micah Project's dump ministry information. The Micah project is a very visionary non-profit organization that started this ministry. The pictures and summaries are very touching!
http://www.micahcentral.org/dumpintro.htm
Please note: the children's profile section has not been updated for some time, but it is still worth checking out!

Picture - Big smiles from two boys about the gloves they were given. Normally the children sort through the garbage without gloves.
** I tried to include pictures of a class and of the dump, but for some reason I wasn't able to upload them. Maybe later.