My eyes have never witnessed anything more somber in my entire 20 years of living then what I saw today…poverty at its worst, and I could say that this is an understatement.
Today we visited Smokey Mountain, one of the largest landfills in the world where thousands of Filipino families live.
These families have built their lives and homes on nothing but pure trash.
As we entered the Tondo region, the poorest area in the Philippines, the mood completely changed, I could feel it.
The car got completely silent and everyone’s eyes became fixed on the surroundings: shanties made of cardboard and wood, children walking around in tattered clothes, and adults scavenging for food in the trash.
As I opened the van door, I was taken back by the horrible stench.
I took two steps out of the van and was bombarded by a group of little children running up to me and hugging me.
They were dirty, smelled, had ripped clothes, but they were the most beautiful children I had ever seen.
Their energy and smiles were so vibrant, just like the kids I played with at the park the day before.
We walked into what was a house where about 15 of the slum women greeted us.
The head lady of the women welcomed us.
“Welcome to our home…” the translator translated for us.
“Out of all of the places in the Philippines, we don’t understand why you choose to come here to Smokey Mountain.
Maybe you wanted to see the poverty.
We are poor but this is our home and we welcome you.
We are glad that you can be here on this beautiful day.”
This beautiful day?
I couldn’t help but question in my mind what she found beautiful about her day.
She lived in a house made of garbage that was surrounded by garbage…but yet it was a beautiful day to her and she smiled and it was genuine, I could tell.
As we explored the city made of complete trash, I was amazed to see the horrific conditions that these people lived in.
The houses looked as if you pushed them with one finger, they would collapse.
Trash was EVERYWHERE.
The sidewalks, well there weren’t any sidewalks….it was pure mud and debris.
The families watched us walk by with curiosity but they greeted us with the warmest smiles.
The smell was so bad, how could they have such warm smiles?
I cannot even begin to explain how bad the conditions were.
The amount of children in that area was unbelievable. Many, many, many children with no shoes, and some no clothes, played happily in the piles of trash.
They dug around in the trash for fun!
My heart just ached to see how little these people had.
I don’t think I will ever complain about my life ever again.
I have never been exposed to such poverty.
I have studied and learned about the vicious cycle of poverty in school, especially with my major… but learning about it in the classroom and actually seeing it with my own eyes is a COMPLETELY different experience.
I feel disgusted with myself for complaining about not having a new dress to wear to the club or not having the newest heels that came out at Bebe.
My worries are nothing compared to theirs.
I can’t even imagine having to be concerned about where my next meal will come from, when I’ll be able to take a shower or brush my teeth, when I’ll be able to change my clothes.
I am not the same person that I was before I visited Smokey Mountain.
I feel some kind of connection to these people, I am Filipino…these are my people.
And it saddens me greatly to see my people who come from such a beautiful culture, a beautiful country living such poor lives.
I wish I could just take all those children who ran up to me, jumped on my back, and played with me, home so that they could be away from that place. These children shouldn’t have to live in such harsh conditions, these adults shouldn’t live in these harsh conditions, NO ONE SHOULD.
What a humbling experience this was.
I am still trying to process and organize my thoughts.
All I know is that I’m really finding myself here, not that I was lost before.
But I’m really learning so much about myself…about my heritage, about the pathway I want to take in my life (to help people), about my appreciation for my life.
It’s only been 4 days that I have been in the Philippines and I have been so impacted.
I can only imagine what I’ll be feeling after 6 weeks.
WOW, if only everyone could see what I saw today.
God bless them, please.
No comments:
Post a Comment