On my last day in Peru, I got a chance to do something I’d always wanted to do since arriving in Peru: I went to the Garbage Dump Ministry. My team had been able to go, but something always came up, making it impossible for me to go. I’m glad I was able to go, but what I saw and experienced is beyond words. When I arrived at the dump I wanted to cry at what I saw: poverty at its worst.
The road to the garbage dump is a dead end. Near the beginning of the road, there is a prison on the left. At the end of the road, you will find the garbage dump surrounded by a high brick wall, a small community of make-shift houses and a cemetery. Across the road from the dump, near the houses, there are piles of garbage to numerous to count. Those living at the dump, sort the garbage, as well as find things to sell. One person could work up to 10 hours a day gathering plastic bottles to sell, and end up getting only 8 soles ( about $2.50) for the large bag of bottles he gathered. There have been times when they find dead babies amongst the garbage. They bury the babies in the cemetery. People are born at the dump, are raised there, and raise their own families there. It is an endless cycle. You live there, you die there. It is said that there once was a man who found a wallet with hundreds of American dollars in it. He was able to move out of the dump, purchase a home, and live a life out of poverty.
The ministry is telling bible stories to the kids, singing songs and playing with them, handing out some food, and encouraging the parents. The kids that come are eager and excited to play, hear the stories and sing songs. When I saw them for the first time, my heart broke. They live in filth, are dirty, and yet they are happy and have fun. Their parents do the best they can to provide for them.
Going to the dump was a very sobering experience for me. Reality sinks in. People live there and die there. Their life is the dump. They have accepted it and make the best of it. What others throw away is what they live off. The only encouraging thing about the dump is that they are in God’s hands. He loves them and cares about them. I would have loved to have taken pictures, but it did not seem appropriate. Pictures aren´t enough to describe what I saw. This is one of those experiences that makes you extremely grateful for what you have. It´s easy to play the "what if?" game. "What if that were me?" is something that crossed my mind while I was at the dump.
