Our bus pulled up to a big concrete wall with an armed guard. The guard checked our paperwork and passport information, and said we would have to continue on foot. We all piled out of the bus and the stench hit us immidiately. Some tried not to breathe in, but we all adjusted quickly because we knew it was only going to get worse. We all said our prayers and tried to prepare ourselves for what we were about to encounter. With our arms full of fruit we began walking down the dirt road leading us into the city dump.
We came around a corner and as far as we could see, there were huge piles of garbage. But that was not all… standing in those piles of garbage were people. Everywhere we looked there were kids, teenagers, men, and women picking through the trash, searching for anything of value.
I took a deep breath and headed towards those closest to me. With a smile, and the little Spanish I know, I began handing out bananas
and apples to the people around me. I ran out before I was even halfway
through the first grouping of people I had found. I tried to find more,
but quickly realized we had all run out of fruit that quickly. We
bought 40 soles (about $15) worth of fruit and it was gone in 5 minutes.
and apples to the people around me. I ran out before I was even halfway
through the first grouping of people I had found. I tried to find more,
but quickly realized we had all run out of fruit that quickly. We
bought 40 soles (about $15) worth of fruit and it was gone in 5 minutes.
Then it got harder. It is so much easier to provide physical needs to people then to try to connect with them spiritually, especially when you do not speak the same language. A little overwhelmed
but determined, I began a conversation with 2 teenage girls. It was interesting
talking to them because they had just begun trash picking, and so had a
unique perspective. They were determined it would only ever be a way to
make a little extra money a couple days a week, but sounded uncertain as
to how long they would have to continue. They stayed with us for most
of the time we were there and introduced me to a couple of their
friends. We all played a little soccer with some of the kids, but were interrupted when a garbage truck pulled in, and chaos insued.
Everyone went running towards the truck, desperate to get to the new shipment of trash first.
It blew me away at the excitement when my friends found a new pair of
pants they snagged to bring home with them, or even at a bag full of
bottles or scraps of food.
but determined, I began a conversation with 2 teenage girls. It was interesting
talking to them because they had just begun trash picking, and so had a
unique perspective. They were determined it would only ever be a way to
make a little extra money a couple days a week, but sounded uncertain as
to how long they would have to continue. They stayed with us for most
of the time we were there and introduced me to a couple of their
friends. We all played a little soccer with some of the kids, but were interrupted when a garbage truck pulled in, and chaos insued.
Everyone went running towards the truck, desperate to get to the new shipment of trash first.
It blew me away at the excitement when my friends found a new pair of
pants they snagged to bring home with them, or even at a bag full of
bottles or scraps of food.
We began to find our way out, as we only had permission to be there for 2 hours, when we ran into a couple of beautiful teenage girls, so full of a contagious joy, despite being deaf and living in a dump. We played a game of volleyball with them, and they followed us all the way to the main road to say goodbye.
Life inside that dump… it is heartbreaking for us to see from the outside, but more so for many of those living in it. Generation after generation has been raised inside the dump, and sees no future outside of it. They say they only do it to provide for their kids. They want better for their children, but the kids only know life in the dump and no way out, and so it becomes an endless cycle they find themselves trapped in.
It is so hard to describe the experience we had that day, because there really are no words adequate. Instead, I will leave you with this picture, because this is her life…
