The Garbage Slum

As part of an Outreach Weekend, we visited 3 different slums to bring food, help and hope.  This was the most powerful thing I've ever seen:  The Gioboto Garbage Slum.  Notice the bare feet of the children who scavenge the city dump for their entire existance:  everything they wear, eat, play with and build homes/shelter.  Also notice the men scavenging their dinner as we left (bottom picture). The city hospital also dumps here.  The AIDS rate is very high because they are walking around on hypodermic needles also.  The smell, the grime, the poverty is unbelievable.  3 foot tall vultures circle the area constantly.  Yet, these are people too...  with hopes, dreams and aspirations!  They are no different than we.  A volunteer from Ireland was so touched after meeting these people, that he decided to setup this program where we would bring a set meal to them on Saturdays.  It is their only guarenteed meal per week:  8 cups flour and 1 cup lard.  He also brought in craftsman to teach them to knit and weave, which the women now do for income.  They weave plastic garbage bags into purses and bags.  Very cute, after some serious sterilization.  We asked the kids to teach us something, and they sang a song about the goodness of Jesus.  Our Sharp family sang back to them.  Then the mothers, who had been hiding in their shacks, came down singing and dancing one of their tribal songs for us.  It was amazing...  singing broke their guard and barriers built because most people take advantage of them (before, their only way avenue of income was recycling but the plants would not pay them the same rate as others).