Payatas, Philippines. While the men hustled as construction workers and garbage scavengers, the women of Payatas took care of the kids. Obvious in this video is the lack of adult males and the surprising number of kids who joined us that day. Children, age 14 and below, makes up 32% of the 130,000+ population of this town. That’s an unbelievable number even for the Philippines.

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The town was once the biggest dumpsite in the country. 900 tons of trash dumped daily. Stacked so high that it became unstable, collapsed, and took the lives of 232 scavengers and individuals living in the make-shift houses inside the site. The disaster forced it’s closure in 2010, and has been rebuilding itself since then with promises of modernized residential areas, eco parks and bike trails.

 

We met up with the residents of Payatas inside a gated compound bordered by a church and an assembly building donated and built by Korean missionaries. It was loud, it was crowded, it was fun! Mothers and children stood in line, waiting for their turn to receive goods we’ve gathered from generous donors and sponsors. Rice, groceries, vitamins, and a delicious spaghetti lunch.

 

Our biggest appreciation to all the sponsors, donors and volunteers that made this outreach a success. Thank you for Helping Us Help Them.