Children in Poverty Part 2 (No.5)

Note: This part 2 is the continuation of the children in Poverty (no.4) so you should read the first story to understand this part 2. Now I am talking about children living in a place called “the Smokey Mountain.”

Have you ever heard about the Smokey Mountain? It is located a place called Payatas; the Quezon City, Manila is where the Smokey Mountain can be seen[1]. Payatas is being a dumped of garbage in the Philippines for a long time according to my teacher in senior high “they are mostly from the other countries.”[2] Now it is so called the successor to Smokey Mountain[3] in the way accumulated garbage are formed.  Taking a view in the Figure 1 it is a heap of garbage which takes almost an area, looking like a mountain[4]. These is made out of 3000 tons of garbage daily by truck[5]  which means the amount of coming garbage just heaps up and up. This kind of daily living is not good for the people and the country itself in a way to have a happy life.

 

[6]

 Figure 1

Can you imagine that people lives here?

Well, the answer is yes. People lives here because of no money to have a place to pay on.

[7]

Figure 2

Poverty is making things difficult to live. The living of children is being hard and still we have nothing to do for them as we move on to their livings. Children in the Philippines do collecting of garbage to feed their family.[8] The collecting of garbage may be easy to see. But when we try to do it, it is not. Having money is hard. Bringing these heavy things will not give them the money they needed it is just a way to live for a day.

         

   [9]

 Now look at these two children.   These two children are working in the Smokey Mountain. They are collect trashes like cans, plastics, rubbers and more which can be recycled. This trash can be sold at the recycled shops. They do these jobs because they want to afford food for their family. Without money they can’t afford their daily needs for example food, clean water, clothes and etc. Working in the contaminated area is not good for children. Children should not be flush on polluted areas like dump area. Breathing in the bad substances in the place may cause them some diseases that may affect their health.[10] Let just say, “They are suffering from poverty!” Can’t you here that?  Poverty still intervene the happiness of children. The sufferings of having no money because of having no chance to pay the bills in case they got seek in case of troubles.

              Children are poverty’s innocent victims because their voice is rarely counted and, too often, discounted because they cannot vote for their own. They cannot form assemblies or petition authorities for programs that could alleviate some of the conditions they are suffering. The way we think today is still sweet that we could still have 3 times meals.

 Hope you enjoy reading this. See you at the next blog.

---

[1]Payatas Garbage Dump. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/kcet/globaltribe/countries/phi_payatas.html

[2] This fact is been taught to me by my geography teacher when I was in High school.

[3] (2007, August 7). Payatas- Trash City. Retrieved September 11, 2012, from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/hans2463/architecture/2007/08/payatas_trash_city_in_the_phil.html

[4] Payatas Garbage Dump. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/kcet/globaltribe/countries/phi_payatas.html

[5] Ibid.

[6] Pictures are got from this web: http://www.philippine.me/paruparo/21

[7]   Payatas Garbage Dump. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/kcet/globaltribe/countries/phi_payatas.html

[8] Coren, A. CNN. Scratching out a life on Manila's Smokey Mountain. April 05, 2010.Retrieved on November 11, 2012: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-05/world/philippines.smokey.mountain_1_coal-mine-rubbish-plastic_s=PM:WORLD

[9]Ibid.

[10]         Illnesses caused by Garbage Pollution. Retrieved from: http://garbagepollution.weebly.com/illness.html.  November 11, 2012