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Children of the Dump Manila (ASCT)

Children of the Dump transforms the lives of scavenger children through education. The work focuses on the rubbish dumps of Manila in the Philippines where families scrape an existence by scavenging for anything they can sell or eat. We provide a range of services to help the child go to school. We are a very small UK charity with minimal costs.

www.childrenofthedump.org.uk Fundraise for us
office@childrenofthedump.org.uk

01276 -942030

Registered charity no. 1198301

Member since February 2018

Latest News

A new classroom in the middle of the dumpsite

A new classroom in the middle of the dumpsite

Bamboo walls, solar powered lights and fans, no sanitation or running water but lots of little children eager to learn. The community around the dumpsite in Sitio Pintor are all involved in scavenging and living conditions are indescribable. But with the new classroom which opened this year, 50 young children will receive high quality FREE teaching to get the best possible foundation on their educational journey. A route out of poverty.

Access to clean water.

Access to clean water.

Since last year Children of the Dump has reached out to the isolated scavenging community of Sitio Pintor beside the San Isidro rubbish dump to offer the very first opportunity for education of the children who live there. One of the biggest problems is the lack of a clean water supply. All over Manila in the barrios there is no mains water and millions depend on bottled water being delivered. In Sitio Pintor it’s more difficult because there are no roads for delivery trucks. The villagers, many of whom spend their days scavenging on the rubbish dump, have to pay for and, sometimes with their children helping, carry these heavy bottles back to their shacks at the end of their long day. The village has a water pump but it broke some time ago and there was no money or expertise to get it repaired. Now a kind local supporter has stepped in. The pump has been repaired and serviced and fresh water can be pumped up to the village ready for boiling. The villagers just need to keep an eye on the quality of the water to make sure that the water table is not poisoned from leaks at the nearby rubbish dump as has happened elsewhere in the city. The danger from this was the reason that the old Payatas rubbish dump was finally shut down in 2017. This is a great solution that improves lives and saves extra effort in the hot humid conditions in Manila.

Scavenger in Lockdown

Scavenger in Lockdown

When you live hand to mouth all the time - when your food may consist only of waste that has been brought home from the dumpsite and nothing is in the cupboard -  Lockdown brings a completely new dimension. COVID-19 has wrought havoc all across the globe and for our communities around the dumpsites it has been devastating. The restrictions have been draconian, families are not allowed out of their shelters, they cannot scavenge, the dumpsite is closed to them, there is no money and no food. Children of the Dump have responded with an emergency food programme and 170 families received regular food parcels to keep them alive while they cannot scavenge.

Education is our core mission and the pandemic has brought huge challenge. No face to face teaching is allowed until a vaccine is available, classes are conducted online. But when you have no internet access or devices that proves impossible. Our teachers have devised paper based lessons and some online offers with donated devices being shared among families. Every penny is dedicated to keeping these children learning and developing safely and healthily. Please let a vaccine come soon.