We visited the Managua City Dump. It is nothing like I have ever seen... People literally live in the dump. There are shack houses made from scraps found at the dump and are built upon mounts of trash. The elderly, middle age, and young spend all day savaging the garbage in hopes of finding something that can be sold. For a hundred pounds of plastic bottles, a person may receive only a dollar or so. In Nicaragua, they burn all of their garbage. People burn their garbage in the backyards or along the side of the road. The dump is no exception, the air is thick with smoke and the smell of rotting garbage. It's hard to describe everything that was going on inside of me while I was there. Sadness, helplessness, anger, and confusion were some of the emotions that were racing inside of me. Many people are born in the dump, live their lives in the dump, and die in it. Not many people can rise above their poverty because the country is setup to help the rich stay in power.
One image that has really impacted me is the picture of the little boy about 5-7 years old collecting garbage. He was walking past our van, and he was struggling to carry his over-sized bag full of garbage.
posted by Sarah @ 7:07 AM
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