Children of the Chimaltenango Garbage Dump

I have been sharing pictures and stories of the people of the Guatemala City garbage dump. Life at the dump is a struggle for survival. Even though the Municipality has restricted children from entering and working in the dump, enforcement is difficult because there are so many ways to get into the dump. Also, the people who work in the dump literally drag the dump into their homes. The distinction between garbage dump and living space is hard to see at times, and once trash is outside of the official boundaries of the dump, there is nothing to restrict children from being part of the industry of sorting and selling to recyclers.

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the garbage dump outside of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. It is a smaller dump and a smaller community of people, but what was immediately apparent to me was the number of children working there. No attempt has been made to restrict child labor in this place.

Praise the Lord for people like Cesar and Carol Lopez.  Cesar and Carol operate a home for young ladies who have come out of situations of abuse in the Chimaltenango area. It is called Mi Especial Tesoro (or My Special Treasure). They believe that the best therapy for oneself is to reach out to others and help them in their time of need. So every Saturday morning, Cesar and Carol load up some of the older girls and go to the garbage dump to provide reading and writing classes for the children who live and work in this dreadful place. My respects to you, Cesar and Carol!

A picture is worth a thousand words ... and sometimes a few tears. We are part of a world that lets children live, work, and die in trash. What can YOU do? I'll let some pictures do the talking.