HELPING L A N D THE COMMUNITY WITHIN MANILA’S PRIMARY DUMPSITE
about the PHOTOGRAPHERS
KAREN BEBLANAS
ADLE ENRIQUEZ
RAVEN LINGATONG
A 19 year-old girl from Manila. MassComm student.PEARLS Volunteer. Pursuer of Dreams
Currently spending my last teenage year questioning the possibilities and riddles of the universe.
A 19 year old south but all around kid. Writer. Listener. Performer. Coffee lover.
Photography is a tool on showing everyone the beauty of life and the beauty of what surrounds us and that it can be tool in making a difference as you learn at the same time.
For me, photojournalism unveils the unfortunate veracity of life in the most beautiful and conceivable manner. It was such an exceptional experience to photograph and document the lives of the people residing in Helping Land. The place is beyond indescribable.
MARIBETH MORENO
HANNAH SANTIOQUE
I am too young for half 2 decades of making the things that I want history and counting to do and too old to do the other half. I want to show everyone how I see the Exploring photography This photojourn exworld through pictures. has always been so ex- perience is one of the I dont just click the citing. Through images, I best things that I won’t shutter and take photos. learned how to visualize forget in my last year in I wait for the right different perspective, college. It really brings timing and capture the appreciate color and out the beast and the perfect moment. enjoy the composition best in me. A great of details and angles. journey, indeed! But exploring photography, life and the reality that lies in between altogether is by far one of the most amazing experience I ever had.
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YOUR TRASH, OUR HOME Philippines as a developing country badly needs a massive change when it comes to managing serious problems like this. We are used to hearing the same problems all over the years. We are tired of getting the same answers yet no solutions in return. In today’s society, we have a huge problem in scarcity of space and refugee crisis especially in the one of the biggest parts of Manila. One good example is Tondo which is known for being a densely populated place in Manila. There are three known landmarks in Tondo, the Helping Land, Happyland and Aroma. “Happyland” was not derived from the word “Happiness” but from the Visayan word Hapilan which means “dump site”. Happyland and Helping Land is not so distant to each other. Adults, mothers, fathers, kids, almost everyone were busy sorting trash and scavenging of materials that can be resold. The mountains of garbage serve as playground and working area of the children and livelihood for their parents as well. These kids need a necessary time to study and rest in a well- ventilated place. But it seems like every day is really a survival day for them. I’ve never felt a wild roller coaster ride of emotions until today. For our photojournalism class, we went to these not-so-worthy places to become habitats for humans in Northwest part of Tondo. We had to walk in a muddy pathway just to see the inner most part of the place. It was a dumpsite which have habitants. As we get there, my heart melts when I finally step into the exact area. I could say that the dark skies match the situation of the place under it. It was so unsatisfying. Mountains of garbage, slippery roads, smelly surroundings, all in one area is too much. Children in barefoot, women and men waiting just to sort trashes are the common scenery in these places. I could see the chaos inside of them. The battle between poverty and survival is clearly stated in the situation they have. People never see the danger they might encounter most especially to the children who will never understand the real dilemma of living in dump sites. But, there’s still a good thing I’ve seen earlier, the dazzling eyes of the kids while enjoying the smelly and sticky surroundings that they have gave me a glance of hope for these people. Despite of this kind of situation, there unconscious minds give them reasons to smile. But still, I couldn’t imagine that these little kids will grow in a place like these; nobody deserves to stay in a dump site. These kids might never breathe fresher air for their years of stay here, they deserve a better place. Also, a fast-growing number of populations in these places might pg / 3
result to bigger problems like health problems and lack of education. Government should give a long time solution for this problem. Another place that caught my attention is Aroma which is just meters away from Happyland. Aroma opened when the smokey mountain closed in 1995. The main purpose of the closure is to relocate dwellers and make Aroma as their temporary living area but until now, 2,000 families stay there. The area is too small for thousands of people. The scenarios I’ve seen in Happyland and Helping Land are the same in Aroma; the overflowing garbage, child laborers and everything. People complaints that the relocation sites like Bulacan and Rizal are too far for them. Livelihood and possible sources of income are some of the major reasons why they choose to live in a dump site where they can find job in garbage by selling it. They tend sell their houses in relocation sites and go back to Aroma. Majority earn from selling “pagpag” or leftover food and scavenging. Houses here are built in woods and recycled materials. There is no rent but residents pay for electricity and water. There is also no proper sanitation for sewage and drainage systems. The whole area is really in a worst condition. Though these places are dump sites and looks like a hopeless case, there’s still a helping hand that is always open to help them aside from the false hopes that are given by government. The Project PEARLS (standing for Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love and Smile), a non-government organization that has a heart for helping underprivileged people has a weekly outreach and feeding program for the children of these three areas. They also offer scholarship from pre-school to and kindergarten age to middle and high school levels. Project PEARLS gets its funds from donors here and abroad. They truly serve as an instrument for these children to achieve their dreams and have the chance to get out on this area. I know that there’s still an opportunity for these people to have a better way of living. Filipinos are considered as the happiest person in the world. We never get tired of wearing a huge and beautiful smile on our face. We never hesitate to bring joy in other’s life. It’s a trademark that has been passed through generations. This culture that we have is just a realization that we, despite of all the struggles that we have are epitomes of hope.
“Happiness is a choice.’’ This phrase became a common phrase for all of us. We always choose to be happy and relive everything. We always find different ways just to fulfill ourselves with happiness that we need. We never get tired to be happy despite of all the trials that we have and we’ve been through. The strength of Filipinos is truly immeasurable because happiness can’t be measured in any means.
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SLUM TOURS I first learned about Slum Tours PH some 8 months ago from a high school colleague who was a former volunteer of the tour. She often tells us her beautiful stories of her slum tour experiences and how it gladly changed her heart. Through pictures, she shares with us her joy of serving the poorest of the poor children and ever since, we’ve all been fond of waiting to get to experience the thrill of the infamous Slum tour and allow ourselves to get into a different kind of adventure. On June 2014, as the City of Manila ordered the reclamation of Smokey Mountain, the tour also shut down dramatically. It resulted to a massive repositioning of the people residing in the community into a relocation site also at Sitio Damayan now known as the Happy Land. The closure of Smokey Mountain and Smokey Tour gave birth to the idea of Slum Tour by Smokey Mountain Tours.
Smokey Mountain Tours (SMT) is a Non-government Organization (NGO) under the World Experienced Philippines Corp (WEPC) founded in 2011 by Ms. Juliette Kwee, a Dutch Volunteer of San Martin de Porres in the Philippines. The vision of Smokey Mountain Tours started during an organized photo walk at Brngy. 105 Sitio Damayan Tondo, Manila namely The Filibata Artwalk wherein 20 both local and amateur photojournalist donated their best photographs of the area portraying its beautiful stories. The striking photographs envisioned the potential of transforming it into a destination of unfolding the harsh realities of Manila. We finally agreed on joining the tour one Sunday of May 2015 when our schedules finally matched together. It’s a two-in-one trip of catching up and trying something new. The trip started on our meeting point at Jollibee Tayuman where we were
given a brief of the tour and some guidelines to begin with. And to formally proceed, contracts were signed by both parties and payments were made. A total of 750 Pesos with inclusion of transportation and snacks. Our formal tour guide for the day is a very soft-hearted woman named Melanie. The tour only allows a maximum of 7 participants per trip for safety purposes. So it was me and my two bestfriend along with a Dutch family of three. One of the tour’s objective is to let the participants experience the rural life of Filipinos and there’s no other way of making them feel the roads of manila better than having them ride the local jeepneys. From Jollibee Tayuman, we are ushered to ride a jeep until Puregold Pritil, a fews steps round and another jeep to take us to Happy Land. The trip mainly has three parts: The Aroma Community to Ulingan and
the ironically Happy Land. We were guided well by Melanie as she constantly fed us information from time to time. As we enter the community, couple of kids welcomed us with their warm smiles and greetings. Like a normal street, kids are so playful everywhere filling the place with laughter, treating it as their playground. At Brngy. Aroma, remains of the ruined relocation houses are still visible, yet ended up looking so horrible. There are some sari-sari stores catering the basic needs of people, a normal market for poultry but garbage are basically everywhere. Moving to Ulingan, the color of the air started to look black and
smoke fills the air. We are provided with gas masks to cover up. We are exposed with the charcoal-making community from kids to adults. Pile of garbage are still everywhere and compared to the Brngy. Aroma positioned closer to the roads, people of Ulingan is basically taking a closer look to the poorest community. It took me a minute or more to realize how ironic Happy land is. Not only by its name but on how it appeared to be. Happy land is not happy after all. Mountains of garbage from one to another where people live with a very little power and water access. Recycling and charcoal making is the main source of living. People scavenging for food and kids are in great need of attention and help. On
our way back, we were introduced by the main food of these people called pagpag – the left-behind foods from restaurants and fastfoods nearby. Supposedly, anyone who experienced the tour will feel so blessed for it is a life-changing experience. Slum Tour is more than just travelling to places and visiting attractions but interaction with people. It is more of creating connections to our poor communities Also, the tour is initiated not to collect sympathy but to positively illustrate how Filipinos still handle to keep life going despite in and in spite of. Thereof, restrictions for shooting cameras during tours is a positive plus for the project itself.
The irony-filled place
At the heart of the capital city of the Philippines lies a place called Tondo. It is in the northwest of Manila where the dump sites are currently located. Known as the home for the toughest Filipinos in the city, Tondo has quite an impression of a chaotic area. People see it as the primary source of crime in Manila. Inoffensive
But I saw something different.
It would probably sound weird but I was actually excited during our ride going to the dump site. It’s not the garbage but because the idea was totally new to me. I mean,
why would anyone go to that place anyway? But then again, why not? I knew what I am about to see and I was ready for it. In fact, I was a bit much ready because I was the only one with a cap and bottled water. And believe me, both are necessary. All of us wore boots because almost everywhere is like a game of who-sinks-deeper-looses. The “thing” your feet would be covered with when you accidentally stepped harder onto the soft ground, is unfortunately not sand, but wet garbage, mud,and anything that should be in the sewer and should’ve been forever. Lastly, if
you happen to have a sensitive nose, you might want to bring a towel. The stench of the place is incomparable. It’s like the combination of all the worst smell in the world, creating a forget-me-not scent that would stick to your clothes once you’re done walking around the area. With the unpredictable rainy weather, we only had the chance to roam one barangay called the Helping Land. Not that it isn’t obvious but the Helping Land and the other two areas, Happy Land and Aroma, don’t differ at all. They’re all having consistent relationship with the garbages. Every corner is piled with different pg / 11
kinds of trashes which basically immunes the community from even noticing them. More were being delivered when we came and it’s amazing how these newly arrived members of the barangay could still be accommodated. You know what they say, there’s always room for one more. I was a bit shocked with what I saw as we step on the muddy ground of Helping Land. Even if you know so much about the place, nothing’s going to prepare you until you’re there. I felt a little sick with all the feces lying around and the stench almost knocked me down. But of course, nothing beats the excitement I felt before. Luckily, one of my groupmates is quite known in the area because she’s part of an organization which basically aims to help the kids of Tondo. The residents gave us a warm welcome and we’re taking photos in no time. The kids were so hyped up seeing us and kept on asking to take pictures of them. Except from the fact that we’re in a dump site, everything was going smooth and according to plan.
Spending the whole afternoon in the barangay made me realize that the residents have been living in a world full of judgements and stereotypes. It’s easy for us to conclude that the people is as bad as the situation of Helping Land; that every minute we should do a general check up on ourselves and on our stuff. Maybe some of them live up with how the society sees them but not all. There will always be people who’d go against the current and in the case of Tondo, some are typically nice but viewed as troublemakers just because they grew up in the dump site. I witnessed how they spend their afternoon on a weekend as we go deeper into the barangay. Kids are running around, playing, and apparently unaware of the world they’re living in. Teenagers were out going somewhere else perhaps to the church. Women were either doing chores or keeping an eye to their children. Men were doing chores as well, segregating garbages, or just letting time passes by. Nonethe-
less, the residents seem contented and peaceful with the kind of lifestyle they have. Part of the perks of being a Filipino are seeing the positive side and managing to smile. You see, the core of the problem here is not the place or the garbage. Maybe it’s time to consider ourselves as the cause. Who are we to judge them if they’re happy with their lives? By the looks of it, they don’t need our judgments. They need our help. They need help not in giving another band aid solutions, but help in changing their perception in life. There’s nothing wrong in being satisfied but the funny thing about Filipinos is sometimes we’re contented with things that are less satisfying. We deserve more but we tend to settle for what the society limits us. Residents of Helping Land should realize that they deserve more and they have to do something aside from waiting for another batch of dumpsters. The joke is on them and I think it’s time to quit laughing.
THE DREAMERS OF HELPING LAND
In contrast to its name, Helping Land, a slum community located in Tondo, Manila is the place who actually needs a lot of help. One may think it is a community who helps a lots but it is actually a community who needs our time, talent and treasure. I first saw the community and its children in 2013. At that time, Project PEARLS, an NGO who aims to help underprivileged children and families, only did its outreach programs in the middle of a roofless courtyard under the hot sun or the rain and surrounded by heaps
of different kinds of trash. After volunteering in Ulingan, another slum community in Tondo, Manila, it was a whole new kind of experience in Helping Land. From the weekly sight of black fumes of makeshift kilns surrounding Ulingan and from our PEARLS center overlooking Manila Bay with the children I have learned to help and love for the last 3 years, to another community with a weekly sight of different kinds of trash thrown by people brought by huge dump trucks, depressed building quarters of families and a whole new bunch of children who needs help.
As I continued on being a volunteer on our outreach programs in Helping Land, I was always reminded on the harsh realities of life. Each child has their own sad story of how life is unfair to their family but hope is also always there. Despite the hardships in life and their situation, I am amazed on how they can still manage to smile and laugh and play, which is how a child should deserve to live. As I pass by people around Helping Land, I am in awe in how harsh life is to them yet they can still manage to throw you a smile or a happy greeting on a beautiful day.
Every Saturday is worth spending time in sharing one’s time, talent and treasure for the children of Helping Land. Not because they badly need the help but also because they will make you feel that you helping them is worth it. Helping these children always fills my heart with joy, hope and inspiration. They will not make you feel that your efforts went in vain. Yes, Helping Land can actually be called as it is because this community made me realize that they are actually helping you to open your heart and share what you can as much as possible and inspire everybody to make a difference despite on whatever situations they’re involved with their lives. Volunteering continually for the children of Helping Land is always worth it.
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