La Chureca

Last week, I went to La Chureca (the dump) in Cuidad Sandino with a translator and a boy who used to live there that now lives in Furia Santa, the center for addiction that Project H.O.P.E. runs. It would not have been safe to go without him. When we arrived in the morning, we drove through fields of trash until we found where people were working that day. As the trash trucks come into the dump, children and youth climb up on top of the trash load and start going through the pickings as the truck drives back to the dumping site. When the trash is dumped, everyone rushes over to see what of worth is in the load. They put what they want in the bags or carts that they carry. Metal and plastic items are the most desirable.  The first woman we talked to was cutting the metal buckles off of a tattered purse with a machete. She did not want to be surveyed. When we found willing participants, we stood in the trash and interviewed them, running out of the way when trash trucks came flying through to dump more trash. The people we interviewed were tough and weather worn, their arms and legs almost black from sorting through the trash with their bare hands. I could tell some of the guys were in the local gang by the way they dressed and acted.

 When we returned in the afternoon after our lunch break, about 20 people stopped our truck and jumped into the bed as we drove into the dump. When we got into the dump there were over 100 people waiting for us. The people thought we were bringing them food. We tried to remove ourselves from the mob by walking up a hill of trash, but everyone followed. I found myself standing 4-5 people deep in the middle of the hill with dogs sitting on my feet and between my legs (I guess they also thought I was going to feed them). Our intent was to interview the de facto leader of the group about the needs of the community, but we couldn’t get away from all the other people so it ended up being more of a group interview. We found out that they were squatters on the land at the edge of the dump. When I asked about the strengths of the community, they told us that they were hard workers and took care of each other. Their biggest expressed need was food for the children. The children work in the dump at least half of the day. 

As we were leaving, a huge storm was coming in. So as we tried to walk out of the dump, a strong wind was blowing trash and dirt all over us. We were picked up about a minute before a monsoon-like rain began. 

 

Please pray for these families.