First Person is a weekly forum for personal musings and reflections from readers.
Saturday, August 14, 2010 06:05 AM
By CONOR FELDMANN
The Columbus Dispatch
The love I received in Guatemala this summer was unlike any other I've experienced. Every day for 10 days, 18 children ages 2 and 3 greeted me with hugehugs and smiles - the genuine joy on their faces truly awe-inspiring.
Too young to understand the desperateness of their situation, they start each day full of happiness, ready to deliver and receive love.
I went to the Central Americancountry knowing I was expected to show the love of Jesus to the children I'd meet. Little did I realize how much they'd teach me in return.
The poverty in Guatemala is difficult for Americans to imagine: Minimum wage is about $4 a day, and 45 percent of the children are severely malnourished.
Such statistics, though, pale against reality.
In the capital of Guatemala City, thousands of people live and work in and near the garbage dump.
The men, women and children scavenge barefoot to find food for their families (often in competition with vultures and wild dogs), tin to sell or a sturdy piece of cardboard to support their "houses."
I traveled with nine other students from St. Charles Preparatory School and six chaperons on a trip sponsored by the International Samaritan ministry.
Our goal was to help alleviate poverty in the dump.
As part of the experience, we visited the Santa Clara Nursery (youngsters as old as 6) and the Francisco Coll School (grades one through six). We helped build a high school for the teenagers who live in the dump. And we tried our best to give love and attention to the children.
On our first day, we "toured" the dump community to better understand the living conditions.
As many as 10 people live in a tin hut with barely four walls and a ceiling. Every home is very dark because letting in sunlight would mean letting in rain. The sheets used for doors offer no protection from the dangerous gangs that roam the streets at night. A home is commonly shared by four generations because many Guatemalan girls become mothers around age 14.
Seeing innocent people livingwith so little dignity provided us with plenty of motivation to work hard and to give the children all we could during our time there.A few days into our service, I felt proud of the effort that our group was putting forth in helping to build the high school. I felt proud, too, of the relationships I'd developed with all the Guatemalan kids. And I felt proud to be doing the best I could to make a difference.
Soon, though, a gut-wrenching feeling of hopelessness and helplessness began to set in.
The problems at the dump are so profound, I thought that our efforts wouldn't amount to much in the big picture. I realized that, even though the Guatemalan kids were learning a lot at school and otherwise enjoying our visit, they still had to go home every night to the same cold, wet existence.
I struggled with such feelings, asking myself:
What am I really giving these kids? What have I done to help them in the long run? I can't buy them real houses. I can't find jobs for their parents. Nothing I say or do will significantly improve their chances of escaping a lifetime in the dump.
Just as I was questioning my purpose for being there, Father Donald Vettese - the founder of International Samaritan - showed up and said exactly what I needed to hear:
"We must take on this injustice step by step. Nobody is doing anything big to help these people. You are providing them with exactly what they need and the only thing they desire: love." Because of my experiences in Guatemala, I have a firmer grasp on the age-old lament "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?"
A part of the answer is simple: to teach.
I learned so much from the poorest of the poor - especially about thevirtues of love, selflessness and optimism.
On our last day in Guatemala, just before leaving the dump for the last time, my St. Charles classmates and I each received a handmade necklace (decorated with a sandal) from a middle-school girl who one day hopes to attend high school.
As she carefully placed a necklace over each of our heads, she said: "Paso a paso."
Step by step.
Conor Feldmann, a 17-year-old senior at St. Charles, has an adopted 3-year-old brother from Guatemala.
Aug 16, 2010 ‘Slumdog Tourism’
‘Slumdog Tourism’ unfairly and inaccurately discounts the potential of witnessing the reality of extreme poverty in the world
Note: A commentary published in the New York Times on Aug. 11, 2010, written by Kennedy Odede, challenged the practice of humanitarians visiting impoverished regions of the world. Odede charged that “slum tourism turns poverty into entertainment, something that can be momentarily experienced and then escaped from.” Fr. Don Vettese, founder and president of International Samaritan, issued the following response to Odede’s commentary.
I read the commentary, “Slumdog Tourism,” by Kennedy Odede, with a sense that he might benefit from a slightly broader view of how people learn.As the founder and president of International Samaritan, an organization which serves garbage dump populations and also conducts service trips for hundreds of people annually, I have found “tourism” to not only be effective in increasing the awareness and sensitivity of the visitor to the plights of the poor, but also as a catalyst to service and substantial financial support.We send prospective donors on tours of areas where we have projects under way, not only to witness the living conditions we are trying to improve, but also to learn what can be accomplished when individuals and larger organizations (governments and not-for-profits) partner to improve the lives of the severely poor.
I also deplore a voyeuristic tourism that exploits the plight of the poor, rather than improve on it.But there is no greater teacher than experience.Our “tourists,” as Mr. Odede may call them, have donated tens of millions of dollars and thousands of hours of service as a result of their service.We can point to nurseries, schools, medical centers, homes, micro-loans, food programs that came as a direct result of the “tourist” experience.Do all of the visitors donate funds?Absolutely not.Do some of them walk away with their photos?Yes.
I suggest that Mr. Odede ask the recipients of the hundreds of homes, the thousands of students educated at our schools, the parents who are able to leave their infants and children in our safe and clean nurseries, and the tens of thousands of others who have been helped by our “tourists” if “they” think the fact that on occasion someone was in any way offended outweighs the good that has come from the visitors?International Samaritan has professional research measuring the objective impact of our presence, and there is no question that the good accomplished far outweighs any unintended consequences of our presence.We have also discovered through sound research that some of the “tourists” deepen their understanding of the complexities involved in severe poverty, and in more community service and financial contributions as a result.
It was only when I witnessed the horrible indignity and squalor of the Guatemala City garbage dump that I felt compelled to establish our humanitarian organization.Thousands of others have shared that experience and made a profound difference in the lives of the people we serve, and it came about because hearts were touched through direct contact.I suggest Mr. Odede re-focus his own lens and try to see the obvious and profound good that often results from direct contact with severely poor people.
Aug 16, 2010 For Haiti
Bart Thompson and some friends are preparing for a 335-mile-long cycling trip from Ann Arbor to Harbor Springs, Michigan, to raise money for Haiti.
Thompson, a self-proclaimed "fitness junky," grew up in Ann Arbor and will be a pre-med junior at Stanford University in the fall. With help from friends, Thompson planned the trip, which is to take place Friday through Sunday to raise money to help International Samaritan build 18 schools in Haiti.
The charitable cycling trip will be the longest distance Thompson has ever traveled by bike. He said he thought his cause would be "something people could rally behind," and that the trip would be "challenging, but also fun."
"Especially in light of the earthquake there, people are aware it's pretty tough right now," he said.
The group will ride more than 300 miles in 3 days, stopping to camp in Ithaca and Higgins Lake. Because a few people can only join the group for a portion of the trip, Thompson didn't have an exact number of people who will be participating, but said about 6 to 8 cyclists will be in the group each day.
Tom Kelly helped to organize the trip.
"When Bart and I originally planned it, we were talking with International Samaritan and we wanted to make it a specific cause that people could feel connected to," said Kelly, an accounting and finance major at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and friend of Thompson's. "(Raising money to help International Samaritan build schools in Haiti) fit in perfectly with what we were doing and what they needed."
In 2007 as a student at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, Thompson went on a school mission trip to Guatemala, an experience he says had a "major impact" on his life.
"I once heard that living in middle class America with an average salary puts you at the 97th percentile of the world's wealth. ... If I had been born somewhere else, I would have an entirely different life," he said. "You just have to take care of your fellow human beings."
Thompson said it will take about $5,000 to build one school, and the group hopes to raise at least that much money.
"Upwards of $15,000 would be ideal because that would cover the costs for three schools," Thompson wrote in an email.
As of Monday, International Samaritan spokesman Dennis Archambault said no donations had been received, though some donations have been made online.
"The people of Haiti need housing, clothing, and medical care. But most of all, they need hope — and hope comes through many ways and people. Education is one source of hope. Cycling is another," Father Don Vettese, founder and president of International Samaritan, said in the release. "These cyclists — educated in the Jesuit tradition — are carrying out our mission in their own unique way. We congratulate them for their effort and wish them Godspeed."
Kelly's message to potential donors: "Just because you can't travel down there, doesn't mean you can't help."
Donations can be made at www.intsamaritan.org, or send a check to International Samaritan, 614 S. Ashley St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103.
Aug 16, 2010 You're Invited!
Attention all former volunteers and friends of International Samaritan:
Join us for a summer picnic on Saturday, July 24th to celebrate 15 years of service here at International Samaritan. The event will be held at our headquarters at 614 S Ashley, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
Reconnect with old friends, International Samaritan Program Director Andrew Pawuk, and Father Don Vettese with burgers, ice cream, and music. Come and see yourself and memories from your trip in our volunteer video created from footage of past service trips!
Feel free to come early and enjoy the last day of the Ann Arbor Art Fair. Parking is available all day on the corner of Mosley and Ashley Street. We encourage you to invite your family and friends to the picnic; all are welcome! RSVP via evite is appreciated for planning purposes (click here to RSVP). We hope to see you there!
May 06, 2010 Won’t you help this little boy? While conducting a feasibility study in May in Sierra Leone, Executive Director Oscar Dussán met two-year-old Issa Kamoro, a little boy suffering with a huge facial tumor. In this desperately poor country, where one in every four children die before the age of five, the average life expectancy is 40 years of age, and the local doctors’ training allows for only the most basic care, Issa faced grim prospects for survival.
International Samaritan immediately began a campaign to raise the funds necessary to get little Issa to Kumasi in Ghana for treatment. Dr. Phil Rodgers from the University of Michigan assisted in contacting a U of M trained doctor in Ghana, who volunteered to help Issa. While this little boy waits in the hospital, International Samaritan awaits news on the cost of his proposed surgery.
Those who opened their hearts most eagerly to Issa’s cause came from Europe, many from Spain. They have pledged to send more money for treatment and aftercare, but we hope our American supporters will join this worthy cause. As International Samaritan prepares to help Issa’s family and thousands more of the chronically poor living in Sierra Leone’s garbage dump communities, won’t you help ease this little boy’s terrible suffering?
Please help by sending a contribution today for this child and others like him. 1500 helps pay transportation costs out of the country for emergency cases, $500 helps pay for medical supplies, $100 helps with medicine, $50 helps with nutrition and water. Checks should be made out to International Samaritan or contribute on line. Jun 17, 2009 KA Fraternity from Miami University becomes first to undertake service learning mission with IS
ANN ARBOR – A group of 10 students from the Kappa Alpha Order (KA) fraternity at Miami University, Ohio, wanted an opportunity to make a direct, positive impact on a community through their philanthropy. A week of hard labor and student mentoring not only made an impact on the community of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, it made a lasting impact on the students as well.
Andrew Borgia, a member of KA, said the students were successful at raising money for various causes, but were looking for an opportunity to achieve a “tangible result.” Witnessing the extreme poverty of people living in the garbage dump of San Pedro Sula “had a profound impact on us as a group,” Borgia said. His fraternal brothers gave up a week of summer vacation, May 10-17, to undertake their mission.
“This experience humbled me personally,” Borgia added. Working in 100 degree heat and humidity, the students were impressed with “the pride and respect the families had for their country and those more in need than themselves,” he explained.
The KA brothers helped construct the Richard Flasck Medical Center, as well as several other projectsincluding a sidewalk for the St. IgnatiusNursery and a drainage system to prevent classrooms from being flooded. “Kappa Alpha Order did an outstanding job of being the first fraternity to partake in an international service project,” said Andrew Pawuk, Program Director, International Samaritan. “Each of the 10 members not only sacrificed their summer vacation to help the poorest of the poor in Honduras, but were outstanding ambassadors and representatives for Miami University and their fraternity. As a graduate of Miami University, I am proud of these students and their contributions to our mission.”
Borgia said that raising money to support various philanthropic organizations is a good way to give back to those in need, but contributors are unable to see and touch the people who benefit from your efforts. “We saw an opportunity to reach out and give our time and physical abilities. One of the cornerstones that our fraternity bases itself on is never being content and striving to go above and beyond what is expected. 10 able-bodied men have made a tangible impact on these people’s lives and to see what you have done first-hand gives you more pride and greater respect for the things you have.”
Kappa Alpha is the first fraternity to partner with International Samaritan and is believed to be the first fraternity to participate on an international service learning project from Miami University.
Jun 12, 2009 Richard Flasck Medical Center construction in Honduras
International Samaritan is proud to announce that the Richard Flasck Medical Center will be constructed for the garbage dump community in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. On Wednesday, February 25, 2009, a group of ten International Samaritan Volunteers placed the first blocks for the medical center. The ceremony included leaders from the garbage dump community, the directors of the International Samaritan School and Nursery, and children from local community.
The following day, San Pedro Sula Mayor, Rodolfo Padilla, received the group of volunteers in appreciation for their work, effort, and concern for the garbage dump community. The group of volunteers from the Ann Arbor, Michigan presented a check to begin the construction of the medical center. Throughout the week, the group made improvements to the San Ignacio de Loyla Nursery; donated clothing, formula, and school supplies; and led activities for the children at the nursery.
The new clinic will be named after Richard Flasck, an International Samaritan volunteer who participated on the 2008 Medical Mission. The medical center will serve the urgent health needs of the garbage dump community. The new medical center is expected to be completed this year, coinciding with the International Samaritan Medical Brigade that will be traveling to Honduras from September 16 – 20, 2009. If you are interested in participating in the 2009 Medical Mission, please contact Andrew Pawuk at International Samaritan.
Feb 27, 2009 International Samaritan Inaugurates new Nursery - San Ignacio de Loyola
International Samaritan inaugurated a new nursery in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on July 25, 2008. The new International Samaritan nursery will serve one-hundred children ages one-and-a-half to five-years of age living next to the local garbage dump. The Mayor of San Pedro Sula, Rodolfo Padilla, the governor of the Department of Cortes, Honduras, Sandra Cuevas, and International Samaritan’s International Program Director, Andrew Pawuk were present at the ceremony.
Aug 11, 2008 University of Detroit Jesuit High School honored at inauguration of International Samaritan nursery Sixteen students and three faculty members from University of Detroit Jesuit participated on a two-week mission trip to Honduras from July 13 – 26, 2008. On Friday, July 25, 2008 the students from Univeristy of Detroit Jesuit High School were honored by International Samaritan and the Municipality of San Pedro Sula, Honduras during the inauguration of the new International Samaritan nursery serving one-hundred children ages one and a half to five years of age. The International Samaritan - San Ignacio de Loyola Nursery will serve children and families living next to the local garbage dump. The volunteers assisted with the final projects of the construction of the nursery and built two homes for families whose houses were destroyed by fires. The students also traveled to El Salvador visiting the Monseñor Romero Center at the University of Central America in San Salvador, the Divina Providencia chapel, and residence of former Archbishop Oscar Romero. Aug 11, 2008 Successful Annual St. John's Jesuit High School Volunteer Trip 16 students and 3 faculty members from St. John's Jesuit High School participated on International Samaritan mission trip to Guatemala and El Salvador from June 15 – 28, 2008. The students volunteered at the Santa Clara Nursery and the Francisco Coll School teaching English, repairing desks, and painting. The trip was highlighted with a visit to the Monseñor Romero Center at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador where participants listened to Fr. Dean Brackley, S.J., a Jesuit who replaced one of the five Jesuits martyred by the Salvadoran Army in 1989. The students also had the opportunity to learn about the legacy of the Central American martyrs, Catholic Social Teaching, and the history of liberation theology in Central America. Aug 11, 2008 Mind that child: Spare a thought for young scavengers Source: http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/columnist/index.php?id=5682
SCAVENGING is a worldwide problem. However, the problem is more prevalent in large cities in developing countries such as, Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines and Tanzania. I have seen children scavenging in all major towns and cities in Tanzania.
But I have also seen young scavengers in Europe, America and Russia. Invariably, child scavengers live in conditions of extreme poverty and deprivation. Early this week I talked to children scavenging in dumpsites in the city of Dar es Salaam.
Some of the children were in the company of a parent or, in few cases, both parents. I was amazed. Indeed, I found it a sorry spectacle. Families living in grinding poverty think they have no dignity to defend. So, to them, scavenging is a small, acceptable matter.
In most cases it is the same street children that we see eating from garbage cans that visit dumpsites. Young beggars and other socially disadvantaged children also scavenge. The habit is so compelling that the dumps are sometimes swarming with scavengers.
The most notorious scavengers are found in the city of Dar es Salaam where dumpsites are almost always overflowing with refuse shunted in from various sources including the port, hospitals, factories, garages and homes.
Scavenging children make their living by picking up and selling used paper, plastic, bottles, metal pieces, tins, rags, clothes and other objects from street garbage or dumpsites. Adult scavengers do exactly the same thing.
In Dar es Salaam scavengers find garbage shunted in from the port the most attractive. They say truckloads of garbage invariably come with brand new items such as pens, toys, tiny dud radio sets and cheap watches, inadvertently discarded in garbage bins.
However, I must mention at the outset, that scavenging is not only demeaning but also a health hazard. It is a risky undertaking. Perhaps the most dangerous garbage in most dumpsites comes from hospitals, health centers, pharmacies and dispensaries.
Normally hospital refuse must be incinerated under close supervision. But somehow, some of the waste finds its way into communal dumpsites. This is a bad practice that poses serious health risks to a large section of the population, especially the scavengers.
The items commonly found in hospital refuse include bottles, used syringes, various types of needles and blades, cotton swabs or absorbent pads used in surgery, empty medicine containers and used bandages. Most of these items are health hazards.
Highly dangerous waste also comes from factories in the form of garbage laced with toxic chemicals, acids and poisons. Industrial effluents often flow into dumpsites. Barefoot scavengers or those wearing sandals risk treading on corrosive matter.
Garbage coming from homes, which is more attractive to scavengers, shunts in leftovers of food. But it may also contain repulsive matter such as animal dung or human faeces. It is remiss not to mention here that not all scavenging children come from poor families.
Children hailing from affluent families use dumpsites as playgrounds. They often visit dumps to sort through piles of waste looking for toys, and eating leftovers is highly likely. Once in the dumpsites wealthy children and the poor incur the same health risks.
Medical doctors say scavenging children can easily contract HIV/AIDS from accidental needle pricks or incisions from discarded surgical blades. And these are not the only health risks posed by dumpsites where flies abound and snakes lurk.
In fact, scavengers carry out their tasks in a highly unhealthy and dangerous environment where they are exposed to infectious diseases, including hepatitis A and B, tetanus, coliform and even HIV/AIDS.
Scavengers are also at risk of laceration from glass and sharp metal plates. When the dumps are burning the scavengers are exposed to toxic fumes and volatile compounds from hot plastic or other smouldering materials.
The risk of respiratory impairments or residual long-term asthma is high. While scrambling for items at the time of dumping young scavengers run the risk of being run over by large machines such as bulldozers or dump trucks.
They are also likely to be buried and suffocated by moving mounds of garbage. Thermal stress and burns are other health risks. Since disadvantaged children are almost always hungry, they eat discarded leftovers of food quite readily risking typhoid infection.
Food poisoning and other digestive disorders from eating rancid leftovers are also frequent. Unfortunately it is these poor children who often lack access to health care services. These minors, many of whom are homeless, cannot afford medication.
In an International Labour Organisation study on young scavengers in the Philippines recently a range of health complications were diagnosed in the children. The complications included high levels of lead and mercury in their blood.
Many suffered from impaired lung functions; tetanus, a presence of parasites and a range of skin disorders. The bodies of the young scavengers also bore weals from occasional battering and even gunshots. They were also despicably dirty.
Scavenging children have enemies you might never imagine. Stray dogs and housecats often compete for leftovers of food in garbage cans with destitute children. Since dogs and cats have a more acute sense of smell they tend to discover and get at leftovers faster.
So, children often pelt them with stones in a fight over leftovers in the dank alleys and garbage dumps – a grim case of survival for the fittest. It is a repulsive scenario. I hope poverty alleviation initiatives will eventually rescue scavenging children from starvation.
Scavenging is morally reprehensible and is normally shunned by society. Families that live close to dumpsites have a sticky problem keeping their children away from the filth. It is the municipal or city authorities that should strive most to solve the problem.
If all garbage was incinerated thoroughly at the time of dumping no one would have gone there to rummage through the ash. Factories and hospitals should have special incinerators or waste treatment plants to deal with dangerous effluents and refuse.
Taking hazardous waste to dumps spells health risks. Parents and communal settings should keep a protective eye on children making sure they do not visit dumps. Children aged eight years to 14 are the most difficult to control. I wish everyone good parenting. Jul 04, 2008 Fighting to survive on mountain of trash Source: Thestar.com Toronto, Canada Parts from an article published on June 30 by the star.com
MANILA–Amid the sprawl and stench of this city's main dump – its air thick with charcoal and fleas – Redentor Escarcha is beaming.
The sinewy 26-year-old, his skin glistening with sweat, is one of thousands who come here every day to mine the Philippines' capital's garbage for recyclables: cans, cardboard, copper cables, anything of value.
It's only 11 a.m. but Escarcha knows that what he has collected in his sack so far is worth more than 200 pesos (about $4.50). Most days this father of four earns about $3.
He knows the precise value of everything here – and he should. Escarcha is a veteran who has worked this dump for 19 years, ever since he was 7 years old.
He was born here.
"I was just lucky," he says, explaining how he hit upon a treasure trove of high-quality glass this particular morning.
Lucky?
Yes. In Escarcha's value system, today is another day he'll be able to feed his family.
Here in "Smokey Mountain," as this dump is known, poverty runs about as deep as it can get.
An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people live on the margins of the landfill.
And every day legions of its inhabitants swarm into its steaming refuse, wooden-handled picks in hand, to silently root out nuggets of value.
"These are the poorest of the poor," says Jane Walker, who heads a non-governmental organization working in the community.
(Continues with Christina, Escarcha’s wife)
“…As she speaks, she gently tugs on a string, rocking her 1-year-old son Danny to sleep in a fishnet hammock suspended from the ceiling of their "home" – a back room measuring three metres by two metres. It's tucked away inside a tiny scrap board house they share with two other families.
In all, 15 people live here in a structure resembling a chicken coop. There are about 1,500 such homes in the neighborhood. All lack running water, toilets and even glass windows.”…
(….)
OUT ON THE MOUNTAIN, many of the children of the population explosion can be seen every day rummaging through the refuse with their parents, desperately trying to earn enough to feed themselves.
Wearing plastic boots, and carrying sacks as big or bigger than they are, they seem – justifiably – bitter boys, growing old in childhood.
(…)
Plastics range between 11 and 16 cents per kilogram depending on quality; metals range from 11 to 20 cents per kilogram; clean, durable cardboard can net as much as 16 cents per kilogram; and good quality aluminum cans can fetch 80 cents per kilogram.
Among the most valuable commodities are copper cables. They can bring in 92 cents per kilogram.
Here and there across the Mountain, the scavengers set fire to tires in order to extract their steel cords, setting loose a haze of toxic fumes.
(..)
"If we eat every day," Christina says, "I'm happy."
Jun 30, 2008 Landslide at Guatemalan dump Copy and paste the following link in your browser for more information on the avalanche in Guatemala from the BBC news:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7467282.stm Jun 23, 2008 Landslide kills eight in Guatemala rubbish dump
Guatemala City, June 21 (IANS) At least eight people, including two children, were killed in a mudslide at a garbage dump here, Spain’s EFE news agency reported. Authorities said that between 50 and 100 “guajeros” (scavengers) who sift through the garbage in search of sellable items might have been at the bottom of a ravine inside the dump at the time of the mudslide Friday.
There are entire families who subsist on the roughly 100 quetzales ($13.38) a day they can earn extracting recyclables from the dump.
The spokeswoman for the Guatemala City government, Maria Jose Salas, said the tragedy took place in an area of the dump that is off-limits to scavengers precisely because of the risk of landslides.
But the president of the Recyclers Association, Gustavo Martinez, said municipal authorities have never been able to keep people out of the high-risk zone, while some of the survivors said that the group buried in the mudslide were known as “the miners” because they dug deeper into the mound of trash than the rest of the scavengers.
Located south of the capital, the dump covers some 284,000 sq metres and receives the refuse from an area with nearly 617,000 inhabitants.
Jun 21, 2008 Garbage dump landslide kills 4 in Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY, June 20 (Reuters) - A landslide at a garbage dump in the Guatemalan capital on Friday killed at least four people and injured six others who made their living by scavenging for food and recyclable goods, firefighters said.
"So far, we've pulled out four corpses but the people who work here say there are more people under the tonnes of garbage," said city fire department spokesman Mynor Rodas.
Hundreds of families make their living at the dump in Guatemala City, searching the garbage for food, recyclable metal and other discarded items they can sell.
Guatemala is in the midst of its annual rainy season, when dangerous landslides are common.
In 2005, a massive fire engulfed the dump after a cloud of methane gas exploded. After the fire, the city built a wall around the dump and prohibited children from working there. (Reporting by Herbert Hernandez; Editing by Bill Trott) Jun 20, 2008 Why do we do what we do?
Sudanese girl struggling without enough strength to continue
walking while a vulture waits for her to collapse
How do you feel when you look at this picture from Sudan taken by Kevin Carter in 1993? Do you experience shock, horror, anger, and heartache? These are the same feelings Fr. Vettese and many other visitors have known on witnessing the severe conditions of poverty afflicting thousands of children and adults living in the garbage dumps of Central America and elsewhere in developing countries. To discover the horrendous reality of so many people stricken by malnutrition, squalor, desperation, disease, and deprivation, to confront their sufferingis to come face to face with a choice each of us must make about ourown humanity:for these least of God’s people, what will we do? In the face of indifference you and International Samaritan have chosen to care. In the face of overwhelming despair, you and International Samaritan have chosen to offer hope. Even as their local governments try to hide, ignore, or minimize the inhuman conditions these dump dwellers suffer, you and International Samaritan have chosen to recognize them as our brothers and sisters, to embrace them with your compassion and generosity.
No other organization we know of has an international focus on alleviating the causes and consequences of severe poverty in the garbage dump communities of developing countries. But we do know this: while their families scavenge to survive, infants and children should not be living and working in garbage dumps, exposed to the dangers of disease, toxins, and fire; generations of hard working people should not be condemned to a life of struggle amidst the filth and hopelessness of garbage dump living. That is why we offer children and infants schools and nurseries to educate them, and keep them safe. That is why we work to build houses and build hope for a better future vocational training and .microloan programs. We believe it is evident that you and International Samaritan are serving the unserved, thus, your donations to International Samaritan will reach the most needy who suffer from hunger, sickness, and the want of the most basic of human necessities.
In recognizing the anguish of these most neglected of our brothers and sisters, we recognize the humanity we share with them. In the face of their unfathomable misery, we have chosen to see the face of Christ. That is why we do what we do.
Jun 12, 2008 International Samaritan Annual Medical Mission
International Samaritan will host its next annual Medical Mission in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, from September 17th until the 21th, 2008. The medical team is expected to see and treat over 1,500 people living near International Samaritan’s project at the dump. For additional information, please contact Andrew Pawuk at 734-222-0701. Ext 200
Jun 02, 2008 Fr.Vettese Meets with Cardinal Martino in Rome
International Samaritan's president Fr. Don Vettese, S.J., met with the President of the Pontifical Council for justice and Peace at the Vatican, Cardinal Renato Martino in May. Fr. Vettese discussed with Cardinal Martino International Samaritan's mission and efforts to serve the severely poor in the world. Cardinal Martino entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1952 serving in Nicaragua, Philippines, Lebanon, Brazil, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Nations, experiencing first hand severe poverty in many of the countries he served. Cardinal Martino praised International Samaritan's service to the severely poor and encouraged CAM to continue with the good works.
Jun 02, 2008 Ministry gets People out of the Dumps (Ann Arbor News - May 2008) View PDF File May 29, 2008 Health and Education are Recurring Problems in Zone 3 (In Spanish from a Guatemalan newspaper) View PDF File May 29, 2008 International Samaritan Develops Secondary School for Basics (In Spanish -- Guatemalan newspaper) View PDF File May 29, 2008 St. John's Jesuit High School's successful mission trip to Central America 16 students and 3 faculty members from St. John's Jesuit High School participated on International Samaritan mission trip to Guatemala and El Salvador from June 15 – 28, 2008.The students volunteered at the Santa Clara Nursery and the Francisco Coll School teaching English, repairing desks, and painting.The trip was highlighted with a visit to the Monseñor Romero Center at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador where participants listened to Fr. Dean Brackley, S.J., a Jesuit who replaced one of the five Jesuits martyred by the Salvadoran Army in 1989.The students also had the opportunity to learn about the legacy of the Central American martyrs, Catholic Social Teaching, and the history of liberation theology in Central America. Aug 11, 2007
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While conducting a feasibility study in May in Sierra Leone, Executive Director Oscar Dussán met two-year-old Issa Kamoro, a little boy suffering with a huge facial tumor. In this desperately poor country, where one in every four children die before the age of five, the average life expectancy is 40 years of age, and the local doctors’ training allows for only the most basic care, Issa faced grim prospects for survival.
16 students and 3 faculty members from St. John's Jesuit High School participated on International Samaritan mission trip to Guatemala and El Salvador from June 15 – 28, 2008. The students volunteered at the Santa Clara Nursery and the Francisco Coll School teaching English, repairing desks, and painting. The trip was highlighted with a visit to the Monseñor Romero Center at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador where participants listened to Fr. Dean Brackley, S.J., a Jesuit who replaced one of the five Jesuits martyred by the Salvadoran Army in 1989. The students also had the opportunity to learn about the legacy of the Central American martyrs, Catholic Social Teaching, and the history of liberation theology in Central America.
