Happy Land

Photos courtesy of this blog post.

Many months ago I wrote a post on a visit I made to Tondo which is the location of the infamous Smokey Mountain slum area. Although Smokey Mountain officially closed down in 1995, residents have remained there as squatters because of a lack of alternatives. Some have relocated to another area called Payatas in hopes of continuing life as a scavenger. Payatas opened up a new dumping grounds once Smokey Mountain was shut down. I have a friend who volunteers at a school in Payatas and hope to visit there sometime soon. For those who still remain in the Tondo area, life is not much different from the days of Smokey Mountain. One particular village or "barangay" is named "Happy Land". A bit ironic. The name is derived from a local word "hapilan" which is best translated as "smelly garbage". I thought this CNN report on Happy Land was really well done:

http://cnnphilippines.com/metro/2015/04/23/A-far-from-happy-life-at-Happy-Land.html1

I can't help but post about this place because once you've seen it - even in small glimpses - it's impossible to get out of your head. As one local activist wrote: "Paging the United Nations. There is a refugee crisis in Manila and the Philippines is totally in denial." Here is an article that features work being done by Project PEARLS. The work they are doing is undeniably saving lives. But I can't help but feel like there must be more. An eternal hope. Luke 9:25

http://www.wheninmanila.com/tondo-the-humanitarian-crisis-at-the-heart-of-manila-and-the-people-doing-something-about-it/

This is a great Flickr page. The images and captions are really moving. If you click on a photo you can read a more detailed description of each image. When we feel down and out, I think seeing and reading these puts our problems into perspective.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dirtytricks/sets/72157624602802863/