Eucharist at the Dump

There is life at the dump. That may seem obvious to the scientist who would say, of course, bacteria and microorganisms run rampant in an environment like that. And yes, there are animals that roam the mounds of trash as well, looking for anything left behind. That is a simple answer; there is no responsibility if that is the sum total of life found there. However, there are communities of people that live, work, eat, sleep, bathe, get sick, celebrate, mourn, grow, learn, fight, struggle, rest, and otherwise spend their time in the dumpsite.

In Metro Cebu there are four dumpsites to handle all the refuse, trash, and unwanted items from the millions of people that live here. Trucks are constantly driving to the area, and the paid drivers and loaders shovel out the contents to any area that seems empty. The smell of rotting food is fuelled by the extreme humidity. As soon as the trash is emptied, there are children already shuffling through it in search of anything edible.

It is in this environment that thousands of Cebuanos make their residence. They live in shanties inside the dumping area, or slightly more stable homes just on the outskirts. They are scavengers, going through the trash daily to see what can be collected and sold, collected and used, or even consumed. People end up here for a variety of reasons. Maybe they were victims of a city fire that raged out of control and burned their home, maybe they are from a provincial area and came to the city for work and found none, or maybe they lost their source of income for various reasons. One certainty is that they live here now and do what they can to survive.

In a previous blog we wrote about a man named Father Heinz Kuluke, a missionary of the Society of the Divine Word (SDW), a Catholic mission. He visits each of the dumpsites on a regular basis. He is well known and well loved by all of the inhabitants. He drives whoever will come with him to the dump and uses his medical knowledge to do basic checkups on the children in the area. As you can imagine, the chances of infection run high as well as other environmental health issues. He gives away medicine and love while some sisters teach a Sunday school class under one of the makeshift roofs.

On Saturdays we have been ministering alongside Father Heinz. Joshua keeps a record of “patients” while Damascus keeps the medicines organized. Kimberly has made friends with the young girls and women there. I have the privilege of hanging out with the men who scavenge and the young men who play basketball barefoot on a makeshift court.

This last weekend father Heinz conducted a Catholic mass and invited us to take part in it. He gave me the opportunity to speak to the gathered crowd of about 130 there. This might not seem like a big deal, but keep in mind that here in the Cebu, there is a gap between the Catholics and the “born again” Christians. For him to invite me to speak to his audience was a true sign of humility.

We were looking at the passage when John’s disciples asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, or should we look for someone else?”(Luke 7:17-23). Jesus simply said, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Jesus knows the affliction and the triumph of every individual we meet, and He cares about each person without partiality. He is the One.

Could I ask you a favor? Would you take a moment and pray for these communities today? Pray for the one year old girl who is under the care of her five year old brother all day as her parents are out scavenging. Pray for the orphaned boy who lives on a diet of junk food because that is all his grandmother can find. Pray for sustainable, developmental breakthroughs for families and communities like this (not just here but all over the world). There are ideas for relocation, but as you can imagine the logistics of a program that size are huge. Pray also for Father Heinz, a dear friend who needs some encouragement in this amazing work.