HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

There is a landfill in Payatas, Phillipines called Smokey Mountain, because of the smoldering trash. There are inhabitants living there unsafely. You may expect me to say feral cats or stray dogs, but on the contrary, it is children. There may be up to 20,000 living this way. They survive by being paid to look for certain kinds of trash that can be sold or reused. Even so, they often cannot even afford to buy food. Children as young as four live this way.

Attention was called to them when a storm caused a trashslide, claiming 200 lives, including many children. Though the site is better managed, it is still no way to live. The Lighthouse Center For Children Foundation now provides daily food for these children. They have funds to feed 500 children daily, and have also embarked on a literacy project to end the cycle for these children, so they don’t live and die as trash pickers and give their children over to it just like they were. Some dream of being teachers However, their goal is to feed 5,000-10,000 children a day. That would really bring Christmas For Payatas.

Totedaddy.com and  FusionExcel International have both given cash donations to the cause to give them a good start on providing a Merry Christmas.  If you would like to contribute, there is a button on http://christmasforpayatas.com.

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