To clarify, for the readers, when I use the term “garbage dump communities” I speak specifically about the people who live in and near gigantic garbage dumps.  “Garbage dump dwellers,” as International Samaritan  refers to them, spend much of their time foraging for recyclable items from the garbage.  Many of them eat food that they find there, or take it home for their families to eat.

Homes in the garbage dump communities tend to be crafted from aluminum, tin, cardboard, and other items that they can find easily and cheaply.  Usually family members help them construct the homes; they are not put together by developers or builders.  Consequently, they often lack running water or electricity.

Parents, children, cousins, many of the dwellers work in the dump, from early in the morning until late in the afternoon.  As they gather recyclables, they might have to fight pigs, rats, or vultures.

Garbage dump dwellers live in many parts of the world; International Samaritan works in Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti, as well as other countries.

“Brenda’s family of seven children, her husband, and her mother endured years of living in a 13×16 foot lot, with neither a real roof to protect them, nor walls, water and electric services, or sewers. Her children were often ill and, as there was no money to take them to the doctor, Brenda had to treat them herself.” To read the rest of Brenda’s story, click here:

What other questions do you have about them?