Sunday, November 22, 2015

Helping Out, Calender?

Today in the dump I got my hands dirty, literally dirty. A older man was trying to lift up a heavy bag filled with recycled garbage that was hanging off his back, a strap placed around his forehead. A very young girl of 8 or 9, was trying to help him but was not strong enough to do so. They tried once to get it up but we're not successful. Since I was the closest person I slung my Rolleiflex over my neck and went over to help them lift the bag . All three of us working together got the job done. The man smiled hunched foreword and walked away.

The bag was all slimy and dirty with waste garbage liquid and quite slippery. Afterwards I needed to wipe my hands on my pants several times before I touched my high end Rolleiflex cameras optics. My hands had a sickly smell and a few dirty stains to them from that oune quick touch with the dump work. When I went over to help the mother of the group made a surprised noise of appreciation and later smiled at me.

Touching and living in the garbage everyday. Breathing and smelling tha odour and filth in their homes, clothing and every pore of their bodies. Watching their children live that life with them. A child growing up in that world. What must tha be like? It must be so unbelievably difficult. I have visited and spent partial days with them close to 20 times since 2013 but I am only scratching the surface in understanding what their lives are truly like.

I need to raise more money to help the "Families of the Dum". Maybe through the sales of calendars from the pictures made this trip. I could call the calendar  "The Children of the Dump" and give all the profits back to the dump child's parents.,