Phnom Penh City Dump

Alex and I made two trips to the Phnom Penh City Dump as part of a project organised by a man named David Fletcher. Five years ago David began taking a truck up to the dump every 2-3 days to provide bread and fruit for the people who live here. There are between 400-500 families who live at the Dump, with an estimated 1400 children. Adults, teenagers and older children spend their days scavenging the dump trucks for valuables. This involves standing dangerously near to the dump trucks as they open up and drop waste, and six months ago a 15 year old girl was killed in an accident when this happened.

Several NGO's have set up Schools at the dump to educate the Children, but no one provides any food or medical assistance (including of course the government) and this is where David comes in. David own's a bar called "bogie and bacalls" near the riverside in PP. I liked him, he's a big friendly guy who doesn't suffer b-shit gladly, in his words, this project is the only one providing any real help for these people. The cost of each trip is roughly $150, and everyone who volunteers to help out is expected to pay. It is mostly backpackers who get involved, donating roughly about $20 each, although Alex and I paid considerably more than this.

We set off in the hired truck and went to the wholesale market and bought oranges, bananas, mango's, and pineapples plus 400 baguettes. As we entered the dump there were only a few children as in David's words “they aren't expecting us”, however these few soon turned into hundreds. (Each trip feeds about 400-450 people) David and his crew require the children to form 2 orderly lines, male and female. No one is allowed to queue jump, and the tiniest tot and baby get an equal share of food as the adults.

For the first part of the visit I helped to monitor the line. The children all smile, they held my hand and many of them spoke to me and I chatted with them. They appreciate all the attention they get, and you can tell this immediately. I then spent time at the front of the queue assisting with the hand out, passing a portion of food to the next person in line. Anyone caught queue jumping or surging is reprimanded, a necessary tactic to maintain order and ensure no one is hurt, especially the little ones.

Alex spent time at the medical area and watched children with injuries being attended to. It was mostly just cuts and scrapes though on both visits a couple of children had more serious infections under the skin from their cuts. They were thoroughly cleaned and cream and plasters / pads were then used to cover them. There were also several clear cases of nits and scabies, for which they were given a bar of lice soap. Unfortunately these things are just a side effect of living in such terrible conditions and there is little that can be done.

Then, the food ran out. There were some poor souls who were left with nothing. We then spent time talking to the children, I gave many hugs and smiled and chatted with the kids. We then had a “tour” of the dump, witnessing adults and even some older children scavenging straight from the rubbish trucks as they tipped the waste. It is incredibly dangerous and no wonder that a young girl died recently from an accident.

After each trip David publishes on his website each specific donation made, and also exactly what was bought and at what cost. The whole trip is incredibly simple and transparent. We were informed that the excess from our trip would go to pay towards the next trip. Any excess money is also used to pay for medical supplies and situations where the children require medical assistance at Hospital.

Second Trip

As we arrived it became clear that things were not normal as many trucks were all lined up backed down through the road leading to the dump. We were not allowed to pass through into the dump and the place they normally hand the food out because they were changing the location for the dumptrucks to empty their loads. This meant we ended up handing out the food at the beginning of the dump, next to the School. The atmosphere was different, perhaps because of the change in location, and to start with young groups of boys charged at the van and it was much more intense than previously. However as soon as we were able to stop and get the volunteers off the bus David had the situation in control and the Children in lines.

This time I spent most of my time monitoring the lines which allowed me the opportunity to talk with the Children and interact with them. There were less people here today as most of the adults were unable to get through (from their job scavenging the rubbish) so we did end up feeding some children a couple of times. However, from what I understood from Isaac and Richard (friends of David's who regularly help out with First Aid) this was the first time this had happened.

The children are very warm and affectionate, one little girl named Janette kept asking for hugs and was glued to me for about 45 minutes, literally until we left. It is heartbreaking to see such lovely children living in what can only be described as a terrible living environment. I only wish there was more that I could do for her and all the rest of them.