Dump Disaster

1. The disaster that struck Manilas dump was two

typhoons.
2. The cause of smoke in the photograph was from a
landslide knocking down electrical cables setting fire
to methane gas produced from rotten garbage.
3. Thousands of Manilas poorest people live at the
dump because they have nowhere to live, the rubbish
provides a home and food for them.
4. The locals refer the dump to known as the Promised
Land. It is known as the Promised Land because it
attracts unemployed and homeless Filipinos with the
promise of turning collected waste into cash.
5. The houses foreground is made from materials found
at the dump such as tires and old sheets.
6. The backhoe was helping to sort through rubbish to
find missing bodies but with only having two
backhoes and such a huge site it was really hard,
many people pitched in and helped by using shovels
and even their bare hands.
7. To improve the management of the dumpsite it would
be a great idea to separate the rubbish and homes of
people living in the dump, this will help with hygiene
and less illnesses and after the typhoons there would
have been less deaths and bodies missing.

A symbol of poverty
1. The image shows children in bare feet sorting
through rubbish, people from the public found this
very disturbing.
2. At the dumpsite the people collected rubbish that
can be recycled.
3. Families worked at Smokey Mountain because they
couldnt afford to live anywhere else and by
collecting recyclables that gave them the tiniest
bit of money to get through each day.
4. Smokey Mountain was named this because the
dump stood many stories high and sent off clouds

of smoke from the methane fire that erupted in the

rotting garbage.
5. Smokey Mountain became a symbol of poverty
from the disturbing pictures of children sorting
through rotting rubbish.
6. The Philippine government were very embarrassed
later former President Ramos shutting down the
site, flattened and transformed into a new urban
community.

ACTIVITY
If I were a waste picker I would collect jars and fill them
with different kinds of this such as pencils, stamps, hair
ties and bobby pins, lollies that havent been opened,
chocolates, food etc.