Can you imagine living amongst piles and piles of trash? Surrounded by the smell in the heat of the summer. Walking through contaminated water during the wet season? What if you had to rely on that garbage to provide for your family. One of the projects that I found most interesting was the Dump Site project. Damnok Toek has adopted the 17 families that live along the dump site. In exchange for providing them with medical services the families there agree to let their children attend Damnok Toek’s non-formal education program.

These families live amongst the garbage. Every day they sift through bags and bags of trash to collect objects to sell to different companies. They pull metals, and plastics, and even food that they sometimes will eat. It isn’t just adults digging through the trash. It is a whole family affair. Mothers , Fathers, and kids as small as 3 were looking through the garbage.

Damnok Toek found these families and knew that if they didn’t help these kids they would be forced to live the same life. So they developed a program where they went out to the dump site and negotiated bringing the families of the dump site supplies such as fresh water and seeds for gardening. They offer them loans that they can pay back over time. They send their doctor out at least once a week to check on each person. She checks their coughs, skin condition, and even helps those who are pregnant. In return the families need to allow their children to attend the half day education programs offered by Damnok Toek.