Steung Meanchey

february 10, 2009

It is 100-feet deep and spans an estimated 11-acres. It is an area so toxic when waste rots, methane is created and clouds of thick smoke fill the air. It is home to an estimated 600 families and 1,600 children - a place where the poorest of the poor forage through mounds of trash looking for recyclables that may earn them a bowl of rice if they are lucky. It is Steung Meanchey, Phnom Penh's municipal landfill, a "hell on Earth" and my first destination of the day.

After early morning yoga practice, seven of us piled into the back of a pick-up truck and headed to the CCF Community Center, located in the Steung Meanchey district of town. This center was built by the CCF to provide care for the younger children (ages 2 - 6) whose parents often work as garbage pickers in the dump. Due to the establishment of this center, these children are no longer left unattended to roam the dump, but rather spend their days learning and playing in a safe environment before returning home to their families in the evening.

When we arrived at the community center, we were split into two groups and those of us who were first to go into the dump were given oversized rubber boots that we would soon be thankful for. Shortly after the distribution of the boots, I found myself walking through a 'middle class' village, which was comprised of stilted, tarped-roof huts built around the edge of the landfill. We walked past naked children with enlarged bellies, parents who had taken to the bottle and emaciated animals that were grasping for life. There was a beautiful young woman that I will never forget. At first glance, she looked like she was five-months pregnant, but Scott was quick to tell us that she was actually suffering from Hepatitis B and had only weeks to live. She had no clue of her impending fate and no plan for the five children that she will soon be leaving behind. Her story, like many others, seemed to be of normal occurrence in and around the dump.

We continued walking through the village and ended up running into one of the women who spoke to our group about surviving the Khmer Rouge (a few days prior). Along with Scott, she and a couple of the children took our hands and led us to Steung Meanchey.

When we arrived at the dump, my five senses went into immediate overdrive. I was overwhelmed by the intense heat of the morning sun, the rancid smell of rotting waste and the toxic air that filled my lungs. It seemed like a game of follow the leader as we trudged behind the children who led us through the glass, metal, rotten food and chemical waste that made up the ground beneath our feet. As they steered us away from the sinkholes that were waiting to snatch the unexpected, I did my best to stay fully present as I saw shoeless children as young as five-years old picking through the trash and sorting through their pile of "gold." Their eyes seemed lifeless and their body language hopeless. For these children, it was about survival and how to make it through to the next day.

As we neared the end of our visit, we came across a makeshift home that sat atop the sinking trash. There were a couple of children occupying the home that Scott saw as potential candidates for placement into the CCF. By taking the time to converse and hear their stories, Scott was able to convince these children to come in for an evaluation in exchange for rice vouchers. To me, being in the presence of Scott and witnessing the effect of his actions as we traversed through the sludge of this sensory horror was a lesson of perserverence, compassion, commitment and uncoditional love.

The impact he has made and the lives that he has touched was apparent when the pick-up truck dropped us back off at the Community Center. All I had to do was peer into the packed room of peacefully sleeping children to witness the black to white transformation from the dump to the daycare.

Thank you to Scott, the dedicated staff and all those who have supported the vision and mission of the CCF. For more informaiton on the CCF, go to: http://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org