Treasure in the Trash
Do you know how much rubbish a city of 20 million people produces each day?
Probably not, because for most of us a truck collects our waste and takes it far away from our homes; out of sight, out of mind. Even here, where there is no such service, most people have no idea what happens to the waste strewn about their streets.
One group of people, however, know exactly where the rubbish goes and what happens to it. The garbage collectors live and breathe it. Literally. They collect the city’s mountains of rubbish by hand and take it home, to garbage city, where they pick through it in their streets and houses in order to sell or recycle what they can.
It’s hard to describe garbage city; the piles of giant plastic sacks in the streets, the bales of cardboard stacked in doorways, the pigs and goats picking through mounds of trash inside people’s homes - the occupied buildings indistinguishable from the derelict ones. And everywhere the overpowering stench of garbage and decay. Yet there are familiar sights too; children playing, people buying groceries, laundry drying at windows. A community of people, making what they can of life amongst the leftovers.
But when life is hard-fought from what others have cast aside, there is nothing to spare for those who cannot work. There are no retirement plans in garbage city, no help for orphans or widows. Which is why Hope for Mena is launching a new initiative. Through a relationship with the local Cave Church, we have identified some of the poorest of the poor, those with no-one to help them, and we invite you to adopt an elderly person.
Meet our first two elderly friends who need your support.
Paul and Miriam are in their 80’s and can no longer collect and sort garbage. Their only son died some years ago, leaving them with no family to care for them in their old age. What is more, Miriam has been crippled for 12 years. Unable to walk, she cannot leave their cramped, dark apartment. Paul used to carry her but his strength is failing, especially since his 2nd stroke. Mercifully he still has the use of his arms and legs, but his eyesight is poor and he suffers from headaches. He finds it hard to make it up and down the 7 flights of crumbling stairs to the street.
Paul and Miriam desperately need financial assistance, yet what they crave most is human connection. A few neighbourhood children running in and out are their only visitors. They have no family, no money. They barely see sunlight and eat very little, yet they are filled with love and gentleness. The warmth with which Miriam hugged and kissed us and the joy in both their faces as we prayed and sang with them are far more vivid in my memory than the condition of their tiny home. I’ve never met anyone who radiated God’s presence more than this frail couple. Theirs truly is peace which surpasses understanding.
As I write about Paul and Miriam, I picture their wrinkled, contented faces, and I am reminded of Jesus’ words:
“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Will you adopt our dear brother and sister Paul and Miriam by sending $?? each month for food and essentials? Our team will deliver your gifts in person so we can spend time with them.
Shop Now for Their Urgent Needs:
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