How Can We Let Children Stay Here?

Working 14 hours a day, scavenging plastic, glass, metal etc. they put themselves at incredible health and safety risk and earn around 15p a day - barely a penny an hour. Their health frequently suffers from the rubbish dump fires. These children are exploited and abused in the extreme - the victims of dire poverty.

Over one thousand of these kids struggle to survive on the notorious Stung Meanchey municipal rubbish dump situated on the outskirts of Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. By any measurement, Cambodia’s ‘Rubbish Dump Children’ rank as some of the most vulnerable and needy children on earth.

What is the Steung Meanchey Dump?

- Stung Meanchey is the only dump in Phnom Penh.
- The dump was started over 40 years ago and is operated in an unregulated manner.
- The dump covers 6.8 hectors (100 acre) and the waste is piled up more than five meters deep.
- Every day there are 400 trucks that arrive full of garbage from the city. Over 900 tons of garbage is dumped each day.
- There are over 3000 scavengers or “waste pickers” who live and work at the dump site.
- The garbage emits methane gas. They nickname the dump “Smokey Mountain” because smoke rises from all the waste. - There are often gas explosions and fires in the dump.
- Fumes from sewage and burning garbage fill the air.
- Bad coughs are common and many of the workers complain of frequent headaches and dizziness.
- People run behind garbage trucks without thinking of their safety.
- Some garbage workers come with all family members, husband, wife and children.
- Children have to abandon school for making money to support family. Most give all their money to parent to pay for debt.
- A family can earn 3000riels to 4000riel ($1 Canadian) a day from working morning until night.
- They have to use this money to buy rice and food to support their family that can often have seven to ten people living together.
- In rainy season it is very muddy, clothes of garbage workers are black and dirty. In dry season, smoke rises from the garbage. It is methane gas.
- There are places that sell Cambodian noodle, risk and cake for garbage workers who need food. Food is surrounded by many flies. The price is 600riels (0.15 Canadian) per bowl of soup.
- People have a meal without washing hands because it has very little water for even water for washing bowl, dish and spoon of sellers. Most times they have to wash the bowls with black water.
- Many children suffer from physical abuse. Children often get punished if they don’t make enough money during the day.
- Garbage pickers pick all things that can be sold.
- Many of the children are orphans. The number of orphans increases as parents die from disease such as HIV/AIDs.
- Most are looking for recycling materials that they can sell to a small local recycling business.
- Most of the people working at Stun Meachchey are teenagers. Some children as young as six or seven years old work with their parents or by themselves at the dump. There are people of all ages.
- People work from sunrise to sunset and sometimes until ten o’clock at night. It’s most dangerous at night when they can’t see what they’re grabbing or where they are stepping.
- Needles are common. The kids collect the plastic containers from the needle. The plastic is worth one penny each. Many children cut themselves on needles and glass.
- Many kids do not have proper footwear. Some have flip flops and others go barefoot.
- If the kids don’t make money, the parents get very angry at them.
- Some parents are so poor that they have to sell there kids.
- Several kids are killed at Stung Meanchey every year, usually a result of a truck backing over them.

“Suffering is everywhere. Love is hiding in athousand Smokey Mountains.” Elia Van Tuyl, Friends of CCH

A child living at Steung Meanchey