July 9, 2014

Our day began with a 7 am wake up call followed by a big breakfast at 8 am.  After breakfast, we walked back to the hostel to get ready to board the bus.  We took a short trip to El Puente where we were greeted by Mario and Charles.  They were both members of El Puente (a Christian organization that works with people in the dump and does bible studies).  Mario shared his life story with us which we all found very moving.  Next, we got back on the bus and were driven to the dump.  We had some time to take in the huge piles of garbage covered in vultures and surrounded by people working there.  They were searching through the trash for anything that could be used or sold to make their living.  Then, it was time to help El Puente distribute food to the workers.  When everyone was fed, we had two speakers come to explain what it was like working in the dump.  They expressed their determination to provide for their families and give their children a better life.  Finally, it was time to take the bus ride back to the hostel where we all showered.  After we were cleaned off, we had a poverty self reflection followed by our late lunch.  When we returned to the hostel, we had some time to prepare for our CAP (community action project) presentation.  Some members of El Asilo came to listen to our proposal of fixing up their chicken coupe and gave us their feedback.  After that, we had a simple night consisting of some free time, dinner, our nightly meeting, and finally bedtime after a very meaningful day.