What We Do
Children of The Dump works with the poorest families in Manila to help transform their children’s lives.
- The children who are helped live in the areas around the barrios of Payatas and San Isidro, now the site of the largest rubbish dump in Manila. This is a city of over 13 million people in the Philippines.
- Hundreds of people waste pick these dumps daily to find food scraps and rubbish that can be sorted by hand and sold for recycling.
- Families struggle to earn enough for a single daily meal. Their tiny, flimsy homes are shacks without mains water or drainage right beside the stinking and filthy dumps with the rats and insects. Homes often flood during the monsoons.
- This is an unforgiving sweltering tropical environment swarming with flies that is dangerous and no place for children. Normally children help out on the dump as soon as they are able because there is no money for child care or schooling.
- Some inhabitants have been moved away from the Dumps to new concrete shell communities on the very edge of the city. Unfortunately there are no jobs, services or cheap transport options to allow these displaced families to earn a living here or nearby so the Charity also supports children here.
- There are 3 children's charity programmes for different children with different needs who need regular sponsorship. Find out more below.
Introductory video about the charity work in Manila
Life on the dump
Scavengers pay to get access to the dump and they then search through the rubbish trying to avoid the rats or getting cut and scratched by sharp objects.
Sponsor a child, Manila
There are 3 ways children are supported.
All 3 sponsorship programmes are about schooling for children and transforming young lives through education. This helps save children from poverty and become adults able to lead full and independent lives away from the cycle of poverty around the Dump.
Cashew Early Years
Offers a free meal and a half days education for up to 100 children aged 4 to 6 years old, just like Joshua*. Joshua is safe and gets a great grounding from professional teachers which means that after 2 years he will be ready to go into full time education at Elementary school.
To find how you can help a child like Joshua get a great start click below
Grapevine Outreach
More than 60 families receive a small amount of financial support which is just enough to allow children like Maria* to attend local schools . Without this boost Maria would be helping her parents working on the Dump to help scratch a living to pay for food. Maria also benefits from extra educational support and the services of a social worker.
You can transform the life of a child like Maria by clicking below
Mango Tree House
A residential home for 50 children who can not safely remain where they are or have no family or home such as Mary Grace*. These children have had painful starts in life but now receive everything that a loving parent would want as well as in-house education and social work support. Children will remain here until they have completed their education.
See how you can ensure that children like Mary can escape the Payatas Dump by clicking below
How Children of The Dump changes lives through education
- Children of the Dump works in The Philippines with a local charity partner who manage the projects and also raise funds locally. Teachers and social workers in Manila are carefully selected fully trained and qualified Filipino professionals.
- As a small charity Children of the Dump is proud that over 80% of funds raised go directly to Manila to fund activities.
- The charity has over 40 years of successful work behind it which means that we have learned what works best but we need your support .
"Grapevine really had helped me a lot financially, emotionally, and spiritually."
Francis
A Student of Grapevine
Frequently Asked Questions
Children of the Dump works in conjunction with a local charity on the ground in Manila. We have audited accounts that are available on the website. As a UK Charity we are regulated by the Charities Commission- a legal body which oversees all UK charities and their activities. We are a not-for-profit organisation with just one part time Office Manager. Otherwise the charity depends on volunteers and Trustees who take no compensation. The charity receives no direct support from the government in either the UK or The Philippines.
Children of the Dump operates in conjunction with ASCF (Asian Student Christian Foundation), our partner charity in the Philippines. They manage all aspects of the day to day running of the programmes which are staffed by fully trained and qualified Filipinos including teachers and social workers. Trustees of ASCF are drawn from all parts of the community, many of whom have had a personal connection to the charity for a number of years. ASCF is a private non-profit child and family welfare and development organisation duly licensed and accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in The Philippines.
The selection of children supported is made in the Philippines by our fully trained local team who assess the needs of the child and the needs of the wider family using a rigorous process developed over many years. Ongoing support from specialised social workers is available to support families and ensure that the children are benefiting from their education. For children who live at Mango House there is a continuous focus to see if it is appropriate for them to safely return to their family communities. When this is, happily, the case, ASCF carefully monitor the re-integration process.
Sponsorship aims to support the child right the way from Pre-School through the entire education process which lasts many years. This continuity is important because it aims to ensure that children are able to complete their education and become successful independent adults. The benefits that the child receives are also felt within the immediate family, particularly with brothers and sisters as well as helping to build a sustainable community in what is a hostile environment.
The money is administered locally in the Philippines where social workers check that the sponsored children are participating effectively in the educational programmes. If things go wrong the support is there to help get the sponsored child back on track.
Perhaps you are no longer able to sponsor a child. You can stop the sponsorship at any time for any reason. No child will be taken out of school. Children of The Dump will fund the child out of reserves and in the longer term will look for new sponsors.
You will receive personalised reports on the progress of your child and you have the opportunity to send letters and cards through our UK address at Highcross Church or, better still short videos through our contact emails. The children love to hear from you and will often send answers.
We ask that you do not contact the children directly and do not give them your own surname, address or social media links to protect your own and the child’s right to privacy. We will monitor the content of communications to and from the children. If a sponsored child does contact you directly we ask that you don’t reply directly but let us know and we can handle this sensitively. Unfortunately due to the costs of posting and the difficulties and delays of customs we ask that you do not post specific gifts or parcels, other than simple postcards or photos. We encourage two way sharing of videos through our own contacts. Send them to office@childrenofthedump.org.ok
We have been working in Payatas since 1975 to improve the lives of children in the Payatas Dump so over that time we have learned what works best. We help change a child’s life by working with the family as well as the child. This means building long term support and trust which may include transforming the way people think to ensure that the children can have better futures. We work within the community and have close local ties with the local authorities to ensure that our work is within the law and is completely relevant and appropriate for life in the Philippines.
If you would like to make a Regular Monthly gift then you can set up a direct debit through your bank. We have a Standing Order form for you to take to your bank. If you are a UK tax payer it would be great if you post to us a filled out Gift Aid Certificate which lets us claim an extra amount from the government at no cost to you.
Download Gift Aid for Tax Payers form
You can also post a cheque to Children of The Dump at:
Children of the Dump, High Cross Church, Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3SY.
You can make a payment through your bank to:
HSBC
Town Centre Branch
Danestrete
Stevenage
SG1 1BY
Bank Sort Code 40-43-36
Account Name Asian Students Christian Trust
Account Number 01146629
Quoting the reference: General Fund
Children of the Dump is proud that at least 80% of expenditure goes directly to the Philippines. The rest of the money raised is used to cover the cost of setting up the programmes, creating fundraising opportunities and ensuring that money is spent wisely in the UK and the Philippines
Yes. If you are a UK tax payer and you tick the button when you sign up then Children of The Dump can claim 25p for every £1 that you give to the charity. This costs you nothing.