Second Harvest Japan Sends Food Relief to an NGO School in the Poorest Section of Manila


Second Harvest Japan (2HJ) provided food to the Philippine Christian Foundation (PCF) which is located in Tondo, Manila. PCF educates children and provides other services to support the families of the school children and others in the community. At their school, they provide breakfast and lunch to 450 pupils. In November 2011 Second Harvest Asia (2HA) Executive Director Yusuke Wada visited the school on the dumpsite where PCF provides services to see firsthand their operations. 2HA is in the process of founding a local food bank in the Philippines, and NGOs like PCF are important partners to develop  food banking in the country. 

Part 2


Dumpsite

Tour of the Dumpsite

PCF staff  gave me a tour of the dumpsite on which the school was built. Next to the school was a famous dumpsite called Smokey Mountain, which since has been closed. At the current dumpsite children and adults pick through garbage for food and to make a living.


Community in the Dumpsite

Surprisingly, there is a vibrant community in the dumpsite. People cook and sell food and children are playing in the “streets”. Because it is very muddy, most outsiders wear rain boots and the PCF staff kindly lent me a pair of boots. 


Make-shift Houses on the Dumpsite

People live in a make-shift house like these. You can see laundry drying on the barbed wire.


"Only View of Heaven I Have"

One man told me, “This is the only view of heaven I have. The only place I can ‘afford’ is in this picture.”

People Burning Wood in the Dumpsite

People at the dumpsite burn wood to make charcoals to sell. You can see a child helping adults burning wood. PCF staff told me that asthma and tuberculosis are common diseases at the dumpsite. 

Children in the Dumpsite

Children playing games. Somehow they managed to get electricity into the dumpsite and I saw a child playing a video game on the street as well. Filipinos loved to have their pictures taken and I pointed my camera they almost always made a pose. 



“To permanently improve the quality of life for the poorest Filipino communities, through education, nutrition, health, medical and family enhancement programs, regardless of religion, race or political boundaries.”

Second Harvest Asia will develop the regional food bank network in Asia to share best practices and experiences with other food banks. We hold online meetings regularly with Asian food bank members. If you are interested in joining our regional network, please contact us at info@secondharvestasia.org.