Trash Mountain

Trash Mountain. It’s a catchy name for a truly awful reality in Cambodia. Unlike most places in the US where municipalities dig massive landfill pits to hold their trash, the climate of Cambodia requires it to build landfill mountains instead. And unfortunately, there are no rules around what goes in the dump. Trash mountains are full of the typical household trash (similar to US landfills). But they also include unfiltered (and morbid) medical waste, chemical junk and other industrial garbage. They’re horrible. There are no formal recycling programs in Cambodia, so “pickers” (people who sort through the trash looking for saleable recyclable materials such as plastic bottles and metal cans) perform that function. Pickers and their families live all around trash mountains, and parents (and unfortunately many children) spend all day scouring through garbage. These families are among the poorest of the poor. Lack of sanitation, nutrition, education and resources have forced them into urban ghettos with virtually no hope for the future. In spite of all this, the people are happy. They smile, laugh and play together – seemingly oblivious to their surroundings.

The garbage dump in these pictures, Steung Menchey, was closed in 2009 (other landfills have opened). But the future for Steung Menchey was changed forever when Scott Neeson entered the picture in 2004. Scott was the former President of 20^th Century Fox International, and was the International marketing director for Sony Pictures when he took a sabbatical trip to Asia – which included Cambodia. After seeing the poverty in Steung Menchey, he made the decision to do something for the children. He left his ritzy Hollywood job, cashed out and moved to Phnom Penh. 13 years later his Cambodian Children’s Fund (https://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/) has created futures for thousands of children and their families.

We visited Steung Menchey last week with the LDS Church humanitarian missionaries (Elder and Sister Thurston). LDSC has partnered with CCF on several projects because of Scott Neeson’s determination and his commitment to the children. While looking at this urban wasteland, it was hard for us to imagine that it had been worse at one time. But as we walked through, our CCF representative showed us new school rooms, after-school daycare centers, libraries and playgrounds – all designed to support strong families and communities. Velcro corporation built a brand-new high school – which was beautiful (the picture makes it look like a jail, but it’s NOT). The LDS church has three congregations within the area of Steung Menchey. As the members attend Sunday services each week, they come with clean clothes and happy faces – something almost unimaginable considering the circumstances. But yet it happens – week after week after week.

I do not know the impact our service will ultimately have on the people of this country – nor does it really matter. But Cambodia has changed us forever. For that we are profoundly grateful.