The story below is of Anneke (41) who lives with her husband Ernest (43) and sons Novie (18) and Michael (17). They live in a small shack in close proximity to a major rubbish tip on the outskirts of Manado. They built the shack with plywood provided by the government. Her eldest daughter, Daisy (20), has married and has left the family home and is living further up the hill closer to the rubbish tip.
Ernest has been carrying an injury sustained while working as a labourer. As a result he is no longer able to work and so generates no income. Anneke has been the main income earner since Michael was seven months old, and like many she has been forced to live off the rubbish tip.
For the last 16 years Anneke has earned money by collecting and selling plastic and glass from the tip. She starts her day at 5am and works until 5pm, six days a week. Sunday is a rest day when she attends church. She also finishes work early on Wednesdays to attend the Bridge of Hope group meeting for encouragement and support.
Her income is dependent on how much plastic and glass she can scavenge from the tip. One kilo of plastic yields seven cents. One glass bottle yields a meagre one cent. On average she is able to earn between AU$4 and AU$5 a week. Lately the glass bottles have been harder to find and her income has dropped. It is back breaking work in horrendous conditions.
“Look at my hair, look at my feet, my hands. Look at my skin,” said Anneke with dejected eyes. “This is how you look when you have worked on the rubbish tip for 16 years.”
The government has recently erected iron fences around the tip in an effort to keep the scavengers out. This has made life much harder for Anneke, who now has to take a more hazardous route to gain access to the rubbish tip.
With very little income, her children Michael and Novie could no longer attend school. They left school at the age of 12 and have become part of the group of many scavengers living off the rubbish tip.
Anneke heard about the Bridge of Hope loan program from an aunty and joined this year, receiving her first loan of Rph 500,000 (AU$70). She used some of this to buy food and oil for cooking, helping to bring them out of poverty.
With the encouragement of her group, she is hoping to buy rubbish off other scavengers and sell cakes. She has also bought a baby pig, that she hopes to sell at a later stage.
Life on the rubbish tip is getting harder for Anneke and thousands of people like her. “Yes my life is getting better, but I cannot say how right now,” said Anneke.
The loan from Bridge of Hope does however give her a chance to raise her standard of living, give her back some dignity and join a community for support.
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