| | |  Vallarta Living | April 2009 
Finding the Silver Lining in a Mexican Dump
 Pam Doyle - Canmore Leader
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Seven days in Mexico can be spent lazing by the pool with a bottomless glass of Pina Colada, or, for those who decide to take the road less travelled, an eye-opening experience.
 |  | Fortunately for us, we were only dusty for half a day but the families who live at the dump have to endure those conditions on a daily basis. |  | |
For me, it was a little of both.
Planning a holiday with a friend and fellow journalist who now works for CBC TV and radio in Winnipeg always includes a side trip to cover a story. Last time was when we met in Thailand in 2006. We had originally planned to expose the “farang” in Bangkok. But the news outlets we pitched the story to were concerned about exposing the North American men, (who Thais call “farangs”), who exploit underage Thai prostitutes. However, the sex trade story is well done in the documentary “Bangkok Girl” by Jordan Clark, and has been broadcast on TV in Canada several times. It’s well worth taking a look at as he did a great job.
Despite warnings to tourists to stay out of Mexico, the cheapness of our all-inclusive trip was too enticing to give up. We stayed in a two-star hotel on a beach with rough waves too high and a beach too rocky to swim in. So we went to work for one day of our trip.
Our story focused on Winnie and Henry Giesbrecht, who lead the humanitarian mission team for “Families at the Dump”. (FAD). Winnie, a selfless and giving aboriginal woman, full of love for those less fortunate, started the mission two years ago to provide physical, medical, educational, and spiritual support to some of the 500 families living at the Puerto Vallarta city dump.
We met Winnie at a posh condo project called Paradise Village, situated on one of the most beautiful and inviting beaches in the area. When initiating her mission work she managed to get the support of the resort owner, who welcomes volunteers with FAD to his use his private beach, pools and property, and even gives them a discount on rooms.
On Thursday morning we went from Paradise to poverty. Winnie took us on a tour of “El Magisterio”, the massive, hot and stinky dump, where the poorest in the land work to find recyclables out of piles of trash, tons of which is created by tourists like us. Puerto Vallarta produces 550 tons of garbage per day.
We visited the FAD daycare where families drop their children before hiking up the mountain of garbage to rip open bags and search for anything they can use, eat, wear or sell. We witnessed a water truck delivering dozens of water cooler size bottles of drinking water for the dump families, something they never had before Winnie came along. The children had been suffering with diseases formed from drinking “grey” water.
We learned about the school, located at the base of the dump, and we visited family homes, made from corrugated steel, plastic sheets and wood, all found at the dumpsite. Their homes were located directly alongside the dusty, dirt road where giant garbage trucks rumble past children playing in the dust every 10 minutes.
The families welcomed us to their homes, allowed us to take photos and interview them, with the help of a Spanish interpreter, who also lives at the dump. Winnie’s goal is to persuade the children to dream big and pursue a brighter future.
After an eye-opening morning, Winnie drove us back to Paradise Village, where we were frolicked in the surf and washed off all the dirt and dust from our visit. Fortunately for us, we were only dusty for half a day but the families who live at the dump have to endure those conditions on a daily basis. It certainly makes us thankful that we live in Canada.
If you would like to find out more about FAD, visit their website at familiesatthedump.org. And if you are going to Puerto Vallarta, take along some hoodies and T-shirts to donate to FAD and go on a tour with them. You will be glad you did, and it will make you think twice about complaining about your own living conditions. It can’t be that bad, you could live at the dump.
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