This was filmed by the Dutch youth news network in 2010. Danison (12) is one of the children working on Smokey Mountain making charcoal. Charcoal making is a ‘new’ way of earning a living for the poor here. Unfortunately it is extremely dirty work and involves working in thick unhealthy smoke. Many children have problems with their lungs as a result.
Danison is now being sponsored by Young Focus.
The main focus of Young Focus are the poorest of the poor who live in the squatter areas on and around Smokey Mountain, one of Manila’s garbage dumps. To be more specific, our focus is the youth; aged 0 to 20 years. Young Focus has a holistic approach as we invest in the lives of these young people, involving social, economic, spiritual, mental and medical aspects of tackling the problems of poverty, via the following projects: