Basura!

Last Saturday morning more than half of our boys set out on a mission to rid the barangay of the garbage that commonly collects along the sides of the road.  For most of the boys, this was not their first time experiencing such a task.  Many of our boys have done similar jobs as a means of earning money before they moved to our center.  This time, however, it was merely to help clean the environment in which they live.

Before the group of high school and grade 5 and 6 boys set out on our walk under the hot morning sun, we first did some review and reinforcement of the meaning of Malata (Biodegradable) and Dili Malata (non-Biodegradable) and what materials fell under each of these categories.  

Back to the basics: What is Malata?  What is Dili Malata?

It didn't take long before the boys had caught on to the simple concept and were ready to put their new knowledge to great use.

For more than an hour we wandered up and down the main road in search of empty bags of chips, candy wrappers, water bottles, discarded clothing and anything else that did not fit in among the natural green grass or brown dirt.

Hard at work.

Break Time!

We nearly filled 6 rice sacks!

Celebrating their accomplishment.