In the city of Cateura, Paraguay, one of the poorest slums in Latin America, a violin is worth more than a house. But that hasn’t stopped the children of the town from making music.
Built on a landfill, the people of the city live in, and live from, trash. Studies have shown that even living near a landfill can increase risks of cancer, reduce immune system functions, and cause birth defects. While most citizens of industrialized countries try to live as far away from these sites as possible, the citizens of Cateura swarm each time a trash truck brings new debris. They pick through it to find the supplies they need to live.
In the small Latin American town, more than 40% of children never finish school. Their parents need them to work and help support the family. When children aren’t working, they’re left to play in the dangerous trash dump. Local environmental engineer and musician Favio Chávez was disturbed by the amount of children playing in the garbage, and strove to find a way to keep them out of it. He teamed up with a garbage picker, nicknamed “Cola,” to create something positive for the kids. He began making instruments out of trash from the landfill, and thus created the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra.
The results of this project are truly amazing. Watch the inspiring video below.
(source YouTube)
This video is a trailer for a crowd-funded documentary on the orchestra. To learn more, check out their website.
