Manila
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I had three days free whilst on a commission to Manila, Philippines, and so visited the community of Vitas as part of my Urban Slums project. Vitas is a series of badly built and unmaintained tenement blocks that the government built for the scavengers that had to scrape a living on the famous Smokey Mountain, Manila's largest dump at time. It became a symbol ofthe gross poverty that existed under the Marcos dictatorship and the new government was keen to get rid of it.
The people of Vitas live check by jowl in very cramped conditions in blocks that are basically falling down and they're the lucky one's. Other families have to build homes out of scrap wood and cardboard and live under the bridge at one end of the community.
The government basically dumped them there in order to forget about them and remove the visual scare of Smokey Mountain.
The people of Vitas live check by jowl in very cramped conditions in blocks that are basically falling down and they're the lucky one's. Other families have to build homes out of scrap wood and cardboard and live under the bridge at one end of the community.
The government basically dumped them there in order to forget about them and remove the visual scare of Smokey Mountain.
One of the mainy riverside communities that people build to house themselves. In the background is the new financial district of Makati City. January 2012
A father and mother with their only child in a community living on the sea front in the Vista district of Manila. January 2012
Children from the Vista tenaments play a group game. The idea is for the blindfolded kid to smash the pot. The pot contains sweets and it's then a free for all to get them. January 2012
Liselle Alba, aged 27, at her home trying to get her youngest daughter, Allye Mae aged 1, to sleep in the Vista district of Manila. She lives here in one makeshift room with her husband and her seven children. January 2012.
Houses in the Vista district of Manila. Twenty years ago residents from the famous civic dump Smokey Mountain were relocated to tenement blocks in Vista. Over the years, without any maintenance, they have crumbled into near dereliction. January 2012.
Mothers with young babies sit and chat in a riverside community in the Vista disrict of Manila. This community lives in extremely crampt and damp conditions in make shift homes. The families make a living from recycling. January 2012.
Young children playing on the riverbank of the Vista district of Manila. The children and their families live in the boxes built and attached to the underside of the road bridge in the background. January 2012.
Liselle Alba, aged 27, at her home with three of her children in the Vista district of Manila. She lives here in one makeshift room with her husband and her seven children. January 2012.
Liselle Alba, aged 27, at her home with her youngest daughter, Allye Mae aged 1, in the Vista district of Manila. She lives here in one makeshift room with her husband and her seven children. January 2012
Robilyn Dizon, aged 5, laying in her coffin. Her mother, Rochella, is unsuch what she died of. She caught a sudden fever and died within several days. She is laying in a wake as her parents cannot afford to bury her. The law in manila allows gambling at wakes as a way for relatives to raise money for the funeral. This means bodies can lay in wake for several weeks. The smell gets intense.
The shared dinner of a mother and here young dauther in a community with the ironic name of 'Happyville', Manila. January 2012.
Children playingon the burning rubbish on the shore line in a community called 'Happyland', Manila. January 2012
