If we know that garbage is inedible, then how can we let people devour it? If we know that children must receive a proper education, then how can we let them spend their childhood among garbage? Putting this simple common sense into action, Tzu Chi people built a school and improved the living environment in La Romana.

Living on Garbage Mountain

On September 20, 1998, Hurricanes Georges and Mitch swept across Central America, killing 287 people, leaving 65 people unaccounted for, ruining 280,000 houses, and making 100,000 people homeless.

On December 5, 2000, Tzu Chi volunteers and doctors from the United States flew to the Dominican Republic to distribute relief goods and to hold free clinics for the needy. I had the opportunity to join them as their translator.

I have lived in the Dominican Republic for many years, but this trip showed me a side of this country I was unaware of. As the bus drove on, a nauseating stench that seemed to come from everywhere suddenly permeated the vehicle. Before us was a place completely covered with trash. I later learnt that this was a public garbage dump located on a hilltop at La Romana. Around the dump lived thousands of illegal immigrants from Haiti, who subsisted on the garbage.

A truck loaded with garbage drove up to the dump. A dense swarm of flies followed closely behind. The faces of the local people brightened up at the sight and mine turned to horror. They began to swarm towards the truck, hoping to find food and useful items. Even pigs and dogs-all skin and bones-frantically dug for treasures.

This was my first time at the "Garbage Mountain" at La Romana. The new experience was carved in my mind. I could not believe that thousands of human beings lived in such an inhuman environment-living in garbage, eating garbage, and wearing clothes scavenged in the garbage dump.

Tzu Chi Elementary School

On February 26, 1999, I visited the garbage dump again with the Tzu Chi disaster relief team to distribute clothes and food donated by Tzu Chi people all over the world.

The air was still nauseating. Ramshackle houses built of materials scavaged from the dump still stood. This time we learnt that there was only one elementary school in La Romana. The so-called school only had one roofless room crowded with fifty-eight students. In the dimly lit room, there was only one tiny blackboard. Students had to take turns attending classes. Many residents said, "How wonderful it would be if we could have a school here-then the children wouldn't need to walk seven miles to school." When we reported this to Master Cheng Yen, she decided to build La Romana an elementary school, for she sees fundamental education as the future of the family, the society and the nation.

After much negotiating, the government finally provided us a 302.5 square meter area of land for the school site. On September 17, 1999, the long awaited groundbreaking ceremony was held. The construction was a daunting project, for the land was not only uneven and rocky, but it was also off the beaten track. Difficulty in obtaining labor and building materials added to the challenge. Yet, love conquered all the problems. Muscle cramp, heatstroke and sunburn did not stop volunteers from helping in the construction. Finally the construction was completed on February 4, 2000.

Life changed

Although the school has only a little library, an office, rest rooms and six classrooms, it is the best equipped public school in the area. Currently it has 421 students.

Now La Romana not only has a new school, but also a different living environment. On August 20, 2000, Tzu Chi volunteers drove to La Romana to hand out free Tzu Chi school uniforms. Although I had been there numerous times before, this time I lost my way because the usual stench that indicated the garbage dump was around the corner had disappeared. The security personnel from the government of the Dominican Republic exclaimed with disbelief, "When did the roads become so wide? Where is the garbage dump? How could so much have changed in such a short time?"

Tzu Chi had cleared away all the trash and converted the place into a residential area. The area originally lacked water and electricity, but now electric poles have been erected on it. Houses originally made of garbage are now made of concrete. The thought that the once deprived people can now live a decent life touched me greatly.

The opening of the school on September 5 marked the beginning of Tzu Chi's mission of educational development in the Dominican Republic. We will set up scholarships, promote education, care for the students and provide regular free clinics. The road is long, and we still have much to do.