La Chureca
La Chureca (Spanish slang word for city dump) was the municipal domestic and industrial waste-disposal site in Managua, Nicaragua.
According to Science News (1972), the Managuan earthquake devastated approximately 70% of the city, left thousands dead and many others injured.
The combination of unemployment and extreme poverty led many families to scavenge for metals and building materials left in the rubble of the earthquake (Bergin, 2008).
In order to feed themselves, people from all over Managua who had no other alternatives went to La Chureca in the morning and worked long days, looking for salvageable materials for their own use or to sell (ibid).
Though some people returned home after their long days at work, other who were left homeless after the earthquake constructed their houses out of the rubble itself and stayed in La Chureca.
La Chureca is a slang term for the city trash dump in Managua, Nicaragua, referring to a community of people who live and work there, "sifting" or "filtering" through the garbage daily.
[1] La Chureca is the municipal domestic and industrial waste disposal site in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
Grisby Vergara[3] describes this area as a war zone and an “enormous breeding ground for flies, microbes, rotting food, burnt trash, hundreds of plastic bags..”.
Thick smoke covers the area, as a result of the fires that are set by the Mayor and municipal government office to keep the garbage from piling up and retrieve iron and other materials.
[4] Some of the most common activities of La Chureca workers of all ages include: recollection, classification, selling, storing, and cleaning of recyclable waste.
[6] Over the years, ‘churequeros’ have figured out ways of organizing the trash and making small profits off salvageable and recyclable materials.
[5] These individuals swarm all around La Chureca with makeshift spears which are used to pick through the garbage which is then sorted and sold to suppliers of recyclable materials.
Workers in La Chureca are self-employed individuals and, or families who collect salvageable items such as plastic, aluminum cans, and scrap metals such as copper and iron.
[3] La Chureca produces approximately US$20 million a year in marketable garbage and Churequeros earn between US$1.50 and US$2 a day.
Some of these NGOs include: ProNica-Quakers in Solidarity with Nicaraguans, Los Quinchos, Project Chacocente, Colegio Cristiano La Esperanza, Mision Cristiana Corazones Abierto, Austin Samaritans and Manna Project International (MPI) work with a local NGO FUNJOFUDESS and sponsor the only health clinic in La Chureca: Casa Base de Salud, Children's Smile and Hope Association, NICA, Catholic Youth Advocates, Inc. and HOPE.
Proyecto de Desarrollo Integral del Barrio Acahualincia Cuenta Con el Apoyo del Alcalde de Managua y es el Proyecto Mas Grande Que Respalda la AECID en Nicaragua.
Retrieved from http://www.aecinicaragua.org.ni/articulo/42-proyecto-de-desarrollo-integral-del-barrio-acahu[permanent dead link] Athanasiadou, Maria, Steven N. Cuadra, Göran Marsh, Åke Bergman, and Kristina Jakobsson.
(2008).Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Bioaccumulative Hydroxylated PBDE Metabolites in Young Humans from Managua, Nicaragua .
Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants in Children Working at a Waste-Disposal Site and in Young Females with High Fish Consumption in Managua, Nicaragua.
Geochemical Characterization of Surface Waters and Groundwater Resources in the Managua Area (Nicaragua, Central America).
