TOSHIHIKO URIU born in Chiba, Japan, second to two sons of the Uriu Family. As a young man with a big heart and a vision, he hates to live in the fantasies of a dream world that brought him to the world of realities, the harsh life in Payatas and Smokey Mountain. At 19, he had the heart of a journalist, became a movie and television Cameraman at age 25. In 1988, Mr. Uriu joined a group of Japanese Volunteers who came in the Philippines. He made a documentary film focused on the issue and hard-hitting realities of poverty, highlighting the lives of scavengers in Payatas and Smokey Mountain. This documentary touched his heart, every scene he took and every inteview about the people he met made a great effect on him. When camera runs, reality comes out, revealing the lives of the people dwelling in the miserable world of poverty. Mr. Uriu became so inspired to pursue his objective... Life for him is living with the people close to his heart. He helps and cares a lot especially to the children he believes will be the next generation, his hopes and goals is to ensure them with good education. To achieve his goals and be self-sufficient, he started Creative Image, Inc., a managing company whose concerns was Film productions, and Trading mainly to generate funds for Creative Image Foundation, the Foundation whose only objective is to assists the people of Payatas and Smokey Mountain achieves a humanely life possibly. At present his efforts and dedications to help improve their lives are bearing fruits, and the realization on how he opened the opportunities to succeed in life. Barring unforeseen hands and intervention from duty politics, the children of Payatas and Smokey Mountain must get wake up one day what life really is in a highly competitive world.

OUR HISTORY

November 1988, the Food For Hungry International, consists mainly of Japanese Volunteers, that aims to provide assistance and support to the third world countries. One of these Japanese Volunteers was Mr. Toshihiko Uriu a Photographer, Cameraman, freelance Writer, Journalist, showing people in every part of the world to know what is happening to the less fortunate. Upon arriving to the Philippines, his first concern was the Smokey Mountain, a place of garbage and scavengers so called because of the volume of garbage dumped there daily. There Mr. Uriu irst saw the real face of poverty. The feedback he gathered from the interviews he made with the people around especially with the children, when he asked some of them, if ever they would be given a gift, what would they ask for? He was astonished and amazed to hear that all of them chose to be able to go to school including to learn how to read and write, and even have the chance to change the kind of life they have now. The sincerity of what the children dreams left a mark on Mr. Uriu's heart. "Toshi" as what the people call him, decided then to help the poor and rescue the children from scavenging. He visits frequently and as time passed by, he began to love what he was doing helping them in many different ways. November 27, 1995, a demolition was ordered for Smokey Mountain, and as the demolition started, the residents fought for the rights they thought they had. President Fidel V. Ramos ordered the removal of the 21.2 hectares dumping area to give way for the development of Smokey Mountain into a Commercial-Industrial area. It was being cleared and leveled to give way to medium-rise low cost tenement for the dwellers. The fight became so intense. A clash began when the residents started pelting Molotov cocktails, rocks and trash to the demolition squad. One died and dozen of others were hurt including Mr. Uriu who was making a documentary film for NHK. He suffered a gunshot wound that damaged his spleen liver and his arm. He rushed to the hospital and brought back to Japan for his recovery. Back to the Philippines, President Fidel V. Ramos honored the bravery and dedication of Mr. Uriu, who showed the world the real face of poverty and enlightened the eyes of those who watch the documentary film he made. He had survived and surpassed death. For a couple of years he stopped visiting the people closed to his heart. 

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN

Smokey Mountain is Metro Manila's 21.2 hectares of open garbage dumpsite for about four (4) decades. It has grown into a mountain size mound of garbage with the people around it trying to make a living. There are more than 3,000 families residing around it, mostly migrant families from provinces who could not find a decent job. They have settled here for decades and most of them have grown their families despite of the fact that life is hard and their health is at risk. Scavenging is their primary source of making a living in defiance of all hazards to health and the foul smelling smoke emitted from the smoldering garbage. This has become the ultimate bencmark of poverty and squalor in the Philippines. The effort of the administration in 1995 transformed the area into an Industrial site and build medium-rise low cost housing units for the residents of Smokey Mountain has not improved. The reality is still there, poverty still exists.

For the people of Smokey Mountain , endless hope and faith still abounds in their hearts. Especially in the eyes of those children, who at the very young age and minds never stop of dreaming that one day their lives will change and will live in better homes, a place where even in a simple way they can survive, go to school, and a decent job for every head of the family.

PAYATAS

Payatas is located at the suburb of Manila, about 20 kilometers away from the city proper and is one of the three largest slums in the world. It is also called Smokey Valley, named after Smokey Mountain. It is the biggest garbage dumpsite in the Philippines about 70 hectares where 3,000 tons of garbage is being dumped everyday. Payatas is popularly known and became famous worldwide after the tragedy in July 2000. The mountain size garbage collapsed and took hundreds of lives of residents residing beneath and around it. The very tragic moment made a dark mark to the nation. It was also a moment that awoke our sleeping Public Officials, the very responsible for what happened did not anticipate that one day the kind of tragedy might occur.

After the collapse, the dumpsite was closed, and so this deprived the residents' means for living. it is because for people living there, the stinking environment is their real world. Everyday at 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. is their busiest and peak time, it is where the dump trucks arrives loaded with garbage from different vicinities, and awaiting them are the scavengers rushing to get the valuable garbage they can exchange into money. The daily income of a scavenger ranges from Php 200 pesos and below, enough for them to sustain their daily needs. For them it is means of living. They say "Kung nasaan ang basura naroroon ang pera", (In the garbage there is money) and it is true indeed. Some people beneath the dumpsite believed that Payatas is their destined world to live, nevertheless, there are still those who dreams of getting out of there and starting a new life outside the dumpsite.

 

TRANSFORMATION

With the help of the different NGOs, Agencies and Foundations who are willing to extend a hand, in order to uplift the inhumane conditions around the mountain of waste, the possibility of having a transformation among the lives of the people may come its way. From a slum, settlement awaits a developed community. From a scavengers into a more determined person who sees themselves walking in school and working in a much better place and worksite conducive to an atmosphere of a good quality of life. For those people who dreams of having some changes in their way of living, we are working hand in hand to realize those dreams.