Hope amid the squalor

 

 

 

Hope amid the squalor: The smiling children of the Manila slums who are overcoming the filth and poverty of their homes Children in the slums of the Philippines have been pictured smiling and happily playing in the squalor of the streets Images were captured by Belgian photographer Sebastian Cuvelier on a two-month trip to Manila Visited four slums in the city named Divisoria, Payatas, Quiapo and Tondo and Singkamas in Makati City Says despite the filth and poverty the people were welcoming and seem to be happy despite the appalling conditions With wide smiles and faces full of hope it is hard to believe that these happy people are living in the squalor of a makeshift shanty town. Grinning for the camera, the children of the Manila slums act like any other youngsters by playing in a paddling pool and even tying rubber bands together to make bracelets. This is even though they are some of the poorest people in the world. +14 Despite being surrounded by squalor in the makeshift shanty town of Tondo in Manila, these children can't help but smile as they play in the street +14 With no proper bathroom, the children of the slums take a bath in an inflatable paddling pool in the middle of the street +14 A young girl collects rubber bands and ties them together to make a bracelet and necklace, resembling the recent loom band craze +14 A little boy laughs out loud as he is washed in the alley of the Tondo slum in Manila, as others line up behind him to use the water The images of the playful children were taken by Belgian photographer Sebastien Cuvelier on a trip to the Philippines, where he visisted four slums named Divisoria, Payatas, Quiapo and Tondo, as well as Singkamas in Makati City over a two month period. The 38-year-old, who now lives in Luxembourg City said: 'I wanted to show everyday life in slums around Manila, where people seem to be happy despite the terrible living conditions. 'The people were incredibly welcoming. Not one smile was forced. No one was ashamed of where they lived. Their dignity was impressive. 'The first time inside any slum is always very shocking; you can't believe your eyes. 'But it was very important for me not to look at them with pity or compassion. +14 A little boy smiles for the camera after being pictured by Belgian photographer Sebastien Cuvelier, while sitting next to a dumping site in Payatas, Manila +14 A young girl has a face of joy after taking an impromptu shower under a leaking drain pipe during a storm in Singkamas in Makati City +14 Photographer Mr Cuvelier said: 'The people were incredibly welcoming. Not one smile was forced. No one was ashamed of where they lived' 'I had to act unimpressed and show that I was on the same level as them, even though I was white and had a camera. 'The Filipino people are amazing and always manage to see the positive side of things, which I find incredibly moving.' Mr Cuvelier visited around 30 homes to offer an insight into the reality of life for civilians living in the slums. He added: 'Seeing people live on a dump site was shocking. 'You can imagine the smell and the amount of insects when there are acres of trash lying around you in the scorching sun. 'The people there spend their days sorting through the trash, trying to find anything of value, mostly metal. +14 Three brothers look happy as they play under the watchful eye of their mother in the Divisoria slum, which is littered with rubbish +14 A young girl smiles at passers-by who walk past her makeshift house built next to a dump in Payatas +14 A man and his son pose outside their makeshift house in Divisoria, Manila, one of four slums that Mr Cuvelier visited on his two month trip to the Philippines +14 With poverty widespread many people live in makeshift homes. This family live in a cramped room built under a canal bridge in Quiapo, Manila 'And there, in the middle of the dumping site, was a sign that said 'room 4 rent' I still cannot believe that anyone would actually ask for rent money in such a terrible area, but it is the case in all slums I have visited. 'There is a picture I took, which shows a sole tree in the middle of a sea of trash. 'If this tree could grow there, anything can happen. To me, the tree represents hope for these people.' The photographer was able to visit the slums while working as a volunteer for a Manila-based French NGO called the Virlanie Foundation. He explained: 'I was introduced to the Virlanie contact in each slum I went to. +14 A man proudly carries his grand-daughter outside of his shack built over a canal near Divisoria while being pictured by Mr Cuvelier +14 Mr Cuvelier visited around 30 homes to offer an insight into the reality of life for civilians living in the slums including the shack of this married couple +14 This cheerful old man peeks his head out of his shack, which is plastered in graffiti and political posters in Tondo 'The NGO reaches out to a wide number of families there so it is very well respected and eased my way in, I could not have been there without the support of Virlanie.' The Virlanie Foundation is a private, non-profit organisation reaching out to street children in the Philippines and has been helping children who come from difficult situation to become a responsible and an independent adult life with the hope of a brighter future. For almost 22 years , Virlanie has helped and cared for more than 16,000 children and accompanied towards a responsible and independent adult life