UK rock band Brittle Bricks recently travelled to the Philippines for a two week tour of the shanty towns built on and around the rubbish dumps in Manila.
The main rubbish dump in Manila is both workplace and home to thousands of people who eke out a living by scavenging for recycle-ables on the top of the pile.
Brittle Bricks teamed up with the Philippine Community Fund who run schools for the children of the dumpsites to put the tour together.
After nine months of fundraising, the band raised over £11,000 to pay for the tour as well as 8 tons of rice for the school feeding programme; a pile of music equipment for the school and 5 pedicabs.
The first gig played was for a community that actually lives in a cemetery; shanties on top of the concrete coffin slots: "we landed at the tail end of a typhoon and it was touch and go whether the gig could go ahead; but they were so keen for us to come and play; they hooked up a temporary cover for us, we were just gobsmacked; so we played till it went dark and ran out of light." reported Phil the roadie.
