Living Conditions in the slum of Belen

The world is very small to the people of Belen – what they see is all that exists. Their daily desire is to earn one US dollar to feed themselves a single meal of a cooked plantain and a fish the size of a finger. Their houses are made of wood planks and palm frawns. During the six-month rainy season the land turns into rivers and their floating homes become saturated with water. They sleep directly on these wet wooden planks. Few have mattresses or blankets. What clothes they have for warmth and comfort have many holes and the fabric is worn. Very few have soap and shampoo.  They use river water for  cleaning, bathing and toileting. In some cases, it is also their drinking water.