Living on a rubbish dump

Last Wednesday P, A and I travelled into the city of Sao Paulo by train. It is a 2 hour journey with 3 different changes which we have done before. However, this journey was different because at a certain point the train slowed down and because we were sitting by a window we were able to see what was outside.
There was rubbish piled up high against the bank of the railway track. We were passing a massive rubbish dump that continued along the track for about half a mile. Looking more closely I could see people on top of the rubbish scavenging for something which might be of use to them. As the train continued slowly along we noticed that small structures had been built out of wood, corrugated iron and some even of brick. I looked across the carriage to where P. was sitting to see if he had noticed that we were passing a favela built on a rubbish dump and he had.
There were children playing amongst the debris, washing hanging to dry and all the usual signs of a community but they were living on a rubbish dump. It is a dangerous place to live.
The week after Easter Rio de Janeiro experienced as much rain in a few hours as it was expecting in a month. The result was massive flooding and mud slides in different parts of the city. However, in Niteroi, a favela that had been built on a disused rubbish dump had suffered a worse fate. The gases contained deep within the rubbish below had become compressed and then exploded leaving an enormous hole where the community had lived. Deep within that hole were the remains of numerous houses, a church where a service had been taking place and a school where many children were attending an after school club. After a massive rescue operation there are still 54 people missing.
A Salvation Army team from the Sao Paulo Division and Rio were on site almost immediately, greatly aided by the fact that there was already a Salvation Army Corps in the area. They served rescue services with refreshments, counselled the bereaved at the makeshift morgue, facilitated donations and liased with the media.
Paul and I were on holiday at the time but we saw some of our colleagues from THQ on the TV news reports.
You can find more information about the work of The Salvation Army in Rio de Janeiro during this crisis on the Brazilian Salvation Army website: http://www.exercitodesalvacao.org.br/