The Tassia slum is built upon an old landfill. There is no electricity, running water, or waste management system. Raw sewage runs down the middle of the streets, children rummage for scraps to sell from among the piles of garbage, and gang members perch on the corners. Food is scarce and starvation is common.

 

The children of the slum bear the burden of horrific violence. They are abused, raped, sold, and subjected to any number of other atrocities. Mental illness, child pregnancy, suicide, and drug use are every day realities. Tassia children are trapped in a vicious, multi-generational cycles of violence. These children have little experience with modern amenities or hygienic behavior and they carry the scars of abuse. They are unable to escape the slum because they are unwelcome outside of the slum. They are chained by poverty.