LEA SALONGA - PARAISO CHILDREN OF SMOKEY MOUNTAIN IN PHILIPPINES Video

*RE-UPLOAD FROM AYAWGLORIA AND PINASWATCH CHANNELS*
Paraisos version of Lea Salonga. Ryan Cayabyabs favorite rendition of his original composition which was originally performed by the group called Smokey Mountain.

PARAISO (Lyrics)

Return to a land called Paraiso,
a place where a dying river ends.
No birds there fly over Paraiso,
no space allows them to endure.
The smoke that screens the air,
the grass thats never there.

And if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
I try to write some words and create
a simple song to be heard
by the rest of the world.

I live in this land called Paraiso,
in a house made of cardboard floors and walls.
I learned to be free in Paraiso,
free to claim anything I see.
Matching rags for my clothes,
plastic bags for the cold.

And if empty cans were all I have, what a joy.
I never fight to take someone
elses coins and live with fear
like the rest of the boys.

Paraiso, help me make a stand.
Paraiso, take me by the hand
Paraiso, make the world understand
that if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
This tired and hungry land could expect
some truth and hope and respect
from the rest of the world

Biography of Photographer:
Hartmut Schwarzbach - Editorial Photographer
Based in Hamburg, Hartmut Schwarzbach (51) works as a photojournalist with the Argus Fotoarchiv, a photographic agency specializing in environmental and humanitarian issues. In 2000 he started a documentary and long time project on children rights, travelling to many Asian and African countries. He uses a medium format camera for portraits and the 35mm for reportages and street photography. Most of the assignments he covers are for the German leading News Magazine, Der Spiegel and the catholic magazine, Kontinente.

Hartmut Schwarzbach was born in Hamburg and studied photography at the University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund. He spoke of his time in Manila:

For a good photostory you need a lot of time. I spent years to get so close to the people living on the Aroma Smokey Mountain in Manila, Philippines. Together with my guide I brought many packs of pancit (noodles) to the families and paid school fees to some poor children. In the end it was a great change and sometimes fun for them being photographed.