Trash is Watch Angel Has Fallen Onlinethe first thing most people think of when you mention Payatas, home to the Philippines' largest open dump site.

But one organisation is hoping to change that with its photo project, "Humans of Payatas."

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Inspired by "Humans of New York", the project aims to show that Payatas, one of the country's biggest and poorest slums, has a lot more to offer than just trash.

"We realised when talking to people [there] that these were stories that shouldn't just remain in Payatas, they should be shared," said Christelle Reganion, project officer at Fairplay for All Foundation, a charity based in Payatas that started the photo project.

"We want to show that it's not just a dumpsite but it's a real community, home to real people with real dreams and ambitions."

Payatas was struck by tragedy in July 2000 when a garbage dump collapsed, causing the homes of around 100 squatters to be destroyed. 218 people were killed and thousands left homeless.

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Until today, it is unable to shake off its association with trash and slums.

"Living conditions here in Payatas are quite mixed. You have houses that are furthest away from the rubbish dump made of concrete that are quite liveable," said Reganion.

"But there are also people living at the foot of the dumpsite, and you can see juices from the garbage spilling out near them. It's not a condition that people should be living in."

Mashable ImageMandatory Credit: Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA/REX/Shutterstock (7830159d) Workers From Philippine Local Government Garbage Disposal Management Unit Place Warning Lines On Top of a Dumpsite After a Portion of the Massive Pile of Trash Has Collapsed Due to Continuous Rain in Sitio Payatas Quezon City East of Manila Philippines On 10 August 2007 an Avalanche of Garbage Hit the Residents Near the Dumpsite During a Typhoon in 10 July 2007 That Burried Hundreds of Houses and Scores Were Killed Philippines Dumpsite Collapse - Aug 2007 Credit: R. Malasig/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

The project highlights how many of the 119,000 residents seem to be making the best out of what they have.

"When you first talk to the people here, some don't want to talk because they feel they don't have a story to tell. It's like, 'Why would you talk to me when I'm just a garbageman?'" Reganion adds.

"But it doesn't make their stories any less valuable than someone living in New York."

It just goes to show that sometimes the best stories are the ones that come from the most unexpected of places.

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