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Street life: Manila's homeless find shelter in pushcarts

Pushcarts, known as karitons, are a common sight in the city of more than 13 million people. Often made from scraps of wood, the human-powered carts are used as shelter, storage and a source of income, such as collecting trash to sell to recyclers.

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Street life: Manilas homeless find shelter in pushcarts

Every night, Abawag and her now four-year-old son sleep inside their pushcart parked under a tree on the footpath of a busy street.

The cart is 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) long and 31 centimetres (about one foot) wide and contains all their worldly goods like a torch, radio, soap, pillows, blankets and toys.

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Street life: Manilas homeless find shelter in pushcarts

When it rains, Abawag pulls a clear plastic sheet over the top to keep them dry.

Metres away, people eat at restaurants that Abawag will likely never be able to afford.

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Street life: Manilas homeless find shelter in pushcarts

After losing a precious bag of clothes to a thief, Abawag now locks the pushcart and secures it to the tree before she sets out on foot every day to sell rags.

"If I sell enough rags, I buy food. If I don't have any sales then I wait for people to give us food," she said.

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Street life: Manilas homeless find shelter in pushcarts

Abawag said she was embarrassed when she began living on the streets. But her religious faith helped her adjust.

"I'm not afraid to live on the street because I pray to God to not abandon us," she said.