(From L to R: John Rushing, Dorcas, Mandy Swilley, Pastor Samson Otieno)
During our trip to Kisumu, we got to visit with a very special woman.
The Beginning
Back in 2005, John Rushing and Dave Grumme were on a mission trip to Kisumu. During their visit, they asked where the orphans that are not adopted or taken in by orphanages go to live. They were told that those orphans ended up living in the city dump.
John and Dave immediately decided that they needed to go to the dump. Upon arrival, they met with some of these children of the Dump.
It is hard to imagine, without going there, how bad this place is. Not only is it a garbage dump, but they are always burning garbage at the dump and it smells even worse when it is on fire.
John and Dave witnessed to the people living at the dump and led many of them to Christ. Within a couple of years, the city dump was no longer a place where you’d have to hire security to visit.
A very special woman at the dump
During a trip to Kisumu in 2007, John Rushing led a woman named Dorcas to Christ. Dorcas was living in the dump and had absolutely nothing.
During the trip in 2009, I was there to witness Dorcas being baptized at Shaurimoyo Baptist Church where Pastor Samson Otieno is the minister.
Dorcas had become involved in the church that was founded at the city dump and Pastor Samson has faithfully continued to lend support.
Deliverance from the dump
Dorcas no longer lives in the city dump. Today, she makes a living off of the dump.
In the past 9 years, she began selling cardboard, plastic and paper to a recycling company. Dorcas has wisely expanded this business to a point where she is renting about an acre of land and a workshop. She has a hydraulic press in order to bail cardboard into one ton blocks.
Presently, Dorcas employs boys from the dump giving them a way to earn a wage. In addition to that, Dorcas has adopted some of the street kids and raises them on her own.
Dorcas is even putting several of the kids she has adopted in the past through school.
Currently, Dorcas lives in the slum area of Kisumu. This is by choice. Dorcas would rather spend money on the kids that she is trying to pull up from the dump rather than move to a nicer area.
During our discussion, we calculated that with the volume of recyclable materials that she sells, she has at least a $50,000 USD gross revenue per year for just the cardboard that she handles.
If you figure that she used to struggle to make $2.00 USD per day, I’d say she is doing great!
Moving forward
Now that Dorcas has a hydraulic press and bailing machine, she is continuing to build her business.
Pastor Samson will continue to keep us updated on Dorcas, but I have no doubt that she will continue to succeed.
I pray that God continues to bless Dorcas in her work.
