Bishop Tom Ochuka of Kisumu, Kenya, and the Rev. Dr. Trisha Tull of Henryville, Indiana, USA, have been working together since January 2016, when Trisha responded to Tom’s invitation to visit some of his Africa Inland Church congregations in the Nyanza area to preach and teach about creation care.
We spent the week visiting the Yawo, Nyakakana, and Darambili churches. Everywhere we went, Tom brought tree seedlings from the marketplace and we planted trees in the churches’ yards.
Tom wanted his churches to help reforest the area around Kisumu, so wherever we went that week, Tom would buy tree seedlings in the marketplace and host a tree planting. So we got outside and planted trees. Everyone helped, whether we were dressed for it or not.
We also visited the Africa Inland Church’s Nyakach Dispensary, which serves thousands of residents east of Kisumu. The British-era building was already a century old and in dire need of repair.
Two things happened as a result of this visit. First, a church in Jeffersonville, Indiana, raised the funds for the AIC to build a tree nursery on the grounds of the bishop’s office in Kisumu. Second, the Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church, USA, offered a $50,000 grant to renovate and equip the dispensary, enabling it to expand to become a Level B regional hospital and increase its services.
From this small beginning, we have steadily expanded. The tree nursery now grows more than 10,000 trees from seeds every year, donating them to schools and churches, and selling them to private buyers in the Kisumu area. God’s Green Resourceful Earth has expanded into farmer, school, and community education about organic growing methods, beekeeping, and egg production. Our small demonstration farm provides pollination services for the surrounding area and feeds many elderly people in the community.
In September, 2024, Trisha returned to Kenya with five other travelers from the US, who have become part of GGRE’s planning and support team.
This year we are beginning a new pilot project, vegetable and fruit gardens in a few local primary schools to help provide nutritious meals to children whose families cannot afford to pay their lunch fees. With support from the local neighborhood and from friends abroad, we hope in coming years to expand this program, enabling school children to concentrate on their studies, knowing that their nutritional needs are being met.
