Linda Aluoch on Hope, Healing, and Human Trafficking

Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County Living presents, Conversations with Rich Bennett. 

(Laughter)

Rich Bennett 0:27
So I am joined by my sister today, Robin, Burke, Bennett, Furncase. I am joined by my sister today. Robin, Bennett, Burke, Furncase, 

Robyn Burke 0:41
You can stop there. 

Rich Bennett 0:42
You know what, I am joined by, I got the King's wife joining me today. I got Junior's wife joining me today. 

Linda Aluoch 0:51
(Laughter) 

Rich Bennett 0:52
Is that better? I am joined by my sister, Robin, today. And we have a special guest on today. And I wanted my sister to co-host this episode, especially because of what we're going to be talking about. It has to go through training once a year, right? For this. I have Linda Aloach on from Hope Works Global. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14
Yeah? 

Rich Bennett 1:15
Is that a local nonprofit or is that a worldwide nonprofit? 

Linda Aluoch 1:18
We are actually, uh, in Hartford County and in Kenya. 

Rich Bennett 1:24
In 

Linda Aluoch 1:24
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:24
Kenya? Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 1:26
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:27
Okay. Well, first of all, how you doing? 

Linda Aluoch 1:29
I'm 

Robyn Burke 1:29
thanks. 

Linda Aluoch 1:29
fine, 

Robyn Burke 1:30
It's 

Linda Aluoch 1:32
beautiful out. I mean, we get to enjoy what it looks like spring today, so yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:36
Oh, I don't know. Later on, it may look like summer. I think it's supposed to be what eighties today. 

Robyn Burke 1:41
Eighties, eighty 

Linda Aluoch 1:41
I think it's supposed to 

Robyn Burke 1:42
seven 

Linda Aluoch 1:42
be eighties. 

Robyn Burke 1:42
on Wednesday. 

Rich Bennett 1:44
Yeah. Uh, yeah, it felt weird. I went to put on my shorts. I'm like, oh, I either need to get some spray tan or something, because 

Linda Aluoch 1:51
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:51
man, my legs are wetter than a goose. So, Linda, if you know my, so people know before we get into Hope Works Global, do you mind sharing your story? Because when I read it on the website, yes, I started tearing up. 

Linda Aluoch 2:07
Oh, wow. Wow. 

Rich Bennett 2:09
And I know it was basically on the website. It's just a summary. 

Linda Aluoch 2:12
Yes. Yes. So, um, I'm the youngest of four, um, four girls raised their single mom, um, married. Um, with two kids, uh, teenagers, actually, they're really amazing teenagers. When people complain about having teenagers, I am not one of those parents, because my kids are well behaved, 

Rich Bennett 2:35
good, 

Linda Aluoch 2:35
dual in school. Like, and I think, I don't know, maybe we can say it's genetic, so maybe I've just cared them too. 

Rich Bennett 2:41
Are you brought them up right? 

Linda Aluoch 2:42
Good behavior. I brought them up right. 

Robyn Burke 2:44
I had daughters too, and I'd love to the teenage years. 

Linda Aluoch 2:47
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 2:48
And they 

Linda Aluoch 2:48
Right. 

Robyn Burke 2:49
were fun. 

Linda Aluoch 2:49
Yeah. So, anyway, so, I grew up in Kenya, um, youngest of four girls, um, with a single mom. And poverty was the honor of the day for us, 

Rich Bennett 3:02
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 3:02
you know. Um, I remember times we'd be sitting in the house with my mom and not knowing where the next meal would come from. 

Rich Bennett 3:11
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 3:12
And I remember growing up, I actually have some scars that I still carry today. Well, if you're listening to this, you cannot see them. But the next time if you want to see them, just buy me coffee 

Rich Bennett 3:22
know, 

Linda Aluoch 3:22
and, you 

Rich Bennett 3:22
Ha, 

Robyn Burke 3:23
ha, ha, ha, 

Linda Aluoch 3:25
Oh, 

Robyn Burke 3:25
ha, 

Linda Aluoch 3:25
buy me lunch, and I'll show you the scars, 

Rich Bennett 3:27
ha, ha, 

Linda Aluoch 3:27
all 

Rich Bennett 3:27
ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. 

Linda Aluoch 3:27
right. But anyway, um, I, I look at the scars and we talk about them with our kids. We actually developed this tradition of talking about scars and how we can turn them to strength. And I have a scar that I, on my arm, and this was from fighting for food with my sisters. 

Rich Bennett 3:50
Fighting for 

Linda Aluoch 3:51
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 3:51
food. 

Linda Aluoch 3:52
Yes. And the pot was hot. That's why I ended up with a scar. I have a scar on my food. I had what looked like, um, closed pair of shoes and, uh, really on the bottom side, basically, the soil of the shoe, there was nothing 

Rich Bennett 4:11
sh... 

Linda Aluoch 4:11
covering the 

Rich Bennett 4:12
So just covering the top 

Linda Aluoch 4:13
It's 

Rich Bennett 4:13
of your 

Linda Aluoch 4:13
just covering the top of my food. So I was walking, um, I remember I was in, uh, I think I was in, uh, fifth grade. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 4:24
neck. Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 4:25
And I stepped on a nail. I did not feel it because my foot was already so hard from walking, quote, unquote, bare feet. And, um, I got to know that I had the nail on my foot because somebody tapped me on the shoulder and said, hey, you have a bloody footprint. and 

Rich Bennett 4:48
wow. 

Linda Aluoch 4:48
I bent down, pulled out the nail. And then I went home. My mom took me to one of the public hospitals, got my tetanus shot and I still have my foot on today. So... 

Rich Bennett 4:59
That's a good thing! 

Linda Aluoch 5:01
Yeah, so anyway, those are the struggles that we grew up with and I'm so grateful for a resilient mom. 

Rich Bennett 5:10
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 5:11
And she's taught us how to fight through life. She's taught us how to- I don't want to say survive because survival means you're struggling and you're kinda- 

Rich Bennett 5:22
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 5:22
in Canada? It's almost like you're coming up for air, like, no, 

Rich Bennett 5:25
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 5:25
that's not what we did. Like, my mom made sacrifices for us to actually go to school for us to get an education. And fast forward, my second-born sister, who was at that point seven years older than me, I mean, uhm, she ended up running away from home, 

Rich Bennett 5:46
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 5:47
um, 

Rich Bennett 5:47
When you 

Linda Aluoch 5:48
at 

Rich Bennett 5:48
were living 

Linda Aluoch 5:48
16. Yeah, when we were living in Kenya, and she ran away from home, uh, failing to the wrong hands. Got pregnant, uh, teenage pregnancy. 

Rich Bennett 5:58
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 5:58
Right. In the early 90s, uh, 2000s, that was not something, especially, in the- I would general- generalize this and say African culture because it's- we- we almost have the same culture, like 

Rich Bennett 6:15
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 6:15
Africans. And that became an issue because again, my mom is trying to raise four girls in, um, city because she walked for the government as a secretary. And at this point, my sister gets pregnant and that's what would look like, you know, like, uh, staying on the family type of- 

Rich Bennett 6:37
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 6:38
So anyway, so when my sister ran away from home, ended up just hanging out with these people that we did not know for 13 years and- we kept finding her and she would say they'll not be happy, they'll not be happy, they'll not be happy every time we found her, she would just say they'll not be happy if I live. And- yeah. And for us, that was like, okay, we never really thought to stop and ask who. They- 

Rich Bennett 7:09
Yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 7:09
yeah. You know, we never really thought to stop and ask why, 

Rich Bennett 7:14
right. 

Linda Aluoch 7:14
you know, all we thought and again, she had been labeled as a rebellious teenager. So there was very limited contact that were allowed to have as 

Rich Bennett 7:26
well. 

Linda Aluoch 7:27
Wow. So 13 years later, my- my sister actually, the one that I follow who's five years older than me, gets a phone call. And it's from one of my cousins who says, uh, there's a guy who called and he said, there's a lady in one of the slam areas, in one of the shanties in the slam area. Um, she's your sister. This is your sister. You need to come and pick her up because she's on the verge of death. 

Rich Bennett 7:59
Wow. Damn. 

Linda Aluoch 8:00
So we, my sister, it happened that my mom was in town visiting because at that point I was living with my sister. I was still in college. I was, I think about 21, 22, 

Rich Bennett 8:13
yeah. Right. 

Linda Aluoch 8:14
And my sister went with my mom. When they got there, um, not sure if you've ever seen. I am slum. I mean, I know we do have like the really developing data houses here, 

Rich Bennett 8:30
Different. 

Linda Aluoch 8:30
but they still have like the carpet and it's different over there. Like it's straight up ground 

Rich Bennett 8:36
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 8:37
that you're sleeping on, you know. And so when my sister and my mom got there, they found my sister. Her name is Christen was, I mean, Christine is still is Christian anyway. Yeah. So Christian was laying on the ground and, uh, the person who had called had said there was a child that she had, he had a child crying in the room. That's why he got into the room. When my sister and my mom got there, the child was not there. 

Rich Bennett 9:04
What? 

Linda Aluoch 9:05
Yeah. So, 

Rich Bennett 9:06
which is probably her child. 

Linda Aluoch 9:08
Yes. So they picked her up and took her to the hospital. She was on the last stages of HIV AIDS. Um, 

Robyn Burke 9:18
took, 

Linda Aluoch 9:18
when they the hospital, I visited my sister every single day for one week. I was the last person to see her the day before she died. So, I go back to the hospital to go and see her and the bed is empty and I ask the nurse, "What happened to the lady? Where is the lady who was on this bed?" And this is how I found out that she died. You just missed the one that carried the dead bodies. If you... 

Rich Bennett 9:46
What? 

Linda Aluoch 9:46
Yes. That's... You cannot make this stuff up. Like, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 9:52
Should I order to find a family or anything? 

Linda Aluoch 9:54
No. 

Rich Bennett 9:54
Wow! 

Linda Aluoch 9:55
Because again... HIV aids patients. It felt like the way COVID was being 

Rich Bennett 10:03
died. You 

Linda Aluoch 10:05
know? Like, somebody died of COVID. You just disposed of the body. And that's exactly how they handled it. 

Rich Bennett 10:10
Wow! 

Linda Aluoch 10:11
And remember, this is in the early 2000s. 

Rich Bennett 10:14
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 10:14
Like, HIV is just starting to become. 

Robyn Burke 10:19
More accepted. 

Linda Aluoch 10:20
Exactly. 

Robyn Burke 10:21
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 10:22
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 10:23
And that's over here. So, I can't imagine over there. 

Linda Aluoch 10:25
In Africa, actually, you'd become straight up on outcasts. Like, even your family would be shined, you know? 

Rich Bennett 10:33
Wow! 

Linda Aluoch 10:34
So, that nurse told me, you just missed the 

Robyn Burke 10:38
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 10:38
one that carried the dead bodies. If you run, actually, if you go to the... There is a national hospital, if you go to that hospital, you might catch them before they dispose of the bodies. 

Rich Bennett 10:50
Yes! 

Linda Aluoch 10:51
So, 

I call my sister... Like, hey, I just got here, and you know, Christine is no more. They told me they took the body to Kenya, the national hospital. That's the main hospital, the... the bog. And so, I'm going to check. So, now it's time for now, where the one is notifying the family. 

Rich Bennett 11:15
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 11:18
We... I go to that hospital... I mean, I go to the bog. And the guy looks at me and he sees this young girl. And he decides, well, let me see what I can get from this young girl. Corruption is a reality. So, this guy calls me to come in and show him who my sister is. The guy walked me around the morgue. I saw all types of dead bodies and all that was meant to traumatize me, so that I would bribe him, then he would show me the body. What he did not realize was... And I think I'm wise at different. 

Rich Bennett 12:04
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 12:05
What he did not realize was that that was actually aheadening me up. And I just looked at him and I was like, we can... I mean, I can walk here with you for the rest of your life. I have nothing to give you. 

Rich Bennett 12:20
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 12:21
So, you can either just show me my sister's body and we move on. 

Rich Bennett 12:25
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 12:25
We walked back to the door and the body was right by the door covered with a white budget. So, of course, we go through the funeral arrangements. We, my sister and I arranged everything. My mom at this point is devastated. 

I mean, how do we even recover from that? My eldest sister is like, it just, the dysfunction, you know, dysfunction... just straight up say, I come from a dysfunctional family 

Rich Bennett 12:57
I'll 

Linda Aluoch 12:58
because there was domestic violence. There was poverty. Everything that you'd find in a dysfunctional family. But we've come so far to a point where now we've grown, like we've made peace. We've forgiven each other, we've, you know, all that stuff. We look back and we say, that's who we used to be. This is who we are now. Anyway, so we organized the funeral and everything and that's the first time when we were burying my sister that I met my niece. Her name 

Rich Bennett 13:31
was Her 

Linda Aluoch 13:32
daughter. 

Rich Bennett 13:33
I was going to ask you if you 

Linda Aluoch 13:34
No, 

Robyn Burke 13:35
got it. 

Linda Aluoch 13:36
no, this was a different 

Rich Bennett 13:38
What, 

Linda Aluoch 13:38
one. 

Rich Bennett 13:39
wait a minute. Why? 

Linda Aluoch 13:39
is the 

Rich Bennett 13:40
This 

Linda Aluoch 13:40
oldest one that she got when she was... 

Robyn Burke 13:42
When she was pregnant, when she got pregnant. 

Linda Aluoch 13:43
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 13:44
Oh! 

Oh. 

Linda Aluoch 13:47
Yeah. So there was... Actually, there was two 'cause there is one that she mentioned to me was called Samantha and a boy called Liam. 

Rich Bennett 13:59
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 14:00
So she had caro. Eventually my husband and I ended up like semi-adopting caro. 

Rich Bennett 14:06
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 14:06
Then 

Liam and Samantha just... Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 14:11
You've never been able 

Linda Aluoch 14:14
them? 

Robyn Burke 14:14
to find 

Linda Aluoch 14:14
No. No. So anyway, so we go through that. There's... There's shame, guilt, there's... All this anger, because there was just a lot of infighting in the family. 

Rich Bennett 14:29
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 14:30
I look back and even as I was driving here this morning, I was just thinking about, you know, maybe it's time for me to go back 

Robyn Burke 14:37
Kenya. 

Linda Aluoch 14:37
to And go and ask them to show us where the cause we could only bury her in a temporary spot in a cemetery, in a public cemetery. And I just thought to myself, maybe it's time for me to actually go back and ask 

Rich Bennett 14:54
where is she? 

Linda Aluoch 14:55
If they can show me this spot, even if it means just taking the soil that would represent the place that we buried her and probably just give her a befitting scent of, you know. So anyway, that... 

Robyn Burke 15:12
And this was like 25 years 

Linda Aluoch 15:15
ago? Yeah, this was like 26 years ago, actually 23 years ago, that was 2003 there about, yeah. And at this point, I'm a 21-year-old 

Robyn Burke 15:26
girl, right? 

Linda Aluoch 15:27
Yeah, so... 

Fast forward to, of course, I get into the wrong company, I go back to college and I was in this American university in Kenya, private university. I told you my mom worked very, very hard to make sure we got an education. Out of that, my sister actually went into, all the sister went into hotel management, my second one sister is an air traffic controller. 

Rich Bennett 15:55
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 15:56
Yeah, I ended up going to college for international relations and psychology, so, yeah. 

So... Hard 

Robyn Burke 16:06
work paid off. 

Linda Aluoch 16:07
Hard work paid off, yeah. So we got to college and I ended up like with the wrong company and I think for me to deal with the childhood trauma and the childhood, I would say abuse. Not just from not immediate family but extended family as well. I started drinking, I started getting into things like drugs, like I started, 

Rich Bennett 16:38
know 

Linda Aluoch 16:38
you 

Rich Bennett 16:38
trying to ease the pain. 

Linda Aluoch 16:39
Trying to ease the pain and sometimes I look at people, you know, we live in a society, we were just talking about it, that's very judgmental. But because they do not know the story and people do not care to sit down and know the story. they want 

Rich Bennett 16:58
But 

Linda Aluoch 16:58
to pass judgment, yeah. And it's actually last year, these people who've known me for so long, but they do not know these chapters of my life. 

Rich Bennett 17:12
Because 

Linda Aluoch 17:14
again, you've never been there to really listen and all I've gotten from you is more of judgment than... 

Robyn Burke 17:23
And they've never asked. They've never asked your story. 

Linda Aluoch 17:26
So... 

Robyn Burke 17:28
What? People 

Rich Bennett 17:30
will not are, and on the other side some people are afraid to tell their story. 

Robyn Burke 17:34
They're reluctant, yeah. One of 

Rich Bennett 17:36
the reasons I started this, 

Robyn Burke 17:38
because people are so judgmental. 

Rich Bennett 17:39
Well, well, yeah. But you're starting to see more and more people come out 

Robyn Burke 17:45
of their story, 

Rich Bennett 17:46
and at the same time when they do that, others. 

Linda Aluoch 17:50
Exactly, I need 

Rich Bennett 17:52
to keep 

Linda Aluoch 17:52
talking, 

yeah. 

Rich Bennett 17:55
Don't be afraid to ask. 

Linda Aluoch 17:58
Yeah. So anyway, I got into all that. Then one of my friends actually died in a fire because she was so high, she could not save herself. And for me, that was like, the turning around 

Rich Bennett 18:17
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 18:17
moment. I'm a believer. I'm not afraid to profess my faith. Th the point at which I realized, hey, wait a minute. There's something called eternity. I need to turn my life around. So I met my husband in church, the same church that I attended and gave my life to the Lord, as we say it as... 

Rich Bennett 18:40
I wanted to 

Robyn Burke 18:41
ask you that. 

Rich Bennett 18:42
Because you're growing 

Robyn Burke 18:44
up. 

Linda Aluoch 18:45
Every 

Rich Bennett 18:46
thing you guys

Robyn Burke 18:47
always 

Linda Aluoch 18:48
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 18:49
do. 

Linda Aluoch 18:49
Uh-huh. What 

Robyn Burke 18:51
it? 

Linda Aluoch 18:51
was 

Robyn Burke 18:51
The big thing in 

Linda Aluoch 18:53
house. 

Robyn Burke 18:53
your 

Linda Aluoch 18:54
So interestingly, my sisters and I, we were just talking about these three weeks ago with my two sisters. My mom was not very much grounded in her faith. We were not also... I would not say we were really... We were church-guards. We were not really grounded in the faith. 'And we have an interesting dynamic in my family because my mom's family, immediate family, had Dad, my grandpa, yeah, my grandpa had only one sister. And the sister got married to an Arab, so we have a whole line of Muslims and a whole line of Christians'. 

It's not interesting, I'm glad you asked the question because here's the thing. When I was nine, my mom needed to go back to college, like for, like a short time course or something. I ended up moving in with one of her cousins, first cousins, who's a Muslim, and I was nine years old, and they put me in Madrasa, and I learned how to read the Quran in Arabic. I can't read it right now. Like in that one year, for me to be able to live with them because they considered me, they call, like other religions bastards, or you know, so because I was an outcast according to them, I needed to become one of them by learning and living by their religion. 

Robyn Burke 20:44
Yes, 

Linda Aluoch 20:46
exactly. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. We are, 

we are, and it's, yes, we do have a whole line of Muslims and Christians in our family, but the crazy part is we all get along. And there's never been a time, I cannot tell you, I don't even remember a time where we sat down and tried to convert each other to each other's religion, except that one time when I was nine years old, that I needed to live with them. I think, I think my childhood experience is I've just shaped who I am today, because they've made me this, I'm very, one of my former bosses told me I'm very aggressive. I'm not aggressive. I am very passionate. 

Robyn Burke 21:36
There's a 

Linda Aluoch 21:36
difference. There's a difference. When people asked me, someone asked me what, what animal, you know, I identify with, and I I actually identify with the lioness because a lioness seems very chill until you mess with its cubs. 

Robyn Burke 21:58
Yes, she's the one you got to worry about, 

Linda Aluoch 22:00
exactly. And a lioness will actually go and hunt and feed the rest of, including the lion, so. Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 22:12
Well, not only that, but I think that's more common than you realize. You know, one of her sitting around a family, one day, years ago, and we were like, my brothers and I, who were you more afraid of? And the answer was mom always, 

Linda Aluoch 22:35
yeah, 

Robyn Burke 22:36
they weren't worried about him. 

Linda Aluoch 22:41
Yes, 

Robyn Burke 22:47
I mean, it was a unanimous three brothers mom. We were afraid of mom. 

Linda Aluoch 22:55
how we are wired 

Robyn Burke 22:56
That's 

Linda Aluoch 22:57
as, you know, as moms, like yeah. So anyways. 

Uh-huh. 

Robyn Burke 23:17
Our family is my father was Catholic. My mother was Lutheran. 

Linda Aluoch 23:21
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 23:21
And so if we went to church with my dad, we went to the Catholic church. If we went to church with my mom, we went to the Lutheran church. Um, or sometimes even the Presbyterian church did, but we went to church, but you know, and then we got to decide when we were older. We were all baptized Lutheran. So myself and my one brother, Mary Catholic, people so we converted and the other two stayed Lutheran, but the funny part is my dream mother was, oh my God, like a devout cat. You know, the rosary 

Linda Aluoch 23:53
day 

Robyn Burke 23:53
every 

Linda Aluoch 23:53
or the, yeah. 

Robyn Burke 23:55
And all of her grandchildren are Catholic. 

Linda Aluoch 23:59
Oh, wow. 

Robyn Burke 24:04
Everyone of them. Oh wow. Everyone of the grandchildren are Catholic. 

Linda Aluoch 24:07
Are you Catholic? 

Robyn Burke 24:09
You mom's grandchildren. 

Linda Aluoch 24:12
Oh, 

Robyn Burke 24:13
you're, you're. Oh, no. I messed that up to you have two that are Catholic. I have two that are Catholic. Sean has two that are Catholic. So, grandma got the last 

Linda Aluoch 24:26
laugh. 

Robyn Burke 24:27
I mean 

Linda Aluoch 24:32
He said, "Oh, 

Robyn Burke 24:36
he's trying to defeat me." 

Linda Aluoch 24:38
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 24:39
You know, they're not very much anymore. 

Linda Aluoch 24:45
Yeah, and I think, for me, that's the thing, even when I talk to my friends, I usually tell them, "I'm not asking you to believe in a church. It's just 

Robyn Burke 24:55
believe. Just 

Linda Aluoch 24:56
believe. Believe. Have a relationship with God. Like, and your relationship with God will look different from my relationship with "We all get to know God at different levels, in different ways. There's people today, if I tell them, "Man, I've seen God raise up a child to walk." They'll be like, "No, you're bluffing." Because they've not seen God in that way. 

Robyn Burke 25:22
God." Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 25:22
But I have seen God in that way. There's people. So it's all about, I know, we've veered towards but all in all to say, believe in God, have a relationship with God, period. Whether it's a church, the church will not take you to heaven, you know? Like, yeah. "A religion." 

Robyn Burke 25:41
not about 

Linda Aluoch 25:42
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 25:42
organized 

Linda Aluoch 25:42
It's 

Robyn Burke 25:42
religion. It's about a personal relationship with God. 

Linda Aluoch 25:45
Yes. That's exactly what it is. So anyway, so, back to, back to my story. Well, I usually say it's the story of God in my life, but, yeah. So we basically, I get married, two kids. Amazing. Now, life starts happening in marriage, of course, not in a bad way. But, again, remember I say, "My experiences have shaped who I am." 

Robyn Burke 26:15
What brought you to the United States? 

Linda Aluoch 26:18
About to get 

Robyn Burke 26:19
Oh, 

Linda Aluoch 26:19
there. 

Robyn Burke 26:19
I'm sorry. 

Linda Aluoch 26:20
I'm

Robyn Burke 26:21
jumping the gun. So

Linda Aluoch 26:26
we, 

again, back to advocacy. So we decided with one of my friends. At this point, I was working for corporate Kenya, 'cause we were still in Kenya. This is around 2012, five years into, no, actually, backtrack a little bit. In 2007, that's the year we got married. So I've been married for, this year, will be 19 years. And I was one of the election judges. We called them like presiding officers, you know, in Kenya for the general elections. And when we talk about division in politics, in this country, we are divided white against black. In Kenya, we are divided on tribal lines, because we have 44 different communities with 44 different languages, 44 different cultures, 

Robyn Burke 27:28
44 languages in Kenya. 

Linda Aluoch 27:29
One country, yes. And that's, I mean, all countries in Africa have more than, I would say, more than 10, just for generalization purposes, yeah. So my husband and I come from two different communities in Kenya. When he speaks his native language, if it's words that I've learned, then I will understand. If I speak my native language, he will not understand if it's not words that he's learned. 

Robyn Burke 28:01
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 28:02
Yeah. Yeah. So we've grown up in that sense of tribal division. So in 2007, I go and work as presiding officer election judge. And this was the worst elections that I ever saw because people were so divided, we were just talking about it, people were so divided. They killed each other. 

Yes. Yes. They killed each other because their preferred candidate from their tribe did not win. 

Yeah. I keep telling my American people, stop playing games here. Like, this stuff is crazy. And I always tell people, if you want to see what division can do, I'm not endorsing the movie. It's very graphic. But go back and watch Hotel Ronda. 

Robyn Burke 29:05
I am not saying that. 

Linda Aluoch 29:07
It's going to break you. Yeah. That's, you need boxes of tissues. And make sure you don't have anything that you can throw at the TV, because it's going to break you. 

Yeah. Hotel Ronda. Yeah. 

RWA NDA. Yeah. Hotel Ronda. It's about the genocide that happened. And Ronda only had two tribes. 

Yeah.

Robyn Burke 29:35
You know, we live in... 

We live in such a 

Linda Aluoch 29:44
bit . 

Robyn Burke 29:44
little 

Linda Aluoch 29:45
But then again, when you look at it like, having lived in such environments or exposed to such environments, when we come to this country, like, personally, I have a different, a completely different perspective of life in this country. Like, for me, it's not a problem to sit with a white person and a black person, of which these people who cannot do that. I've seen the hatred, I've seen the hatred in people's, you know, even some white people ask me, the someone who told me once, what is it? That was very ignorant. So, did you know how to speak English before you came here? Excuse me? 

Like, 

Robyn Burke 30:36
who cares? 

Linda Aluoch 30:37
Yeah, you know, and I was like, yeah, we were colonized, b the British English is actually a second language, 

yeah. So, 

Robyn Burke 30:53
of course, 

Linda Aluoch 30:56
exactly, right? So anyway, so back to we basically, where was I even lost my train of thought? This conversation is like, yeah. So, 2007, we witnessed like this really ugly political 

genocide or whatever you want to call it. Well, we did not get to the genocide level, but people died, and I participated in, we had like, churches come together. 

We had churches that came together and we did like a conversation, just going to the major town to pray with a to preach peace. And that really changed my life because I saw people suffering. I, we went to one area, and I remember talking to this lady who said there was that she was raped by nine men, simply because she was born into the wrong tribe. 

Robyn Burke 32:00
Oh, God. 

Linda Aluoch 32:02
Went to this, an area people were burned in a church and met this guy and he lost his family because they were born into the wrong tribe. Nobody chooses to be born where they were born. And that started like, you know, just the, I would call it activism, but for me, it's advocacy. And for me, it was 

Robyn Burke 32:30
started a fire and yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 32:33
something 

needs to give, something needs to give. What can I do? If you ever watch, there's another movie I'll recommend, The Fast Grader. It's called The Fast Grader. It's about this 70-something year old man who went to school as a fast grader. He's a Kenyan guy. I literally met the guy and he was living in one of the temporary door kind of like encampments because they were displaced. And we met him there because again, he was born into the wrong tribe. And go back to nobody chooses where they are born. I did not choose to be born black, you white. We were born where we were born for a reason. 

Robyn Burke 33:17
I 

Linda Aluoch 33:17
And we have to recognize that, right? So anyway, so I go 

Robyn Burke 33:21
back 

Linda Aluoch 33:21
and go back and find a corporate job and I'm like, and this thing is still, you know, brewing deep inside me. So I decide, it's time for me to go and probably do business or something. So we went with my friend. Her name is Zippy. We went to these local farmers. So to give you context, there is beans that we buy here. When I go to them in the international stores, they cost me like $4 and some change per pound, no for 2 pounds. 

This farmers in Kenya who grow this commodity sell their commodity for throwaway prices. I don't know, I don't know how much it is right now, but in the early 2012, when we went to see them, they were selling it for less than 10 cents. Yeah, 

that's the reality, yes. 

Robyn Burke 34:25
But somehow they make that work for their living wages. 

Linda Aluoch 34:30
I would say yes, but no. 

Robyn Burke 34:34
Okay, 

Linda Aluoch 34:34
because here's the thing, when we got there with Zippy, we met these small-scale farmers who one of them was so happy, we keep joking around about critters. One of them was so happy to have caught a rat because she was a sureto for mill that night. 

Sometimes I believe poverty is… 

Robyn Burke 35:06
Yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 35:07
sometimes that's what I believe. Yeah, like let's keep them poor to keep them dependent on us. And we went back with Zippy. We visited three homes and we were like, we cannot do this. Our conscience would not allow us to do these two human beings, you know. Sorry. And we As we were heading back to the city, we decided, we were just like, "What can we do to help these farmers?" Because one of them actually told us that butter trade in 2012 was still existing because they would give their produce to the middlemen, and the middlemen would give them something like a cooking pot. What is she going to cook with a pot if she doesn't have the food or the income, you know? So we came across this organization that was looking, actually, it was funded by USAID, so I laughed when I saw USAID being gutted and everything, and I just thought to myself, "This is another way of, I'm not trying to be political here, but this is another way of engineering poverty even farther." So this organization was 

Robyn Burke 36:27
looking

Linda Aluoch 36:29
for people to set up like a warehouse to help the farmers, so went back to the drawing board, we set up an organic company, it was a for-profit company, we decided to do warehouse receipt systems for these farmers, so we basically brought them together. The organization was already working with the farmers, all they needed was somebody to actually provide the storage facilities. So we came, provided the storage facilities, my first time to the U. S. was in 2013, and it was for a trip sponsored by the U. S. DA, so we came to learn about commodity exchange. We came here, went to the Chicago commodity exchange, we went to Texas, and we visited farms that already, like, had cooperatives that were already doing warehouse receipt systems, and we went back to Kenya, and I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to help this farmer, so the farmers brought their produce to us, we would wait, clean it." We basically did, like, value additions, considered just weighing, cleaning, and packaging it nicely, and connecting them now with the market, so that's the role that we were playing. We saw, we actually saw lives being turned around because, 

Robyn Burke 37:47
I bet, 

Linda Aluoch 37:48
with that, the farmers were able to borrow up to 60% of the value of their crop. 

Robyn Burke 37:55
And we were cutting out the monomean, 

Linda Aluoch 37:57
exactly. But of course, again, remember, we are interrupting a supply chain that has existed for 

Robyn Burke 38:03
yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 38:03
so long, so, who did they come after, so we actually had a customer who was ready to buy the farmers produce, remember they were selling their produce at less than 10 cents. At this point, we've secured a buyer for almost $1. 

Robyn Burke 38:24
90, an increase, 90%, 

Linda Aluoch 38:27
exactly. And this pass on comes in and tells them, "Linda is lying to you, whatever price she's giving you is actually less than what she's selling, so don't agree to sell." At this point, as they're saying that 

Robyn Burke 38:46
the buyer

Linda Aluoch 38:48
is waiting for the repayment of the loans that the farmers are borrowed because, remember, we acted as guarantors, right. So, my husband and I are like, "Okay, so what are we gonna do? We cannot allow these farmers to lose everything, so we took the loss. My husband and I lost everything. We sold everything in our house to the last spoon. I remember my daughter asking me for yogurt and I espunked her to take out the frustration of not being able to buy yogurt for that kid. 

And we lost everything, and literally, for us it was, we'd rather be the ones to lose than the farmers. We cannot put, I mean, we cannot put them in that predicament, you know. We'd be worse than the middleman. So, exactly. That was a blessing in these guys, which comes to how we ended up here. So, we ended up, actually, my sister-in-law took us in. I love my in-laws, I have the best in-laws in the world, like, seriously. 

Let's say you have them here, my night in Kenya right now. But I have the best in-laws. This is how my sister-in-laws, actually, my best-made, yeah. That's how tight we are, you know. 

Rich Bennett 40:20
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

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Linda Aluoch 41:22
And we basically my sister-in-law took us in and they supported us in the six months that we were trying to figure our lives out. We ended up working with another non-profit in this very remote part of the country in Kenya. And again, for us it's, we're always about advocacy. We're always about, let me leave you better than I found 

Robyn Burke 41:46
you. 

Yeah. 

Right. 

Linda Aluoch 41:47
And for me, it's the scars that I carry that remind me. Don't let somebody else's car tell a different story. If they have a scar, let it tell a story of what they were or who they were and where they are today. 

Robyn Burke 42:05
I love that. 

Linda Aluoch 42:06
You know? And that's just the mindset that we've carried and thanks be to God, because it's enabled us to have that spirit of compassion. So we ended up working with this non-profit and again, object poverty. And this is an area where the days that made local news, local news being within the organization at days when we did not kill snakes. Snakes are not protected like they are here in Kenya. We don't protect, no. In Kenya you see a snake you kill it all 

Robyn Burke 42:39
We 

Linda Aluoch 42:39
right? 

Robyn Burke 42:40
don't protect them at my house either. 

Linda Aluoch 42:44
(clears throat)

Robyn Burke 42:46
Do you have a lot of them over there? 

Linda Aluoch 42:49
In that region there were actually, in that region they were actually, I think called red spitting cobras. 

Yeah. 

Like the ... I don't know, I don't know. Yeah, that's 

Robyn Burke 43:05
where I'm with you going to... You pale, no. 

That's 

Linda Aluoch 43:11
fine, yeah. 

Well just assume, yeah, we did not hear that comment. That's fine. 

Robyn Burke 43:17
(laughs) 

Linda Aluoch 43:17
So moving on swiftly from, you know, from this snake, anyway, so that poverty again, just seeing people, I remember meeting the six-year-old girl, 

she was an orphan, she was taking care of her, not she was actually seven 'cause her brother was five. And the parents had died of HIV AIDS. 

The girl was actually on air visa 

and they were living with their grandma, who was disabled, and yeah. And this seven-year-old girl, had from somebody in the community that there was the organization that we were working at. And she walked with her brother, I would say she walked 23 miles, if I do the conversion from, 

Robyn Burke 44:15
she was seven. She was 

Linda Aluoch 44:17
seven. 

Her brother was five, her name was Lilian and her brother was David, yeah. Yeah, to come and get help. They literally walked too, when they got to the gate, they passed out. So again, being able to, and we had a clinic, like a medical facility on campus. So took them in, the owners of the organization were very, very receptive to taking care of these two kids. They, I think right now, I think right now, she should be about maybe 18, 19. Yeah. Yeah, 

Robyn Burke 45:06
she, do 

Linda Aluoch 45:06
is 

Robyn Burke 45:06
you ever hear from them? 

Linda Aluoch 45:07
I haven't reached out. Probably when we go back to Kenya, we'll go and see them. But it was just such a blessing to see, again, the advocacy. In this community, we went and talked them, like the women, how to make soap. And just generate some income. Yeah, and my husband would watch soccer with the men. Again, we are British, British colony, so European. 

Robyn Burke 45:36
Sack her. 

Linda Aluoch 45:37
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 45:37
We have, we have first cousins in England. We, 

Linda Aluoch 45:39
(laughs) 

Robyn Burke 45:40
we, we under. 

Linda Aluoch 45:40
So you understand, right? Yeah. So my husband would watch soccer with the man, and then after that they would talk about like things they can do with their hands, like woodwork, like, you know metalwork and all that, basically empowerment, you know. 

So that's where the market was. So we'd go with my husband to the market, and I would go and sit in a place where I would find Wi-Fi, just to browse on Facebook and catch up on life because there was no cellular coverage in this place that we were at, and the only place that had cellular coverage was under one mango tree. 

Robyn Burke 46:31
I 

Linda Aluoch 46:32
mean, think about it right now when your phone shuts down, you lose it. Like, there's people around the world 

Robyn Burke 46:45
under one mango 

Linda Aluoch 46:46
tree. Yeah. So- 

Exactly. So when- when this town and I see this thing called Diversitivisa, and I go in and you know, just start checking, and I apply for the Diversitivisa, it's actually a federally funded program to bring in- to bring in migrants legally into this country. And I know people who've come into this country through the Diversitivisa who are doing very well, you know. And it's rigorous because it's not an easy thing and it's super expensive. Yeah. So we- application went through on the last day at 1159. 

Robyn Burke 47:42
Oh my gosh. 

Linda Aluoch 47:44
The deadline was midnight, and that was the first time and the last time we applied because here we are today. And when we moved here again, like just starting to settle and everything, we went into corporate America. And yeah. 

was, but at this point, remember, we've lost everything. What else can we 

Robyn Burke 48:11
It 

Linda Aluoch 48:11
lose, like, yeah. We're just like- and my family- Exactly. Exactly. So when we came here, went into corporate 

Robyn Burke 48:20
America. 

Linda Aluoch 48:20
And of course, working for different companies. I just kept feeling that, I mean, we drive around and see. In half of County, the homeless 

Rich Bennett 48:31
there. 

Linda Aluoch 48:31
people 

The church reuse the church we were at would see people being fed like every every time. And I started working with like the homeless population. So my kids normally make fun of me like. They say, Mommy, the homeless are your peeps, you know, like because I walk around and they know me and will catch up like if I haven't seen them in so long, and there's a really there's relational equity that 

Rich Bennett 49:05
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 49:05
we've developed to a point where I can ask them, Hey, the last time we talked about you getting a job, what's going on. You know, 

Robyn Burke 49:12
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 49:13
and there's that level of respect that we have for each other. And I think it's because they know that I care. 

Rich Bennett 49:20
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 49:22
I help a bunch of people in half of County get their birth certificates, get their ideas. And then in 2024, this lady, I got nine to Hope Works Global, this lady comes in and tells me I've been struggling with addiction. And I sat down with half of four hours, just listening to her story, 

Rich Bennett 49:45
right? 

Linda Aluoch 49:45
How she got into addiction and all that. And I was like, yeah, I'm going to help you. However, I can. And one of the day, like we met on a Tuesday, two weeks later, I give her call. And what I hear on the other end of the line, she says, I just need somebody to blow my effing brains out. 

Rich Bennett 50:08
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 50:10
About. And I hung up. No, I asked her what's going on? And she said she prostituted herself, bought a cork, and it was list with something. And like her body was just of a reacting. I hung up called 911. I called her back and listened to the cops as they administered Nakan to this woman. 

Rich Bennett 50:35
So she was she hit 

Linda Aluoch 50:37
it. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 50:38
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 50:39
'That was such a timely call because her children were removed from the home on that day'. And two weeks later, you know, it's one of those things that just got feeling 

Rich Bennett 50:51
there'. 

Linda Aluoch 50:52
I called and she says, 'Oh my gosh, call me at the right time. I just came from the hospital' like, they kept you at the hospital for two weeks. She says, 'No, no, no, no, no, no, they let me go after two days'. Then I was just second to the hospital because I was being suicidal and I was like, 'No, you are not. You are not being suicidal''. It's I don't even know why I was saying that. 

Rich Bennett 51:14
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 51:15
And she was like, 'Yeah, I was like, I'll buy you dinner so we were to meet at the panera in Aberdeen'. She stood me up. I was like, 'Yeah, you can stand me up. I almost went to her house singing. You can ride, you can ride, but you can't...'. You know. 

So, I was with one of my friends. I was like, 'Yeah, let's go and see her at her house. I know where she lives'. As we were walking to her house, I see this nice car parked outside the house. I'm like, 'hmm, hmm, something is not 

Rich Bennett 51:50
right'. I'd 

Linda Aluoch 51:51
been to the house before. I'd seen the house, the condition of the house, the halls in the world. Someone who's struggling with addiction, they have 

Robyn Burke 52:02
ma 

Linda Aluoch 52:02
very people time to take care of 

Rich Bennett 52:04
the 

Linda Aluoch 52:05
surroundings. And I was like, 'I told my friend I don't think this situation is right'. And she said, 'No, he said how do you know'. So the lady walks out to come and meet us, and she had bandages, you know, and her hands and... You know, she was walking on her t-pitals. She said, 'he actually is the one who called the cops, because I tried to break glass. I won't give you... I won't give all the details on the podcast just to protect her privacy. But, long story short is he was basically dragging her, ripping her recording and selling on the dark web. 

Rich Bennett 52:49
Oh, shit. 

Linda Aluoch 52:52
Yeah. And with me being involved, high-god involved was now, at this point, I'm like, 'something, I'm not trying to... I didn't even think of it as a rescue at that point'. 

Rich Bennett 53:08
So 

Linda Aluoch 53:09
I was like, 'Do you need to get to safety? Are you safe?' And she basically looked at me and looked at the guy like, 'I did not ask her like, verbally I just kind of 

Rich Bennett 53:19
it', 

Linda Aluoch 53:19
mouseed and when I asked for her mom's number, the guy lost it. So I knew she was definitely not safe. Wow. Luckily, her oldest daughter had called cops and the guy was removed, so now I came in to try and help her, get like protective orders, take her to the hospital to get the glass removed. 

Rich Bennett 53:40
She was like, 'Mm-hmm'. 

Linda Aluoch 53:42
She's her life has turned around, because, I mean, she's graduating soon. 

Rich Bennett 53:47
Oh, wow. 

Linda Aluoch 53:49
She has a job, full custody of her kids back, full custody of her kids back, excuse me. And the thing is, that gave me closure. 

Rich Bennett 53:58
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 54:00
I went back home, and I sat down and I was like, 'What could I have done different in this situation?' And I started researching what is human trafficking, what does that look like? And as I'm going through my training, because then I signed up with this organization in DC, trained as a certified anti-trafficking consultant to train people, I'm still figuring out ways to coordinate with the necessary 

Rich Bennett 54:30
authorities. Right. 

Linda Aluoch 54:31
Yeah. So, with that, I quickly got closure, like that's what gave me closure and acceptance to what had happened to my sister, Christine. Made sense. I remember sitting in my living room as I was walking in my husband was home, and I called out and I was like, 'Babe, it's all making sense now'. Christine was actually a 

Robyn Burke 54:59
victim. 

Linda Aluoch 54:59
trafficking 

Robyn Burke 54:59
You figured out who the they 

Linda Aluoch 55:02
Yes. 

Robyn Burke 55:02
were. 

Rich Bennett 55:03
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 55:04
And honestly I started Hopewack's global, initially we were going to do like digital transformation for nonprofits and all. On that day, when I got my aha moment, I deleted everything digital transformation, and we became everything human trafficking 

Rich Bennett 55:29
of her, 

Linda Aluoch 55:30
in 

Rich Bennett 55:30
your 

Linda Aluoch 55:30
memory 

Rich Bennett 55:30
sister. That's awesome. Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 55:33
And, 

Robyn Burke 55:33
now where did you get the name from? 

Linda Aluoch 55:35
Uh, so hope, uh, hope in Swahili is actually with registered as to my any, to my any in Swahili is hope. 

Robyn Burke 55:47
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 55:47
And then I was like wait what. 

It makes a difference. And so we set up for works global and one of the programs we actually run is a economic empowerment. We don't just do trainings 

Rich Bennett 56:12
there. 

Linda Aluoch 56:13
we do economic empowerment as well. So I went back to the drawing board. What does this look like? Again in Kenya, poverty is a key driver. Poverty, any type of vulnerability is a 

Rich Bennett 56:27
Uh, 

Linda Aluoch 56:27
driver for traffic as to prey on. So we set up actually, um, like, um, it's Africa tour. So we do have a store that we sell items made by people impacted by trafficking or at risk of trafficking in Kenya. So for us, the economic empowerment, kind of similar to the warehouse. 

Rich Bennett 56:52
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 56:53
Economic 

Rich Bennett 56:53
empowerment 

Linda Aluoch 56:53
for us, create avenues for people to analize this and living wage. People to actually be able to invest in their education, people to be able to buy food for themselves and reduce the vulnerabilities of, you know, being export. 

Rich Bennett 57:11
Wow, 

Linda Aluoch 57:11
making 

Rich Bennett 57:11
that's 

Linda Aluoch 57:12
so, uh, we're very fortunate. We're very blessed. We did get an opportunity to set up the store at the Beléa Amarie Marketplace. 

Rich Bennett 57:19
Okay, 

Linda Aluoch 57:19
so we have it there. We sell jewelry. We have home decor. We have sandals. We have everything handmade and all these things are handmade. They've created opportunities right now. We're sitting at 43 different families and 

Robyn Burke 57:37
that's great. 

Linda Aluoch 57:38
Yeah, we've started shifting our focus to especially kids with special needs. 

Rich Bennett 57:44
Oh, 

Linda Aluoch 57:46
yes. Uh, because we've seen situations where mothers who have kids with special needs, culturally, some of them are considered to be a taboo. So they're used as human sacrifice. 

Rich Bennett 58:02
Oh my God. 

Linda Aluoch 58:04
They sum because again, nobody really cares or even the caring for them is so expensive. And that we don't have the resources. 

Rich Bennett 58:15
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 58:15
My sister in 

Rich Bennett 58:16
No, 

Linda Aluoch 58:16
law right now, um, runs an organization. She found that I don't an organization in Kenya just to help kids with autism and the parents who have kids with autism cannot afford the services. 

Rich Bennett 58:30
no. 

Linda Aluoch 58:30
So now we're looking at how do we support this organization, because if this mom lives their 

Robyn Burke 58:37
child, 

Linda Aluoch 58:38
their child will become a target. And organ trafficking and labor trafficking. Those are skyrocketed. I don't have the numbers right now, but that has become the kids, teenagers,adults , anybody with special needs has become a target for organ. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:05
Wow. 

Robyn Burke 59:06
They're an easy target. 

Linda Aluoch 59:08
they're an easy target. And to shock you like the global crimes report just came off recently last month, you can go look for it. It's called the Nasdaq global crimes report. And human trafficking rose up 23.1% to me. That's actually 100%. You know, 

Rich Bennett 59:28
Yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 59:28
because in 2023, we were sitting at $256 billion. Right now, we are at $528 billion. 

Rich Bennett 59:44
We've mentioned this before, too. And where you're at here, you must be a big help because of this 95 corridor and the ports. 

Linda Aluoch 59:54
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:56
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. But it's scary, I never knew about the special needs things. I always, because a lot of times when people think human trafficking and I, the organ. God, I didn't think about that. But you think about women and kids. 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:13
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:13
Usually female 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:15
kids. Yeah. Yeah. But kids with special needs. Again, you can go, you can go such on YouTube, like any type of exposés that have been done. Even locally. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:28
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:29
You know, 

Robyn Burke 1:00:30
well, because they're 

Rich Bennett 1:00:31
hmm, 

Robyn Burke 1:00:31
so trusting. 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:32
They're so trusting. That's the [BLANK_AUDIO] 

Robyn Burke 1:00:34
So, 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:34
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:35
Yeah. 

Oh, and they like, they love the work. I mean, I think I look at like people with Down syndrome. They are freaking work on all of them and strong. 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:43
Exactly. And now if you find that person and you just pay them under the minimum wage. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:51
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:51
Straight up labor trafficking. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:53
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:53
So you see when people hear about human trafficking, all, sometimes all they think about is sex trafficking. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:58
Oh, no, 

Linda Aluoch 1:00:59
no. 

Yes, 

Rich Bennett 1:00:59
no, 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:00
sex is a big 

Rich Bennett 1:01:00
throat)

Linda Aluoch 1:01:01
one. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:01
Yeah. But 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:02
(clears 

Rich Bennett 1:01:02
it's a lot more. 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:03
I saw this documentary, it was a trillion documentary. It was like investigative journalism. A kid who actually, and this was in Kenya, a kid who actually sold his kidney. He was promised $2, 000 

Rich Bennett 1:01:16
Damn. 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:17
for his kidney. He got $150, because the rest of the money went to the middleman. 

Robyn Burke 1:01:24
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 1:01:26
oh my God. 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:27
That's a 22 year old, it's actually a YouTube. It's public information. I'm not making this stuff 

Rich Bennett 1:01:32
up. 

Oh. 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:33
That's a kid today, 22 years old, who live with the complications of kidney failure or kidney issues. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:44
Cheers. 

Linda Aluoch 1:01:44
Yeah. So it's a high time we start talking about it. I was talking to, I was actually in one of the meetings where the current council president was at, and I asked a question, yeah, you're running for this office. What are you gonna do about human trafficking in half of county? And...

At first, he did not have an answer, but 

Rich Bennett 1:02:10
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:10
I'm glad that he took the steps that he did, because he went and requested councilwoman Alyson... 

Rich Bennett 1:02:18
Himoff, 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:19
yeah. 

No lander robots, and they coordinated for the council to actually get training on human trafficking. 

Robyn Burke 1:02:25
Good. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:25
I'm surprised they're not. 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:28
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:29
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:29
Yeah, and that happened last week on Tuesday actually. So I'm glad that the conversion, 

Robyn Burke 1:02:34
teachers should be taught. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:35
So yeah. 

Robyn Burke 1:02:36
I mean, there's, 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:37
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:37
I mean, anybody that's technically, everybody should be it. I mean, think about how a lot of people are trained in CPR. 

You know, first aid. 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:49
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:50
Why not human trafficking? 

Linda Aluoch 1:02:51
We even have mental health first aid. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:53
Yeah, because you see, unl you live in a bubble or you're a hermit, 

Robyn Burke 1:02:58
you're 

Rich Bennett 1:03:00
running into people all the time. And you can see somebody, you can run into somebody at the grocery store. They could have a little kid with them. And a kid can be trafficked, you don't know. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:11
And sometimes it's the meat that we have to educate people about too, 

Rich Bennett 1:03:16
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:17
because now people think that trafficking is being taken from, I mean, it's cross-border. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:23
No, it's more than that. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:24
It's actually happening locally. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:26
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:27
It's happening all around us. All the trainings that I do for people, the titles of my trainings are hidden in plain sight, because that's exactly what trafficking is. And you do not know unless you know what you're looking for. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:43
That's true, yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:45
And again, there is this misconception that only women and girls are trafficked. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:54
Nope. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:54
Men are equally. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:56
Oh yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:03:57
Actually with men, it's even worse, because that's, they provide the cheap labor. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:04
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:05
Yeah. And I don't mean to, I'm not political, I'm not taking any side here, but the immigration crisis, letting all these people in and trying to get all of them out, whether they are Hispanic, African, regardless of where immigrants came from, that actually created the perfect stone for trafficking 

Robyn Burke 1:04:31
to happen. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:32
'Cause 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:34
all that people needed to 

Rich Bennett 1:04:36
out 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:36
find that, oh, let me give you, let's 

Rich Bennett 1:04:40
Let me 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:41
create, 

Rich Bennett 1:04:41
give you shelter, 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:42
yea. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:42
yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:42
Let me give you shelter

Rich Bennett 1:04:44
Never. 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:44
But now you have to do everything that I, you know. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:47
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:04:48
Yeah, I'll give you a job, but I wouldn't pay you $15 as per the state laws. I'll pay you $7 and give you a place to stay. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:58
So with human trafficking, whether it's for labor or whatever, and if somebody gets caught, are there laws that are, do you think the laws are strict enough? If there are even any laws, or depended on these are strict enough for people that are doing this? 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:17
It depends on, it depends on what evidence is collected. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:24
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:25
Point. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:25
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:27
Case and example, this one guy got away because, So he's the one who called and said the lady was being suicidal, so she was treated as a mental health case and not as a traffic and victim. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:39
Uh, 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:40
so he's not, he's not flagged as a trafficker. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:43
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:45
They know how to play 

Robyn Burke 1:05:46
the lawyers 

Rich Bennett 1:05:46
the, 

Robyn Burke 1:05:47
find the polls. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:49
Yeah, lawyer. 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:49
I'm not even arrested because 

Rich Bennett 1:05:51
I'm 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:55
not blaming the cops, but again, traffickers know how to play the system and again remember there's a lot of manipulation and grooming to a point where these victims feel like they are indebted to the guys. There's also a co-assion. So, victims will probably never self-identify because they're scared, they want to protect their families. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:21
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 1:06:22
They want to protect their loved ones because they've been told if, if you expose me, I know where you live, I know, you know, I know who your mom and dad is. So what do they do? They play along, you know, so. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:37
They 

Linda Aluoch 1:06:37
don't want their families to, yeah. So it's, it's this one situation where I think what we need to start focusing on a lot more is prevention. Rather than intervention, because once we create the awareness, people become more and more informed. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:57
Not 

Linda Aluoch 1:06:57
just as parents, but even as teenagers, my kids today, yes, I say they have really amazing kids. But my kids today, I would say, not how to study their environment, you know, they know how to, yeah, will they be perfect at it? Maybe not. They're 

Robyn Burke 1:07:18
Or 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:18
friends. 

Robyn Burke 1:07:19
how to be aware of their surroundings. 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:21
Exactly, exactly. So 

Rich Bennett 1:07:24
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:25
it's one of those things we have to educate, educate, educate, we have to normalize this conversation. We've normalized addiction. We've normalized mental health. It's time to normalize human trafficking. 

Robyn Burke 1:07:39
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:40
Dad, do you go ahead and talk to different groups and everything 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:42
Yes, 

Rich Bennett 1:07:42
as well? 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:43
I do. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:43
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:43
Yeah, actually, I've done, I was actually at first Friday, we distributed 

Rich Bennett 1:07:51
a 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:51
bunch of flies, just how to recognize signs and, you know, to everybody. And I hope everybody who got our flyers actually read them. The whole of last year, all last summer, we set up to sell the stuff that we get from, you know, the community. Kenya, and we get them flyers like, hey, we do human trafficking prevention here. Resources for you. Gored, Gored, Gored, we distributed, I think close to a thousand flyers. I've trained volunteers who work with kids. I did a training for them, 

Rich Bennett 1:08:25
again, 

Linda Aluoch 1:08:25
the work with kids in, you know, 

Rich Bennett 1:08:27
yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:08:28
I've done a training for kids in foster, in the foster system. I've done trainings for a church organization. This guy doesn't like 

Rich Bennett 1:08:38
it. He never failed. I think sometimes they purposely wait for me to start recording. 

Linda Aluoch 1:08:44
Yeah. So, yeah, we do speak anywhere and everywhere. We also do a lot of advocacy. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:50
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 1:08:50
Last, was it last month or the month before I actually went to an upperclass, there's a bill that has been in the house. It's now on the Senate. It was in the Senate committee, energy education and environment. And it's SB0254. That's the bill. And delegate Steve Johnson drafted this bill. He actually sponsored this bill to have human trafficking education taught in middle school. six to eight, yeah, six to eighth 

Robyn Burke 1:09:22
From 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:23
grade. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:23
Good. 

Robyn Burke 1:09:23
Excellent. 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:24
Yeah. But the bill has not passed. It goes all the way past the committee, 

Rich Bennett 1:09:29
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:29
and, you know, and it's a high time. We started, we're not asking for a different curriculum. This kids already have health education. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:38
Right. 

Robyn Burke 1:09:38
Right. You need to teach it in health education. 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:40
Just add this specific thing in health education for these kids to know when I'm posting anything on Snapchat. When I'm posting anything online and it's taken and this person tries to manipulate me or this person tries to co-ask me or to groom me, they will know, you know, what to look for. That's all we're asking for. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:02
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:02
Yeah. I've been to Congress with IGM International Justice Mission to advocate for its cold stop system, and system is child sexual abuse materials. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:17
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:17
So all these material is actually spread, you know, online, on all these platforms. So what we're asking for is, 

anything that looks like child sexual abuse material on their platform. All they provide is probably an image, but they don't provide the IP address. So basically the bill is pushing for more accountability from the platforms that are being used to spread this, you know. And these are bills, I hate to say this, but they're bipartisan bills that don't seem to pass just because we are not taking this thing 

Rich Bennett 1:11:17
seriously. Not taking it seriously, or, sometimes I've seen this happen a lot, they'll slip in other things within that bill that has nothing to 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:26
it. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:26
do with 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:26
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:27
And that's 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:28
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:28
just, 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:29
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:29
that's wrong. 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:31
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:31
They 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:32
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:32
should all be separately. 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:33
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:34
how do people find out more about who works global and make a donation? 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:38
So hope Hawks Global. We are actually, we do have a website, it's HopeWorksGlobal. org. We also do have a social media presence. We are on there. We're looking, support this work. We've been self-funded for the last one and a half years. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:55
Really? Yes. 

Robyn Burke 1:11:56
Well, that brings me to a question, is your husband working with you on this earth? He's still in the corporate, 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:02
he's 

Robyn Burke 1:12:02
Sector. 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:02
walking with me. 

Robyn Burke 1:12:03
Good. Good. 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:04
This is, this is like a family affair. 

Robyn Burke 1:12:06
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:07
This is our baby. Yeah, my daughter does graphics like she's in graphics and design and all that. So she's the one who does like our graphics and everything. 

My, my son, he's an upcoming chef so he's on who feeds us. When we've all over walked ourselves and we have to. 

Robyn Burke 1:12:26
I love it. Can you send him to my house? 

Rich Bennett 1:12:29
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:31
yes, we do need the support. We do need to spread awareness. We need to educate more and more people. We're looking to find a space where people can come and actually get resources. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:46
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:46
Yeah, because currently I'm not saying go look for my address, but yeah, currently we've 

Rich Bennett 1:12:52
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:53
been operating more like virtually to 

Rich Bennett 1:12:56
But 

Linda Aluoch 1:12:56
some extent. But we need a space and office space or just a resource center where people can 

Rich Bennett 1:13:02
walk 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:03
actually 

Rich Bennett 1:13:03
and be comfortable 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:04
and be comfortable and it's a safe space for them to. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:08
It'll happen. 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:09
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:09
It will definitely 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:10
Thank 

Rich Bennett 1:13:10
happen. 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:11
you. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:11
Robbie, have any questions for Linda? 

Robyn Burke 1:13:14
Oh, I could just talk all day about 

Rich Bennett 1:13:15
listen. 

Robyn Burke 1:13:15
this and 

Rich Bennett 1:13:15
What did I tell you before we 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:18
We need to 

Rich Bennett 1:13:18
started? 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:18
suck all back. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:20
Yeah. I told you you're going to be on a couple more times 

Robyn Burke 1:13:22
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:22
at 

Robyn Burke 1:13:23
I mean, 

Rich Bennett 1:13:24
least. 

Robyn Burke 1:13:24
Linda, I just want to say Linda, thank you so much for coming on and your story is phenomenal. I've learned so much today and just keep doing that good work you're doing. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:34
Thank you for everything 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:35
Thank 

Rich Bennett 1:13:35
you're 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:35
you. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:35
doing and if you haven't started on a memoir yet, 

Robyn Burke 1:13:39
you need to. 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:40
You know, actu, talk about that in 2024, one of my friends, the same friend that I went with to this lady's house asked me, why did God approve you from Kenya to the US? And on July 4th of 2024 or 2023, yeah, July 4th of 2023, that's when I got the aha moment and I wrote down, I actually wrote my eulogy of how I want to be remembered. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:07
Oh, wow. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:09
And that was the turning point for me to even get into this work. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:15
I've never heard of somebody writing their eulogy. That's pretty interesting. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:19
Yeah. That's, I literally wrote it down and I wrote down, I want to be remembered as someone who had an impact on people's lives. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:29
And you are. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:29
And I told my husband and kids and I scared them to death because I like, are you, what's going on? Are you okay? I like doing 

Rich Bennett 1:14:37
it. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:38
And I told them, if I don't live my life to this standard, don't read this. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:44
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:44
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:45
Wow. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:45
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 1:14:46
Wow. That's accountability 

Rich Bennett 1:14:48
Yeah. 

Robyn Burke 1:14:48
at a whole different level. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:50
Well, Linda, I want to thank you so much. Thank you for everything you're doing and God, those of you listening, make sure you make a donation. Help the end, contact them and do your research. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:03
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:04
It's important and people 

Robyn Burke 1:15:06
come aware. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:07
Yes. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:07
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:08
Well, and the funny thing is, remember, after 9/11 awareness, it was always a big thing. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:13
Mm-hmm. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:13
And it seems like a lot of people forgot 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:16
yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:16
had, 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:16
Forgot. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:18
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:19
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:19
Open your eyes. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:20
Open your eyes. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:21
i want to thank Linda from Hope Works Global for joining us, and for having the courage to share a story that is equal parts heart breaking, inspiring, and eye opening. From growing up in poverty in Kenya, to experiencing unimaginable family tragedy, to turning pain into purpose through advocacy and action, Linda reminded us that our scars don't have to define us. They can become the very thing that helps others heal. One of the biggest takeaways for me is that human trafficking isn't always what people think it is. It's often hidden in clean slate. It can involve labor trafficking, organ trafficking, exploitation of vulnerable populations, and it can even happen right here in our communities. The more we understand it, the better equipped we are to recognize it and help prevent it. I also love how Linda's journey came full circle. What actually began as a search for answers about her sister's life ultimately became a mission to protect others and create opportunities through Hope Works Global. Both here in Kenya. From helping trafficking survivors to supporting families and creating economic opportunities, she's proven that one person truly can make a difference. If you'd like to learn more about HOPEWORKS Global, support their mission, or find resources and training on human trafficking awareness, make sure you check out the links in the show notes. And also, stay tuned because we talked afterwards, and I've talked to a couple other people, and we are actually going to be holding a round table discussion on human trafficking. As always, if this conversation touched you, taught you something, or opened your eyes to an issue you hadn't thought about before, please share this episode with someone else. You never know who might need to hear it. Until next time, my name is Rich Bennett. Stay kind, stay safe, stay informed, and keep having those important conversations, and remember, sometimes the greatest impact comes from simply carrying enough to listen.