What was once an air of relaxation and tranquillity for Andrew, miles away from Kenya in America has been replaced by a daily awakening to the rotten stench at the Dandora dumpsite. From the proverbial land of ‘milk and honey’ to scouring through heaps of rotten waste?

The question many would have to linger on is whether his narrative checks out or not. Reporters from Citizen TV caught up with the 19-year-old at his workplace, where Marabou storks linger above the air to scavenge alongside Andy in his desperate struggle for survival in Kenya.

Dressed in work overalls and a nearly destroyed protective hat, Andy introduces himself in a strong Black American accent.

“My name is Andrew and I was born in the US, in the state of Minnesota. I’ve lived there for 12 years then came back to Kenya, and I’ve been here ever since,” he says.

After his birth, Andrew was put under foster care before and later taken in by his adoptive parents. He noted that life as a child was much better than what he’d experienced over the past few years.

The disconnect between him and his family began when they relocated to California where he met his other adoptive siblings. Seeing that he was the only black in a predominantly white household, Andrew was often bullied. On several occasions, he reported but the pleas fell on deaf ears.

“My dad wouldn’t understand. My mama wouldn’t be there. I did tell my dad a couple of times, ‘Hey, this is happening’, and he used to act like he was threatening them,” Andy recalled.

His adoptive father’s mother was in the final stages of cancer in Kenya, prompting the family to temporarily return to the country when Andy was about 13 years old in 2019. During their return to the US, they left him at JKIA without giving any reasons.

“Their children were not doing me right, so I would fight back sometimes. I got in trouble and I was harassed by them because they were like ‘You can’t do this to my kid’. I think that was the biggest thing that happened that brought this whole conflict,” he stated.

“Whatever I tell myself, they really didn’t want me to go back with them to the US. So they just decided that I should remain around, and not even in my family place. That was the worst part.”

Shortly after, Andrew became a street boy. At 13, he was stranded in a country foreign to him, with no passport, no money and no Kenyan telephone to contact anyone back home. All he had were a couple of personal belongings and documents that got lost within two days of being a street child.

“I ended up as a street child not long after coming to Kenya. I wandered the streets of Nairobi, trying to survive on my own. I had no Kenyan phone number, no phone to go on Google Maps and I didn’t know anyone here. The streets were rough and merciless. I was bullied a lot,” Andrew reminisced.

“They kept asking me ‘Why do you speak like that? How are you here? You don’t belong here.’ People must have found it strange that I spoke differently and didn’t understand even a single word of Kiswahili. Everything I had on me was taken within the first two days,” he said.

Nearly four years ago, Andy met John Kamau ‘Jonte’ while roaming the streets looking completely lost. What caught Jonte’s attention was how the young man rapped in fluent American English. He first took him to a studio to record some music.

Jonte worked at the Dandora dumpsite, effectively introducing Andy to the job not long after. At the dumpsite, Andrew would collect recyclables and sell them for money. On good days, he racked up between Sh. 300 and Sh. 500, enough to buy food and basic necessities.

“The place was overwhelming. I fell sick almost every day, probably because of the filth and toxic environment, but I had no choice but to keep coming back. I had to be extra careful just to stay alive.”

Not long after, Andy developed a thick skin from working at the landfill alongside street kids, gangs and struggling families.

He shares his experiences on his TikTok by raising awareness of the struggles of those living in such precarious conditions.

“This is my home now, and this is my life. But deep inside, I know I want something better. I dream of owning a music studio one day,” he said.