North Central Arkansas Operation Christmas Child will host Full Circle recipient Yves Dushime Saturday, as he makes appearances at several events around the Mountain Home area.Full Circle recipients are those who received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox as a child. Many of these recipients now work for Operation Christmas Child, traveling around the world telling their stories.
Dushime was born to a family of eight in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as his family fled from the ripple effects of the Rwandan genocide. Following their escape from Rwanda to the DRC, the family eventually moved to Togo.
While living there, then 11-year-old Dushime received his shoebox containing a scarf, his favorite item. Currently, he lives in upstate New York, working for Samaritan’s Purse, packing shoeboxes and traveling to talk about his experience.
North Central Arkansas Operation Christmas Child will be hosting a pancake breakfast Saturday morning at 9 at Eastside Baptist Church. Dushime will be the featured speaker.
Dushime will be at the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas’ Bridge Bash on Saturday on the campus of Arkansas State University-Mountain Home, occupying the Operation Christmas Child booth. He will then have an opportunity to speak to the Bridge Bash crowd. Later Saturday evening, he will speak at Real Ministries Church in Harrison.
Dushime is encouraging the community to continue giving generously. This year, North Central Arkansas volunteers hope to collect more than 13,300 shoeboxes packed with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items to contribute toward the global goal of reaching 11 million children
For more information, contact Operation Christmas Child area coordinator Shari Alexander at sharishoebox@gmail.com or at 870-404-1030. Information is also available on the OCC North Central Arkansas Facebook page.
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