“Do Something With Your Hands” – D&S Laundry Founder Tells Liberian Youth

Liberian youth have been encouraged to use their God given talents, work with their hands and stop complaining or hoping for job from government.

It has been observed in Liberia that many young Liberians upon graduating from high school or universities see government joys or what is known as white calor[office] jobs as the only way forward. 

But a young Liberian who once had the same mentality has graduated from thinking that only working in office or with government is the only way out thus moving on investing his talent in a manual laundry he named D&S Laundry.

Darous Dolo is a 2016 graduate of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion University (AMEZU) who studied Public Administration and Sociology.

Explaining how he got inspired to start the business, Mr. Dolo said, when he graduated, he started his search for job adding that he wrote many unsuccessful applications, visited places many times when as far as Nimba hunting for job. 

The university graduate said, “When I was tired running around looking for jobs, I sat and figured in my mind that maybe God wants me to be an employer rather than an employee.”

“I was doing a voluntary teaching at a school. They were compensating me with L$3000.00, but as low as the money was, it was not being paid on time,” Mr. Dolo said.

He explained that even as little as the money was, he was not being paid adding, “they still have four months salary for me.”

Without any money on hand, Dolo went on to say that after he has gone through all the ups and downs which did not get any positive result, he did a business survey, thinking of what start with.

“I made a research about manual washing along the Roberts International Airport Highway and I realized that it could help,” the AMEZU graduate explained.

Additionally, Dolo indicated that since he did not have the funding to have a start off, he sold his dream to a friend who was very receptive and invested the first US$50.00.

The US$50.00 was used to birth the dream of the young man. 

Now, Darious Dolo is an employer who has additional five young Liberians working with him.

He went on explaining that their dream came alive before the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease, but when the disease broke, it slowed their work because they were unable to visit homes or see people freely moving out. He said at first things were not good as anticipated but Dolo did not give up.

“I used to be there and some whole day only one person would come with few pieces. I knew that things would have change so I did not give up when the first sets of ladies I contracted left,” he said.

Additionally, Dolo said when his first employees left him; he built the courage and started washing himself.

“This day, when I completed washing, I decided to post it on Facebook and I received lots of encouraging reactions,” the Laundry worker said.  

He furthered that the post received 160 comments and many likes at the same time received 75 friend requests and lots of calls with some making cash and materials donations.

He indicated that he received cash donations in the range of US$50.00, US$400.00 with the biggest being US$1,000.00 with which they used to purchase motorbike and other materials for the running of the office. The story of a university graduate sough for employment is now an employer putting bread on the table of his fellow young Liberians.0776-025924/0886-884302