Empowering Kenya's slums

Kennedy Odede, Founder, Shining Hope for Communities

SHOFCO works to transform the lives of the urban poor.

Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO¹) is a grassroots non-profit that empowers urban slum dwellers in Kenya by providing essential services such as health care, clean water and education; linking these to a community-led advocacy platform; and investing in the next generation of female leaders.
In Kenya, 56% of city dwellers live in slums² – more than four-million people – and the country is rapidly urbanizing³ which presents problems including unemployment, insecurity and unmet demand for housing and infrastructure⁴.
Kennedy grew up in Kibera – Africa's largest slum – and became a street child at the age of 10. He taught himself to read and write and was inspired by Dr Martin Luther King to become a community organizer. He saved 20 cents from his 1USD a day factory job to buy a soccer ball that he used to start SHOFCO by convening youth to talk about community issues.
Today SHOFCO is the largest employer in Kibera with more than 500 full-time staff, most of whom live in slums. SHOFCO says it has directly impacted more than 300,000 people across nine Kenyan slums: It operates seven health clinics, two primary schools, and supplies almost 20,000 households with water. Some 15,000 people joined the advocacy platform, with more than 8,000 enrolled in peer-to-peer lending groups⁵.
In 2018, SHOFCO became the youngest organization to receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize⁶, the world's largest prize awarded to organizations judged to have made extraordinary contributions to alleviate human suffering. Kennedy is a World Economic Fund Young Global Leader⁷ and an Echoing Green Fellow⁸, has been recognized on Forbes' 30 under 30 social entrepreneurs list⁹, and won the Dell Social Innovation competition.

¹https://www.shofco.org/
²Data on Kenyan slum dwelling
³Urbanization figures
⁴UN Country document
⁵SHOFCO article on impact
⁶Hilton Humanitarian Award
⁷WEF profile
⁸Echoing Green Fellowship
⁹Forbes

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