Shofco CEO co-hosts high-level forum at Expo 2020 in Dubai

Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) founder and CEO Kennedy Odede has called for inclusivity in the transformation of slums across the world. 

Speaking during a day-long forum dubbed "Inclusive Cities; Last Mile Delivery in Slums and Informal settlements" at the Expo 2020 in Dubai on Wednesday, Odede called for inclusive and sustainable urbanization.

“The people living in the slums are the ones keeping the city going, and remember you need these people to make the city sustainable,” Odede said at the forum that brought together urban heads and high-ranking organisations’ leaders from across the world.

Odede, who co-hosted the forum alongside Zoe Tabary, an editor at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, recalled how his parents relocated to Nairobi in search of a better life only to end up in Kibera slums.

“My parents thought the urban area was a place of prosperity but that was not to be,” he recalled.

Informal settlements

Odede also cautioned those who are seeking to spearhead change in the informal settlements against excluding residents.

“While growing up, we saw many organisations being started in Kibera but could not last. People on the ground are the solution and we must listen to them. They have lived the experience.

“There is much more in a slum like Kibera. Do not just look at the poverty – there is a culture and there is brotherhood and sisterhood that you cannot change overnight by moving people from shanties to apartments,” Odede told the participants.

Odede was delighted to share the podium with rapper Henry Ohanga, better known as Octopizzo, whom he grew up with in Kibera. 

“Back in the day, we always dreamt of a day we would also sit at the same table with decision makers. Our dream has come true. Octopizo and I saw so many people from elsewhere coming up with projects in Kibera but they failed. So we used to joke and say they should consult us because we have PhD from Kibera,” he said. 

Odede, who was awarded a Head of State Commendation by President Uhuru Kenyatta last December for his incredible work in slums during Covid-19, also called for inclusion of women in urban building.

The inclusive cities forum was co-curated by UN-Habitat and brought together eminent experts from across the world to draw attention to inclusive solutions for building safe, resilient and sustainable settlements.

Shofco and UN-Habitat partnered last year especially in the fight against Covid-19.

Odede, recipient of the 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship, is one of Africa’s best-known community organizers and social entrepreneurs. 

In 2018, Shofco became the youngest-ever organization to receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, and in 2021, Shofco was awarded the prestigious UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour. 

In 2014, Odede, who is also a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Prize, featured on the Forbes "30 under 30 list" for top Social Entrepreneur.