Shofco founder joins board of American NGO

The founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco), Dr Kennedy Odede, has been appointed as a board member of America’s leading NGO, the Americares.

In a statement, the organisation announced that Dr Odede will serve as a member of its Board of Directors for a three-year period.

The renowned social entrepreneur will be part of the team which oversees all aspects of the health-focused relief organisation’s life-changing health programmes, including its disaster response work and support for 4,000 under-resourced hospitals and health clinics worldwide.

“Kennedy’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, along with his dedication to serving his community and people in need around the world, is truly inspiring. He also brings a global perspective, which is incredibly important for an organization working to save lives and improve health in more than 85 countries,” Americares President and CEO Christine Squires said.

While reacting to the appointment, Dr Odede said he is happy to be part of the organization which addresses health problems facing American communities.

“I am proud to bring my knowledge of life on the ground to the board of Americares. Americares does vital work, addressing many of the health problems that hold communities like mine back. Together, we can work to deliver innovative solutions that transform futures. I am proud to serve and partner,” Dr Odede said.

This is not the first time Dr Odede is being appointed to serve in such a role. In 2014 he was appointed to serve Wesleyan University’s Board of Trustees for a three-year term that ended in 2017.

Numerous awards

He has also received numerous awards honouring his achievements and that of Shofco, the most recent one being the 2022 Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Innovator of the Year Award. 

Dr Odede is also a past winner of the prestigious UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour and the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

In 2014, he made it into Forbes “30 Under 30” Top Social Entrepreneurs list. That same year, he won the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award.

In 2020, Dr Odede was awarded Head of State Commendation (HSC) for his effort to contain the spread of Coronavirus in Kenyan slums. 

The organisation helped 2.4 million people at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Odede is also a member and fellow of several global initiatives and forums including Clinton Global Initiative, Obama Foundation, Aspen New Voices, UBS Global Visionary, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council.

Transforming urban slums

His work has been featured by President Bill Clinton, Madonna, Beyonce, and on multiple occasions by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times and his book A Path Appears.

He currently serves on the Wangari Maathai Foundation board and Chaired the Varkey Foundation Alliance for Girls’ Education.

Dr Odede lived for 23 years in Kibera slums, the largest slum in Africa, where he experienced extreme poverty firsthand. 

Determined to make a difference in his community, he saved money from working at a factory to purchase a soccer ball, which led to the founding of Shofco, a grassroots movement that catalyzes large-scale transformation in urban slums.

Today, the organization reaches over three million people across 32 urban and rural slum areas in Kenya.
Dr Odede’s organisation has served as an example on how to transform slum communities and has been emulated by governments and private sectors. 

While being awarded the UN Habitat prize last year, Shofco was singled out as a leading example of community led-change to eradicate extreme poverty in Kenya’s urban slums.

“Shofco focuses on the most vulnerable slum residents, including women and children, through service provision such as WASH, health clinics and resources to combat gender-based violence,” Maimunah Mohd, UN-Habitat Sharif Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, said in a congratulatory message to Shofco.