Shofco lauded abroad for uplifting lives of urban poor

Efforts by a community-based organisation to empower people living in informal settlements in Nairobi has earned it praises abroad.

Described as setting standards for benchmark by other international organisations, Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) has been lauded by The New York Times for positively impacting the lives of the urban poor in Nairobi.

Also read: Charity rolls out projects to empower women and the youth

Shofco founder Kennedy Odede, veteran journalist Nicholas Kristof said, has invested a lifetime, passion and goodwill in improving the lives of people living in informal settlements.

“Billions of dollars are poured into the poorest countries, and in Haiti and South Sudan, one sees fleets of expensive white SUVs [Sport Utility Vehicles] driven by aid organisations; what’s missing is long-term economic development,” Mr Kristof said.

“That’s where Shofco is intriguing as an alternative model. Its grass-roots empowerment approach has similarities with BRAC, a Bangladesh-based development organisation that I consider one of the most effective aid groups in the world, and with Fonkoze, a similar homegrown nonprofit in Haiti,” he added.

Also read: Shofco CEO Kennedy Odede named among most influential Kenyans 

“I am an old friend of Kennedy and have been following his work since my first visit a dozen years ago. One girl I met then, when she was a second grader, is now studying at Columbia University. Her former classmates are studying at four other American universities as well as at Kenyan universities,” Mr Kristof said.

“Development has been part of imperialism — you know better than anybody else because you’re from America or Europe,” Dr Odede said about his secret.