Shofco wins 2021 Community Engagement Award
Shining Hope for Communities founder and CEO Kennedy Odede displays the Volunteer Involving Organisation Community Engagement Award in Nairobi on February 10, 2021.
A Nairobi-based organisation has won the 2021 Community Engagement Award. Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) was awarded by the Volunteer Involving Organization (VIO) society in a ceremony held at the organisation’s headquarters in Kibera on Thursday.
While presenting the award, VIO Society secretary-general and national coordinator Fred Sadia said Shofco won the award for involving local communities in its grassroots programmes.
“Shofco programmes are owned by the people, we chose the organisation for this award because of its programmes which touch directly the lives of the vulnerable people in the country’s slums,” Mr Sadia said.
He singled out the Shofco water programme, which he said had benefited Kibera and Mathare residents.
Shofco has installed a water treatment facility in Kibera which can pump up to 300,000 litres of water at a time to aerial pipes that connect to various water kiosks throughout the slums.
The water goes to 24 kiosks stationed at strategic points across the slums.
While receiving the award, Shofco founder and CEO Kennedy Odede said: “Volunteerism is power. There are things that money cannot buy, when you do something that you're not paid for, that is service to humanity.”
He said he had paid school fees for children he does not know and bought food for street families.
Mr Odede said he started the Shofco Urban Network (Sun) programme in 2013 as a community networking platform that allows people to solve the problems affecting them.
“SUN is a network of volunteerism that has 2.4 million members across Kenya, we do not need money to change communities,” he said.
Ms Consolata Odhiambo, a founding member of Sun said: “I have seen Shofco grow, it is not about money, but the love of the community and we thank Mr Odede for the initiative.”
Previous winners of the award include industrialist Manu Chandaria (2017) for his philanthropic work.
The 2018 award went to Ms Joyce from Murang’a County for her exemplary work in supporting the elderly in the community. In 2019, the society recognised volunteers from Eastern and Southern Africa.
Mombasa County the organisation’s 2020 Volunteer Covid-19 Response Award. VIO Society works in partnership with the State Department for Social Protection.
