Kennedy Odede ’12 is one of Africa’s best- known community organizers and social entrepreneurs. Kennedy lived for twenty- three of his thirty years in the Kibera Slum, the largest slum in Africa, where he experienced the devastating realities of life in extreme poverty first hand. Still, he dreamed about changing his community. He saved 20…
Tag Archive for shofco
He Began Shining Hope for Communities with a Soccer Ball
On Friday, November 6th, Wesleyan hosted a WESeminar: Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum. Kennedy Odede ’12, founder of SHOFCO, spoke about developing a community organization in Kibera, Nairobi, meeting his wife, Jessica Posner Odede ’09 through is work, and graduating from Wesleyan. Kennedy and Jessica shared their story through…
A Path Appears
Click here for an original poem by the radiant Eunice, a 5th grade student at the Kibera School for Girls who is profiled in A Path Appears.
Volunteering Abroad: A Discussion on the Roles of Development
An invitation from Marina King ’16, student coordinator for the Wesleyan chapter of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO): Is all help actually helpful? Is it possible to volunteer abroad without changing one’s profile picture to an image of one surrounded awkwardly by a BUNCH of children? Does aid BENEFIT a community, or does it more…
Reunion & Commencement 2014: “What Will You Do With and In Your Time?”
As campus empties out and tents come down, we at ENGAGE want to take a moment to reflect on what was an inspiring weekend. We celebrated WESU‘s 75th Anniversary with a WESeminar that detailed the history of community radio at Wesleyan. WESU General Manager Ben Michael and University Archivist Leith Johnson shared fascinating stories from…
Steven Meyer ’86 crowdfunds for SHOFCO
Last week, Steven Meyer ’86 sent the following message to WesChat, the alumni listerve. We are always pleased to see alumni supporting each others’ efforts to have social impact, so we are sharing Steven’s message in hopes that it will reach even more members of our community. ***************************** Listmates, My fiancee and I have started…
The Latest from WesCeleb Kennedy Odede ’12
Have you heard the news? This week, Kennedy Odede ’12 — SHOFCO co-founder, 2009 Davis Projects for Peace grant recipient, 2010 Echoing Green Fellow, 2010 Dell Social Innovation Competition winner, Clinton Global Initiative partner, 2012 Wesleyan Commencement speaker, Patricelli Center Advisory Board member, and (perhaps most importantly!) one half of the Jessica-Kennedy dream team — was named a 2014…