WeeklySA_AdminMILESTONE: The Kenyan social entrepreneur founded an organisation which serves 4 million people in informal settlements…
By Zipporah Musau
Kennedy Odede (41) the founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a Kenyan grassroots movement providing life-changing services to urban poor, is one of the laureates of the prestigious 2025 UN Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize.
In the following, question-and-answer interview, he spoke to Africa Renewal’s Zipporah Musau about his work and what the award means to him and the millions he serves across Kenya.
Musau: What was your reaction and what does this recognition mean to you and the communities you serve?
Kennedy Odede: I’m truly humbled! When the winners were announced, I had travelled to Botswana, deep in the Okavango Delta—no internet, no phone signal. When I got back later on, my phone was blowing up—calls, messages, congratulatory messages!
I was pleasantly surprised! Mandela is someone I admired deeply. For the UN to recognise an organisation like SHOFCO—it’s amazing! The Mandela Prize is awarded every five years, so being a recipient is no joke! For us it is a big deal.
How did the communities you serve respond to the news?
They are so proud! The story is spreading everywhere. People living in informal settlements often don’t feel seen. This award is for them. I have since gone to the counties of Meru and Machakos (in Kenya)—people are excited.
What inspired you to turn your personal struggles into a movement that now reaches over 4 million people across Kenya?
It was a very tough life. At some point, I became homeless—living on the streets and eating from garbage bins. I lost hope and became very angry. It looked like I had no future. I was looking for inspiration—great men and women who could inspire me. I read a lot about Mandela and was inspired by his story. Winning this award is like a coincidence, a déjà vu- I looked up to him and now I have won this award named after him. I especially loved the fact that Mandela did not give up in his struggle and did not hold on to anger. For him, it was all about other people.
As a teenager, I was very angry. I wondered, why am I being beaten on the street? Why are we poor? I was using drugs, just confused, but Mandela’s story gave me hope— it taught me that transformation begins within. Before I could change the world, I had to work on myself. I read his “Long Walk to Freedom” which gave me the idea that I could do something.
So, I started SHOFCO when I was 15 with just a soccer ball — no money, nothing. I had that kind of spirit that said: “You have to start. You have to do something.“
So, we were playing soccer, helping one another, cleaning the streets, doing short skits by the roadside, keeping our girls safe, talking about GBV and HIV/AIDS. That’s how we built what I call a community.
How did the organisation evolve into this huge movement currently serving millions of people?
I was always a good community mobiliser. I lived in a tiny room—no toilet, surrounded by violence. I lost friends to the violence. I was intrigued by the poem Invictus that’s emphasised on resilience, inner strength and being the captain of my life. In Kibera slums, you feel like you’re in prison—like nothing good can come from you. Mandela’s body was imprisoned, but not his mind. I wanted to go beyond admiring him—I wanted to act.
We started with just playing soccer, then we began doing drama and theatre—we called it “Ambush Theatre.” We would perform on the streets to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and Gender Based Violence. After the activities, we would sit down and just talk. My philosophy was: “Let’s not just complain. What are we doing about it?”
Many youths resonated with our thinking and joined us. If you were using drugs, we kept you busy helping the community. That’s how SHOFCO grew—no money, just action.
Even when I left Kenya on a scholarship to study Sociology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, USA, the movement continued.
We eventually built a school—Kibera School for Girls—one of the first such institutions in the area. Now our students have since gone on to universities abroad, including prestigious one like Columbia, Tufts in the US and others in India.
Currently, we operate in 35 counties in Kenya. We’re supporting about 10 000 girls to go to school, and we are partnering with the government in providing healthcare and clean water, as well as putting hundreds of youth through TVETs [Technical and Vocational Education and Training] colleges.
SHOFCO employs 2 000 staff members, and our soccer team is still running —they’re doing great in the league.
What makes your organisation unique in its approach to development and empowerment in urban slums?
We may be grassroots, but we play global. That’s very rare. SHOFCO was started by street kids—people from the local community, not from New York or London. I see other organisations always writing proposals for funding. For us, we didn’t start because of donors, we started because we wanted to solve our own problems. That’s what makes us unique. Now we’re advising organisations in South Africa, India, and West Africa.
We are unique because we are part of the solution to the challenges we face. We are the ones affected by poverty, so we understand the issues, and our people are part of finding the solutions.
Most importantly, we inspire and give people hope as we go.
Nelson Mandela once said: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.” How does this quote resonate with you and your mission?
That quote drives me. It is about selflessness. African leaders should remember it too. It’s not about where you come from or what you have achieved—what matters is what you’ve done for others. For example, I came from the slums. I went to America. That’s nice. But what have I done for my community?
So far, SHOFCO has reached about 4 million people—helped solve over 70,000 GBV cases, taken over 1.5 million youth through training and helped secure about 180 000 jobs for young people. We have 2,000 staff members, most of them from the communities we serve.
You’ve already accomplished so much—what’s next for your organisation?
We are in 35 out of the 47 counties in Kenya. We plan to expand to the remaining counties. We are also in talks to do some work in other African countries such as South Africa and Nigeria.
How will the Mandela Prize help shape your future endeavours?
For too long, “lived experience” has been ignored in development as part of the solution. But now, the biggest international organisation—the UN—is saying “lived experience” matters.
This recognition will open doors to new partnerships and platforms. Governments, philanthropists, and global platforms are now taking notice. That will help SHOFCO grow and reach more people.
