A Path Appears Released

We are very excited to announce that Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book A Path Appears, in which SHOFCO is featured prominently (including the cover!) comes out today!

A follow-up to their groundbreaking bestseller Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, A Path Appears focuses on effective responses to the oppression of women and how each and every person can be involved in the movement to empower women globally. 

Kristof and WuDunn spend a fascinating chapter illuminating Kennedy and Jessica's story and grand vision for the empowerment of women and the urban poor, as well as the effective and tangible results of SHOFCO's work in Kenya's slums. A Path Appears highlights SHOFCO as a crucial and replicable movement that empowers women, uplifts communities, and fosters the needed ingredient in any positive social movement: hope.

Please share the news with family and friends about this incredible new book and about SHOFCO's impact on women and girls in urban slums!

SHOFCO Mathare Opens Its Doors!

We have such great news to share: SHOFCO is officially open in Kenya's second largest slum, Mathare!  Located in Nairobi, the Mathare slum is home to approximately 600,000-800,000 people. SHOFCO began working with a group of young people in Mathare over two years ago who were inspired by Kennedy's story and SHOFCO's work in Kibera. They funded their own projects for two years and secured the land on which we were able to build the SHOFCO-Mathare building! It is through leadership like this that SHOFCO plans to continue to grow our grassroots model to change the face of urban poverty across Kenya.  

We are so excited to start effecting positive change in Mathare through our school for girls, economic empowerment, gender violence, and youth services!  Moving forward, we will continue to build our other key infrastructure around this new center point, The Mathare School for Girls, which opened last week! 

The U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert F. Godec was present to dedicate the brand new building that houses the Mathare School for Girls and SHOFCO's community programs on September 4th. The event was attended by new students, members of the Mathare community, and the SHOFCO-Kenya board, as well as other friends from the Kenyan government and the private sector. 

The new building is a symbol of hope that can be seen from all around Mathare!

Kennedy, Jessica, and the entire SHOFCO team are thrilled to welcome the new students of the Mathare School for Girls! We cannot wait to see what they can do.

Thank you, SHOFCO supporters, for helping to make this dream happen and for being a key partner on our journey to improve lives in Kenya's slums! Together we can make a lasting impact, spreading a model of hope and empowerment.

Beyoncé Donates $125K to SHOFCO!

SHOFCO was one of four organizations honored at Chime for Change's event on June 3rd at Gucci's flagship store in NYC!

Inspired by our work, Beyonce made a surprise donation of $125,000 to SHOFCO to send 100 girls to school in Mathare. 

Amazing advocate and SHOFCO friend Blake Lively also attended the Chime for Change event and talked with Jessica and Kennedy about her excitement for SHOFCO's work in Kenya!

We are so proud to be partnered with the incredible changemakers at Chime for Change!

Nicholas Kristof Features SHOFCO!

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof featured SHOFCO in his Sunday columns for two weeks in a row! In his 1st column, "In this Rape Case, the Victim was 4," Kristof recounts the case of the rape of a child in Kibera and the police's ineffectual—and hostile—response to the case and the survivor's family. How Brave Girls Helped Crack a Taboo expands on the issue of sexual assault, and ultimately gives a hopeful view of the future.

“To build a safer environment for the girls, he [Kennedy Odede] started a system of victim advocates to help push the police to do their jobs, and the group is winning support for its message that “no” means “no” — and that rapists should be punished.

It’s having an impact, offering a model for efforts to combat sexual violence worldwide.”
— Nicholas Kristof

Kennedy Pens New York Times Op-ed: "Terrorism's Fertile Ground"

“Given the link between urban poverty and terrorism, the best strategy is to fight poverty, not terrorism…The war on terror can be won only through education, promise and real opportunities.”

Read Kennedy's thought-provoking op-ed, "Terrorism's Fertile Ground", published in the New York Times today!

In response to recent news that suggests slums are breeding grounds for terrorist recruitment, Kennedy argues that giving hope to the most vulnerable is the key solution.

Building a Better Kibera

On Tuesday, at the Clinton Global Initiative's (CGI) 2013 Annual Meeting, Chelsea Clinton, (who visited SHOFCO last year!) made an exciting announcement with Jessica and Kennedy by her side: CGI is building a partnership around our work, bringing together companies to take on different pieces of what we do and invest in our growth!

CGI's 2013 theme is Mobilizing For Impact. The initiative explores how CGI affiliates can increase effectiveness in leveraging individuals, partners, and resources. The concept is that mobilizing the right entities—and allowing them to reach their full potential—creates lasting and scalable success. 

“That’s what we’re going to focus on this year, how we can get people together more—have more effective teams to have a bigger impact”
— President Bill Clinton

At the core of CGI is an emphasis on commitments, and at SHOFCO, we are determined to fulfill ours! The charge behind this commitment was lead by the Starkey Hearing Foundation, who has committed to building hearing health infrastructure at our clinic, and bolstering our health programs.  Pentair, our new corporate partner, and global water systems leader, has committed $250,000 to double our water infrastructure and will dedicate a team of expert engineers to our project! 

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Now, CGI is looking to add companies around the other segments of our work as part of a commitment to SHOFCO called “Build a Better Kibera.”  We look forward to expanding our support network!

“We are grateful for how our partners have mobilized around Shining Hope for Communities. Pentair’s commitment to action will help double the number of Kibera residents who have access to clean drinking water, while enabling Shining Hope for Communities to reach its full potential.”
— Chelsea Clinton - Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
“The idea behind coming to Kibera was to really listen to the community and find out what those needs are, and utilize our network and our partners to help make a greater impact.”
— Steven Sawalich - Senior Executive Director, Starkey Hearing Foundation

To all of our supporters--thank you for tuning in and thank you for your continued partnership!