Kennedy Odede Reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Legacy

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SHOFCO Co-Founder and CEO, Kennedy Odede, attributes his community building and leadership skills to many inspirational activists, but one of the most influential has been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In honor of Dr. King’s legacy and birthday, we asked Kennedy what Dr. King meant to him and to SHOFCO.

Q: How has Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. influenced your life?  

A: I was inspired by Dr. King, by his struggle and the idea of people coming together to change their own lives. Growing up in Kibera, young people were so sad and angry at the system that some of my friends turned to gangs as a way to fight back. Being able to learn the ideology of Dr. King was very powerful for me - this thing called “nonviolence.” I learned that people can come together and talk about issues and fight for civil justice without violence. My buddies who became gangsters were not bad people, but this was the only way they knew how to show their anger. They're in the slums having a hard time, therefore violence seemed to be the only way. But, Dr. King showed me something different.

Q: How can we use his teachings to solve some of our current problems?  

A: Dr. King believed in people and stood up against injustice everywhere; he talked about civil rights issues affecting America, but he also spoke of poverty around the world.  Right now, with all the things happening around the world, there are still many people afraid to speak up. We need to remember the teachings of Dr. King and that no matter the problem, if we come together we can solve it.

Q: What are some of Dr. King’s principles and values that resonated with you most? Why?

A: I don’t think most people understand Dr. King very well. He stood for nonviolence, but that man was tough. Dr. King was propelled by urgency. I love the idea that there is no other time to fight injustice - the time is now. This is something I remembered when I bought a used soccer ball for 20 cents to try and unite my community. He was way ahead of his time. He was very strong, passionate and believed in social justice for all. All of this really stayed with me.

Q: You've cited Marcus Garvey, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela as some of your other role models. What do you think Dr. King had in common with them?

A: One thing I love about these men and women were that they were fearless and they were selfless.  They were really willing to sacrifice their life for what they believed in. Right now, we have leaders around the world who are too concerned with self-interest. But, for Marcus Garvey, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, and Dr. King, the interest of humanity came first in their life and then it was themselves.

Q: In your memoir, Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum, you mention one of your favorite Dr. King quotes to be: “Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Why this one? How can everyone in Kibera and Mathare apply his words to their life?

A: I love this. It always reminded me that you don't need to be rich to be great and it doesn’t matter if you’re poor. Your circumstances don’t matter. Anybody can have an impact; you just have to do your part.

Q: If you had a chance to ask Dr. King anything, what would it be?

A: This is tough. I’d want to ask:  Despite all those challenges you faced, what was your driving force? What kept you moving?

He overcame so much. How did Dr. King remain true to himself despite those obstacles and negative people? He was a true leader that the world could greatly benefit from now.

Q: Is there Anything else you would like to add about Dr. King?

Every time I feel down, I go back to his words and it replenishes my energy and purpose. Thank you, Dr. King!

Update on Daily Nation Article

July 2016

You may have heard about the false – and now withdrawn – article that ran on a Kenyan newspaper website. 

Our financial information is publicly available on our website, yet the reporter used inaccurate numbers.  SHOFCO is compliant in all countries where we operate and we know of no investigation.  The newspaper has removed the fabricated story from its website. 

Last-minute Holiday Gift Ideas!

This holiday season, for the person who has everything - or for the person you forgot to buy a gift for - give the gift of hope.

At SHOFCO, we work everyday to ensure that hundreds of girls in Kenyan slums are getting a safe and quality education, and that entire communities have access to clean water, free health clinics and community empowerment programs. 

Your gift will go much further than just this holiday season - it will have a long-lasting impact on countless people.

1)  Sponsor a girl! 

Sponsors are a key part of the powerful support team behind the students at our free schools. Beyond the cost of a superior education, sponsorship provides for a child’s nutritional, medical and other basic material needs. 

Through the SHOFCO sponsorship program, twice annually, you (or your gift recipient) will receive a photo, letter, and update on your student’s progress in school. 

Price: It's $100 a month for a year/ $1,200 total for one year. 

2) Gift an inspirational book: Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum

Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum tells the unlikely love story between two uncommon people whose collaboration sparked a successful movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls & the urban poor.  It's written by SHOFCO co-founders, Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner Odede.

It's been given rave reviews by Publisher's Weekly, Chelsea Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Lonnie and Muhammed Ali, Oprah's Book Club, and more! 

Price: $15.55 on Amazon

3) Make a holiday gift to SHOFCO on behalf of someone

We have a special $500,000 matching challenge from Grant Me the Wisdom Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation until December 31st. Make a gift to SHOFCO on behalf of a loved one and help us maximize this match and your impact!

When you donate, make a note that you'd like a printable card to send to your loved one and we'll email it to you. You can donate without being empty-handed at your holiday party!

Price: Anything you can give!

Leadership Council Hosts #DOTG Brunch!

The SHOFCO Leadership Council - a group of young professionals who help promote and fundraise for SHOFCO - hosted their second annual Day of the Girl Brunch! From a brief, but inspiring program to engaging videos to a postcard writing station - the brunch connected over 160 people to the work SHOFCO does everyday! 

Special thanks to our Leadership Council and the fantastic sponsors that helped make the brunch a success: Newman’s Own Foundation, IBM, the BOSCO, Buttermilk Bakeshop, Fatty Sundays, and Brooklyn Cupcake.  Visit shofcoleaders.com to stay in the loop about their future events!

See the animated photobooth pictures here & all the event photos here!

Guest Blog: Central Park Run for the Kibera School for Girls

On May 23rd, for my East Side Middle School community service project, I held a run for the Kibera School for Girls (KSG) at the Central Park Reservoir. My classmates ran with their families and many donated who couldn’t come. By the end of the run, we had raised the $2,400 needed to send two girls to school in Kibera for a year!

I decided to help girls in Africa go to school because I know that the lack of education for girls is a major problem there. I specifically chose the girls of Kibera in Kenya for two reasons. The first is because Kibera is one of the largest slums in the world and many of the very poor families there do not send their girls to school. The second is that in Kibera, women do most of the childcare, so if girls receive an education and can earn money, they can lift themselves and their children out of poverty. I believe that education is a doorway out of poverty, which is especially important for girls.

May 23rd was an extremely eventful day, and it all began right before the run at 10:00am. My mother and I were pinning signs to our backs and I was fixing my Go­Pro on my head, attempting to get it to look right. Then, we left our apartment with my two sisters, Elah (10 years), and Maia (7 years). My sister and I were stretching on the bridge when our first runner, Katerina, arrived and I was filled to the brim with excitement. We stretched together for a few more minutes and more runners came.

Me and my friends (GoPro, well positioned!) ready to run for KSG at the Central Park Reservoir.

Finally, we set off on our first lap! The reservoir is 1.58 miles long and, at 45 minutes, the first lap went a little slowly. I kept telling myself that every step I took and every lap I ran was helping to raise money for a very important cause. I knew that all of this was for little girls, just like me, to learn to read and write and do math--things that students my age too often take for granted and sometimes dread. The second lap was easier; we improved our speed by 20 minutes. Then, some of the second lap runners wanted to run again, so we completed a third lap together in only 15 minutes! The whole experience was amazing, and we all had such a good time.

After my run, I felt proud. In a comic, my chest would have swelled up with pride and carried me away. Before, I donated to organizations as if it was no big deal. I hadn’t really thought of what those precious dollars could do for the lives of others. But this time, I closed the project by visiting the SHOFCO office in Lower Manhattan. I proudly handed over the $2,400 check that would soon send two young aspiring female leaders to school in Kibera. It was really amazing to actually talk to the people who will make sure the money we raised is spent ­to right a wrong and correct an injustice. 

Over the course of a few months, this project has changed me. It is the first hands­-on community service project that I have done mostly on my own, and this time, I put real lives behind the numbers. Two girls, with lives just as important as ours, will get the education that every girl deserves because of the money raised by my school. I am so happy that we managed to complete a simple act of justice--and I hope that it will spark more acts in all of us. 

About the author: Lili Wilson is a rising 7th grade student at East Side Middle School. Special thanks to Leith Greenslade, Elah and Maia Wilson, Principal David Getz, Declan Stacy, Katerina Corr, Daniela Casiguano, Alex Baysara, Ben Schancupp, Lucas Venetoulias, Gabi Galchen, Rayna Auerbach,  Julia Bracci and all who helped to make this event a success.  

Harnessing the "Power of Hope"

Nicholas Kristof writes in his column “The Power of Hope is Real” that for people who truly believe in the importance of development and aid, proving its efficacy can be a challenge. Communities and nations that require aid are complex, and change is not always as simple as we may like it to be.

Kristof calls out one element of aid, however, that extensive research has shown to have a dramatic effect on poverty: hope.  Interventions that focus on inspiring hope can empower people to see a positive course to their lives and to create a plan for the future. This shift in mindset not only has a positive effect on the individual, but also on her family and community.

Kristof tells of an extensive study involving 21,000 people in six countries that showed that a “graduation program” which helps people “graduate” from poverty was incredibly effective. Such graduation programs involve a sustainable resource (ie. bees or a cow) that allows people to invest in their futures. Kristof quotes Sir Fazle Abed, founder of BRAC—developer of the graduation program—who explains, “Poverty is not just poverty of money or income…We also see a poverty of self-esteem, hope, opportunity and freedom. People trapped in a cycle of destitution often don’t realize their lives can be changed for the better through their own activities. Once they understand that, it’s like a light gets turned on.”

Such programs are effective because they provide tangible proof that life can be better. Being hopeful in a place that is truly devoid of reasons to be hopeful is an unsustainable condition, however, and just telling people to be hopeful is not enough. Governments and organizations must help provide tangible pathways to enfranchisement, guided by hope, rather than simply using hope as a talking point and excuse for inaction.

At SHOFCO hope is in our DNA (and our name!). The idea for SHOFCO came to Kennedy from a place of personal hopelessness and desperation. He quickly realized the transformative power of hope in his life and in his community and decided he needed to act. Our first goal at SHOFCO is to inspire hope in people who have been conditioned to believe that they have no future, that they are predestined to fail. Our programs target sources of this insecurity with interventions such as entrepreneurship training, girls’ education, financial planning, and quality medical care. Empowering people to take constructive steps toward improving their lives, and giving them the resources to do so, has changed the futures of tens of thousands of our beneficiaries.

At SHOFCO we believe there needs to be a greater push toward programs and aid that taps into the innate human desire to be hopeful. It is through these interventions that people will truly be able to take charge of their lives and transform their communities.

Read Nicholas Kristof’s article about the power of hope, and let us know what you think in the comments!​

Eunice Steals the Show at Women in the World Summit

We are so proud of Eunice every day and are especially beaming after her brilliant performance at the Women in the World Summit on Friday! Watch the poem that earned her a spontaneous standing ovation.