If You Really Want to Be Inspired, Meet my Friend, Kennedy Odede

On Memorial Day weekend, 2012, I was sitting on the stage of the majestic outdoor theater at the commencement ceremony of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut.  As a trustee, I was robed in cap and gown (actually baking under the sun), and as a parent I could not have been more proud of my graduating son, Teddy.  Along with all of the expected pomp and circumstance of a college graduation, something unexpected and quite magical transpired.  This was when Kennedy Odede, the speaker representing the Class of ’12, addressed his fellow graduates and the sea of families and loved ones spread  across the field in front of him.

Along with everyone on the stage and the 5,000 people in the audience, I was mesmerized and moved to tears.  Kennedy (who was named after JFK) told his story of growing up as the oldest of eight children in a teeming Kenyan slum, Kibera.  There were no sewage systems, roads, running water, or access to basic needs, like health care, much less education.  As a ten year old boy, Kennedy was alone on the streets.  Six years later he was homeless and in despair when a mini stroke of luck hit.  He was given a book of Martin Luther King's speeches, which he devoured.  Inspired, he scraped together twenty cents to buy a soccer ball which he used to start a youth group, dedicated to sharing the hope he'd recently found.  He came to call it SHOFCO, Shining Hope for Communities.

How in the world did Kennedy find his way from an East African slum to an elite liberal arts college in New England, USA? 

A number of years after he started SHOFCO, Jessica Posner, a change-the-world student from Wesleyan, traveled to Kenya in 2007 on a semester abroad to work with the fledgling organization.  Taking this unlikely story to new heights, Jessica broke all convention and convinced Kennedy to let her move into his tiny house in Kibera, where over time their work became highly personal and they fell in love.  Later, when Kennedy was threatened by political violence, Jessica helped him win a full scholarship to Wesleyan, which brought him to America.  Kennedy’s experience at Wesleyan and in the USA, his appreciation for safety, education, and the American dream, became contagious to everyone with whom he interacted.  The more he learned the more he was able to teach and inspire others.  A mere two years after graduating, he was elected to the Wesleyan Board of Trustees (now I get to see Kennedy at least four weekends a year!).

He and Jessica married and they coauthored the amazing new book, Find Me Unafraid.  Kennedy and Jessica’s groundbreaking work with SHOFCO continues apace.  They started a school for Kibera's most vulnerable population, girls, and their work is accelerating.  With the support they’ve built from community members, friends, and celebrities in Kenya and the United States, including President Clinton, Jessica and Kennedy have been able to provide water, health care, and entrepreneurial programs, which now serve more than 76,000 people.  They’ve replicated their model in another Kenyan slum called Mathare.  Most importantly, because of their efforts, tens of thousands of people living in poverty have access to clean water, health care, and economic empowerment programs and young girls have the prospect of a safe and fulfilling life with the potential to become Kenya's future leaders.  

The SHOFCO girls attend school every day in crisp blue uniforms and red sweaters.  Filled with hope and ambition for the future, they adhere to a rigorous curriculum and are outperforming students from the most expensive schools in Kenya.  By elevating these girls, Jessica and Kennedy have started a subtle yet powerful revolution in each community, and have dedicated themselves to bringing the same resolve and enthusiasm to urban slums beyond Kibera and Mathare.

Kennedy and Jessica’s story is a tale of overcoming truly extraordinary odds and how leaders are made through the daily fight against poverty and hopelessness.  Check out Find Me Unafraid and you’ll be inspired by the potential that young optimistic people can have for making a massive positive impact on the world.

* Image - Kennedy Odede and Teddy Citrin at Wesleyan University