•He called on the area residents to register as voters.
•He opened two SHOFCO offices in Kamukunji and interacted with over 800 SUN group representatives.
Image: HANDOUT
Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) founder and CEO Kennedy Odede on Wednesday kicked off his tour of the Nairobi region’s Shofco Urban Network (SUN) sites to launch community projects.
Odede started in Makongeni, Makadara sub-County where he opened the SUN office.
The new office in the area will be a focal point for residents who will benefit from Shofco services that include a free gender-based response and prevention desk, free water, a football tournament for youth and women empowerment projects.
“This is our new site here, and I love the enthusiasm from you (residents). I want us to work together to change our lives,” he told SUN members.
The Shofco boss also called on the area residents to register in the ongoing voter registration exercise and maintain peace during the campaign period.
“We need to arm ourselves with voters’ cards and vote in leaders who are going to attend to our needs. Voting will be secret, but we must make the right choices,” he told the over 1,000 group representatives during a town hall meeting.
From Makongeni, Odede proceeded to Kamukunji, where he opened two Shofco offices and interacted with over 800 SUN group representatives.
In Kamukunji, Shofco intends to open a community centre that will provide space for the residents to hold social gatherings and training for youth and women.
“We will soon bring Sacco here in Kamukunji so that you can save and borrow money to start your businesses and take your children to school. We now have over 22,000 Sacco members in Kibera, Mathare and Mukuru in Nairobi, and we need to now expand to other sites, including Kamukunji,” he said.
On his day two visit, Odede arrived in Mathare, where he opened a community centre as he seeks to reach more vulnerable people in the area.
Shofco Mathare is the second-largest centre after Kibera. The organisation has built two four-storey buildings in the area that mainly house a girls’ school and a community health centre.
Mathare School for Girls is a tuition-free centre of excellence for vulnerable girls in Mathare slums. It is pupils up to Grade 7, following in the footsteps of Kibera School for Girls, which has sat KCPE for the past four years and counting.
“Mathare is my second home. In fact, it has become my favourite of late because of the courteous nature of you, the residents,” said Odede, who was gifted with an African attire.
“Our idea was to have health care services affordable and accessible for you. We have partnered with the government to administer Covid-19 vaccine jabs in Mathare, and I call on you to get vaccinated. Coronavirus is still a threat,” he told residents of Mathare 4A.
Mathare Senior Chief Rose Ayero attended the town hall meeting and thanked Shofco for offering life-changing services in the area.
“I got vaccinated at Shofco. I want to thank the CEO for bringing the Covid-19 vaccines closer to the people, and I promise to work with you,” Ayero said.
She also called on those eligible for second and booster Covid-19 shots to visit SHOFCO Mathare clinic for the jab.
From Mathare, Odede proceeded to Githogoro slums in Runda Ward, where he met over 400 SUN group representatives.
Githogoro Shofco site is now two years old, and residents benefitted from Covid-19 prevention and mitigation services, which include free soap, water, handwashing stations and foodstuffs during the peak of Covid-19 infection in 2020.
“You have requested a mobile clinic, and I’ll ensure it is brought here soon,” he promised the Githogoro residents.
Shofco started in Kibera, and it has spread across Kenya, serving 2.4 million people.