NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 27 – – Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Kennedy Odede has called on local communities to unite and put both nation and county governments in check to deliver services at the grassroots level.
Speaking in Siaya where he presided over election of Shofco Urban Network (SUN) county level representatives, Dr. Odede said there was need to have leaders from the grassroots who can champion for the interests of those at the bottom of the pyramid.
“At Shofco, we believe in community participation in matters leadership. We want leaders from the community to take charge and the way we can do that is to partner with the people directly.
“Through SUN, the citizens are able to elect county youth leader, chairman, woman representative, and a person representing people with disability. The idea behind this is that we are able to represent everyone and voice their issues to those who should address them,” Dr. Odede said after meeting over 3000 community delegates at Siaya town on Sunday.
Shofco has rolled out several projects in the county that include maize seeds distribution to farmers, water distribution, scholarship programs and youth empowerment projects.
“We have to let the people know that they have the power. People at the grassroots level should be in charge of the devolution government because they are the ones electing county leaders.
“We want to see the common man being at the driving seat in matters development and working with elected leaders to ensure that money goes down to them,” he stated.
He added: “For instance, here in Siaya County, Governor James Orengo is going to work directly with SUN representatives we have elected today.”
Last year, Shofco gave out bursaries worth Sh3 million in the county to help needy students who were on the verge of dropping out of school.
“We have the smartest brains in this county but cannot go to school because there is no school fees yet we have the CDF. That is why we are now electing leaders in the community who can easily identify needy students to be helped.
“Last year, we gave out over Sh3 million bursaries but we cannot do everything. We need partners and the best partner is the government whom we are trying to engage with through these elected community leaders,” he said.
Shofco currently has a water bowser in the county and has a plan to dig boreholes to address water problem that Dr. Odede said is taking toll on the area residents.
“Water is a problem in this county. As Shofco, we bought a water bowser that is going around but it is not enough. What is the government doing? The agenda here is to let the communities take charge of their issues and look for their partners,” he added.
SUN program has become a key pillar of Shofco and ensured community-driven change is achieved.
In May, Bridgespan Group singled out Shofco as the best model for global NGOs to emulate following its excellent community-driven change.
Bridgespan Group is guiding the philanthropic choices of many leading donors, including MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation among others.
Shofco currently employs over 800 people in 15 counties in Kenya with plans to expand to up to 40 in the next three years.
Founded in 2004 by Dr. Odede as a way of uplifting his community after growing up in poverty in Kibera slums, Shofco is now a grassroots movement that has impacted over 2.5 million slum dwellers in Kenya through various causes such access to health, water, community advocacy platforms, education and leadership development for women and girls.