About 212 underprivileged children from Coast region will not have to worry about school fees, Shining Hope for Communities CEO Kennedy Odede has said.
These were among the many goodies Odede had for the people of coast during his visit to the region this week.
Odede toured Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale counties in a ground-breaking four-day visit which saw him traverse Bangladesh, Maweni, Mishomoroni and Likoni in Mombasa, Majengo, Chumani, Rabai and Chonyi in Kilifi as well as a number of areas in Kwale county.
He gave Sh4 million worth of bursaries to the children, some of whom their education had been cut short while others were almost dropping out of school due to poverty.
Each beneficiary received Sh20,000 as he opened community centres as well as water projects in the three counties.
The Parents of the beneficiaries thanked Odede for his generosity.
“I have been hearing and reading in the media about Kennedy and SHOFCO and what he has done for the slum community especially in Kibera and Mathare but I could not imagine that one day, he would come over here and help us too. May God bless him,” said Halima Mwiwa, whose son was about to drop out of school due to lack of school fees.
Walter Charo, who has seen his physically challenged daughter struggle to go to school for years is still in shock after Odede’s hand of giving was extended his way.
“We have been applying for bursaries here but it only goes to a few who are connected. Thank you SHOFCO, thank you Kennedy,” Charo said.
Education is one of the key pillars of SHOFCO and Odede has invested heavily in this area.
“Education is paramount. It is the only sure way of ending poverty because after school, all these children will come back to be the change agents in their communities,” Odede said.
Accompanied by Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi, who was his host in County 001, he handed over a bus and water truck to be used by Shofco Urban Network (SUN) members in the region, extending SHOFCO’s tentacles to 15 counties in Kenya so far.
SHOFCO also has a community SACCO which has seen its members save as little as Ksh300 per month.
In his tour, he promised to sponsor training of the residents on the value of saving money and getting a loan to start businesses and take their children to school. Those who will be trained, will have an opportunity to join the Sacco which has so far disbursed over Sh100 million in form of loans to its members.
Odede is the co-author of the New York Times Bestselling book Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in African Slum has and continues to win international awards for his work in eradicating poverty in Kenyan slums such as 2018 the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, 2014 People’s Choice Award for Outstanding Social Entrepreneur and Muhammed Ali Humanitarian Award among others.
He was also awarded a Head of State Commendation (HSC) by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year for his efforts in fighting and reducing the impact of Covid-19 in Kenyan slums. BY THE STAR