Kennedy Odede, a Kenyan social entrepreneur and founder of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), has been awarded the 2025 United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize, one of the UN’s highest honors given every five years to individuals who exemplify the legacy of the late South African President, Nelson Mandela.
The announcement was made by the United Nations on May 29, 2025, with the official award ceremony taking place on July 18, 2025, during the Nelson Mandela International Day commemorations at the UN Headquarters in New York. Odede was honored alongside Brenda Reynolds of Canada, who was recognized for her work in Indigenous mental health support.
Born in rural Rarieda, Kenya, Odede moved to Nairobi’s Kibera slum, one of Africa’s largest informal settlements, at the age of two due to famine in his village. Growing up in extreme poverty, he was often homeless and exposed to violence. By the age of 10, he was living on the streets and scavenging for food. Despite these challenges, Odede found hope and inspiration in Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, which ignited his passion for social justice and community leadership.
At age 15, with no funding but a strong desire to improve his surroundings, Odede founded SHOFCO, beginning with a community youth initiative using sports and street theatre to address issues like HIV/AIDS awareness, gender-based violence, and drug abuse. What started with a single soccer ball has since grown into one of the most influential grassroots organizations in Kenya.
SHOFCO has expanded its operations from Kibera to over 35 counties in Kenya, delivering a wide range of community services and empowering marginalized populations through education, healthcare, clean water, and economic programs.
Some of SHOFCO’s notable achievements include; Reaching over 4 million people across Kenya since its inception, Providing quality education to more than 10,000 girls through its tuition-free schools in Kibera and Mathare, training over 1.5 million youth in leadership and civic participation, creating employment opportunities for 180,000 young people, employing more than 2,000 staff nationwide, becoming the largest provider of clean water in urban slum communities through aerial piping systems and community taps and disbursing over Sh 1.3 billion (approx. US$10 million) in microloans via SHOFCO SACCO, which now has over 40,000 active members. In 2024 alone, SHOFCO impacted more than 2.4 million Kenyans, operating through 68 community hubs across the country.
Odede’s recognition has drawn widespread praise both locally and internationally. “I am truly humbled. I never imagined that a boy from Kibera would be standing at the United Nations receiving a prize named after Nelson Mandela,” Odede said during the award ceremony.
Gladys Wanga, Governor of Homa Bay County, applauded Odede’s journey from hardship to global recognition, stating, “From one soccer ball to reaching over 4 million lives, Kennedy’s story is the definition of transformational leadership.”
Kenya’s Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ekitela Lokaale, said Odede’s work “epitomizes the values of Nelson Mandela, justice, community empowerment, and unwavering service to humanity.” Internationally, Odede has also been recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2024, is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and has served as an advisor to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Odede advocates for a bottom-up development model driven by people with lived experiences of poverty and exclusion. He emphasizes that sustainable solutions must come from within communities themselves, not from external interventions. “We started SHOFCO not for donors, but to solve our own problems,” he said. “I believe those who live with the issues are the best people to fix them.”
SHOFCO’s model integrates services with civic engagement through the SHOFCO Urban Network (SUN), which connects over 3 million Kenyans in urban slums and rural towns, offering a platform for citizen voice, economic resilience, and local governance.
With expansion plans underway to reach the remaining counties in Kenya and enter other African countries such as South Africa and Nigeria, SHOFCO is positioning itself as a continental leader in grassroots development.
The Mandela Prize not only cements Odede’s position as a global voice for the underrepresented but also shines a spotlight on the transformative potential of community-led action in tackling inequality, poverty, and injustice.
As Odede continues to lead from the front, his message remains clear: “Africa’s youth are not the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today. It’s time we stop waiting and start acting.”
– By Nusurah Nuhu
This story was written with the help of AI editing tools.
