The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Wesleyan graduate joins Americares Board of Directors
MIDDETOWN — Americares has elected “renowned” community organizer, social entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities, Kennedy Odede, to the Americares Board of Directors.
Odede speaks six languages, and without prior formal education, he received a full scholarship to attend Wesleyan University, becoming one of Kibera's first to receive an education at an American liberal arts institution, according to a news release.
“Kennedy's innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, along with his dedication to serving his community and people in need around the world, is truly inspiring,” Americares President and CEO Christine Squires said in a prepared statement. “He also brings a global perspective, which is incredibly important for an organization working to save lives and improve health in more than 85 countries.”
Odede will serve a three-year term on the board, which oversees all aspects of the health-focused relief organization's programs, including its disaster response work, and support for 4,000 under-resourced hospitals and health clinics worldwide, the agency said.
Raised in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Kenya, Odede experienced the “devastating” realities of life in extreme poverty,
Americares said.
Determined to make a difference in his community, Odede saved money from working at a factory to purchase a soccer ball, which he used to found Shining Hope, a grassroots movement that catalyzes large-scale transformation in urban slums by providing critical services for all, community advocacy platforms and education and leadership development for women and girls, Americares said.
Today, the organization reaches 2.4 million people across 32 urban and rural slum areas in Kenya.
“I am proud to bring my knowledge of life on the ground to the board of Americares,” Odede said. “Americares does vital work, addressing many of the health problems that hold communities like mine back. Together, we can work to deliver innovative solutions that transform futures. I am proud to serve and partner.”
He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Wesleyan and represented his class as the 2012 commencement speaker. He went on to serve on Wesleyan University's Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2017.
He is also a New York Times best-selling coauthor of the book “Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in African Slum,” which he wrote with his wife and business partner, Jessica Posner. He lives with his family in Nairobi, Kenya.