- SHOFCO is targeting to enroll 20,000 youth in Kisumu County in TVET institutions in the next year
- The organisation is also working on water distribution, healthcare, school libraries, and women empowerment programs
- SHOFCO believes in community-led change and has partnered with local leaders to address the needs of their communities
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Kisumu - Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) aims to register 20,000 young individuals from Kisumu County in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions within the upcoming year.
This initiative is a part of SHOFCO's larger program with a goal to impact 500,000 youth across Kenya within a five-year timeframe.
Providing youth with high-quality education
On Saturday, July 29, during the election of county community leaders in Kisumu County, SHOFCO Founder and CEO, Kennedy Odede, spoke about his organization's collaboration with established TVET institutions.
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The partnership aims to provide the youth with high-quality training, equipping them with the skills necessary to enter the job market successfully.
"We also do youth mentorship programs so that they can start their businesses or look for jobs to earn a living using their skills. We need to invest in the youth of Kisumu County and not only here, but across 33 counties that we work in," Dr Odede said at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Club, where he addressed over 5000 Shofco Urban Network (SUN) members who turned up to elect their county community leaders.
Driving transformative objectives
The CEO of SHOFCO expressed his strong belief in accountability and emphasised that his organization leverages the knowledge and real-life experiences of community leaders to drive its transformative objectives forward.
"We believe in working with communities, and we allow them to elect their leaders who can talk about their issues with the county government, national government and the private sector," he said.
He added: "Community leaders help us in accountability and ensure that the right programs to change their areas are rolled out. I grew up in the Kibera slums, where I saw many NGOs develop their ideas and not listen to the community. I believe that for you to work well with the community, you must be able to listen to their needs and let them elect their leaders whom you can work with."
SHOFCO Kisumu chapter
SHOFCO is actively engaged in multiple initiatives in Kisumu, encompassing projects such as water distribution, healthcare, school libraries, gender-based violence response and prevention, as well as a women empowerment program.
During his visit on Saturday, Odede inaugurated a newly constructed three-story building in Obunga slums.
The building now serves as a fully equipped tailoring unit for women, a school library, a computer lab, and a spacious community hall.
"I also believe in financial inclusion through our SHOFCO Sacco, where women and youth can take money to start their businesses. We work with chiefs and area MCAs so that we don't duplicate activities that the government is already doing," he stated.
SUN boasts more than 300,000 members in Kisumu County.
Kisumu Central Member of Parliament (MP), Joshua Oron, praised SHOFCO's community-driven transformation, affirming that it aligns with the approach he implements in his own constituency.
"I feel privileged to be part and parcel of this noble course. I'm here not because I'm an MP but because I fully believe in what SHOFCO is doing. It is all about helping humanity. From today henceforth, I am a member of this great organisation," Oron said.
He added: "SHOFCO seems to mirror what I believe in; empowerment of the local communities, education as a priority, and healthcare for all."
Mombasa County Assembly Member for Airport Ward Ibrahim Omondi Bomoa, who graced the Kisumu event, praised SHOFCO for what it has done in his county.
"When Odede brought his projects to Mombasa, we thought it was a joke, but we have benefitted a lot right now. In my ward alone, he has empowered more than 500 youth through training in TVET, and he is paying for them fully and at the end of it, he recommends them for job opportunities or gives them grants to start their businesses."
The MCA also said SHOFCO has helped address water challenges in Mombasa County.
"In Changamwe constituency, where I come from, there is a huge water challenge, but Odede brought in a solution. Right now, we have bowsers all over Changamwe distributing water," he stated.
The SUN elected leaders are trained to lead and support the network's members from the grassroots to the national level.
They also provide resources to help members escape poverty and advance human rights.
Arresting community challenges
SUN leaders identify community challenges and contact the government, private sector, and well-wishers for solutions.
Odede has encouraged governments, policy leaders, and donors to partner with, listen to, and scale up community-led solutions.
He also advocates for immediate shifts in resources and financing towards community-led solutions.
Odede's tenacity and persistence on this subject were vindicated in June 2022 when SHOFCO's community-driven change became a model for global NGOs.
Bridgespan Group conducted a case study on SHOFCO and found that their model of community-driven change has achieved lasting impact because the community feels a sense of ownership.
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