Shofco boss Kennedy Odede appointed to key American aid agency committee
Founder and CEO of Shining Hope For Communities (Shofco) Kennedy Odede. The United States Government has appointed Odede to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid.
What you need to know:
- Kenyan social entrepreneur Kennedy Odede to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid.
- The committee, which is now under USAID was first established in the aftermath of World War II.
- The powerful ACVFA, which will serve for three years, includes leading experts representing non-governmental organisations, the private sector, academia and civil society from across the globe.
The United States Government has appointed renowned Kenyan social entrepreneur Kennedy Odede to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA).
The committee, which is now under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was first established in the aftermath of World War II, playing an important role in shaping the US approach to international development.
The committee, which he will serve for three years, has membership drawn from leading experts representing NGOs, the private sector, academia and civil society drawn from across the globe.
Established in the aftermath of World War II, ACVFA plays an important role in shaping the United States’ approach to international development.
Over many decades, the committee has evolved to play a key role in fostering cooperation between the US government and a range of NGOs, and it has provided a platform for civil society to engage with USAID and help inform its approach to US foreign assistance.
The appointment comes less than two years after the Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) founder and CEO hosted USAID boss Samantha Power at the inaugural World Communities Forum (WCF) where he shared with her, alongside other global leaders, how his focus on community-driven change has seen his organisation impact over 2.5 million slum dwellers in Kenya through various causes.
It is at the forum that Dr Odede challenged the USAID boss and other leaders to invest more in community-led solutions.
“The committee’s new membership is composed of internationally recognised leaders representing a broad range of sectors who will support the Agency’s mission and goals by advising on key development challenges and priorities.
The committee will be chaired by Nisha Biswal, Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce,” said Power in her statement confirming the appointments.
The re-established ACVFA, USAID said, is among the most diverse in the committee’s history, with representation from a wide range of professional backgrounds, expertise, and identities. The demonstrated leadership of the committee’s members will support USAID’s vision for inclusive and local development, as well as responding to critical development challenges including the global food crisis, climate change, democratic backsliding and corruption.
Global network
The appointment, Dr Odede said, enriches his global network to share how partnerships between the government and community-led organisations can help end poverty within Kenyan and African slums while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr Odede who founded Shofco in 2004 in Kibera slums in Nairobi and has now expanded to 16 counties across Kenya, serving over 2.5 million people directly, has been urging the national and local governments, private sector, NGOs as well as global leaders to invest in community-led solutions if the world has to achieve substantial development.
His tenacity and persistence over the subject were vindicated in June 2022 when Shofcos’ community-driven change became a model for global NGOs following a case study conducted by Bridgespan Group which had a close-up look at on-the-ground approaches that make the Kenyan organisation tick.
