Shofco boss Kennedy Odede urges Kilifi residents to maintain peace during campaigns

Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) CEO Kennedy Odede has called on Kilifi County residents to maintain peace during campaigns.

Mr Odede, who was on a three-day tour of the county, said the community should not fight against one another because of elections.

Speaking in Kilifi Town where he met over 3,000 Shofco Urban Network (SUN) members, he emphasised on the need for the residents to have national identification and voting cards.

“Our IDs and voter cards are very important documents that we need to secure our future. We need to elect leaders who understand the needs of the community. We need to make the right choices,” he told the SUN members.

Currently, Shofco has over 50, 000 members in Kilifi County. SUN seeks to build a strong urban network with the vision of giving the urban poor a voice.

He promised to work with elected leaders and the county government and urged SUN members to avoid mixing the organisation’s work with politics.

“As SUN members, we need to make sure that our leaders are accountable. We should follow how the county government funds are used and participate in the budget making process through public participation as underscored in Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. That is how you will be an empowered community,” he said.

He urged the residents to not fall for political propaganda and divisive politics.

“You should love your neighbours. If you vote wisely, you will have good leaders,” he added.

In his three-day tour, the Shofco boss visited Rabai, Majengo, Kilifi Town, Chumani, Kaloleni and Mariakani where he met over 20, 000 Shofco members.

This is the third time the Shofco boss has been in the coastal region since June when he distributed bursaries worth Sh4 million to needy students. Kilifi got bursaries worth Sh3 million and 200 needy students benefitted.

Mr Odede intends to roll out Shofco’s women empowerment programme where over 500 women will benefit.

 “Our SUN Sacco programme will be launched here soon. The programme will enable members to save and borrow money to start their businesses,” Mr Odede told Mariakani residents.

 Over 2.5 million have benefited from the programme.