Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) has received the 2021 Community Engagement Award by the Volunteer Involving Organization (VIO) society. Presenting the award, VIO Society Secretary General and National Coordinator Fred Sadia said the award was given to SHOFCO for involving communities in the grassroots level in its programs.
SHOFCO is currently using an aerial piping system and has installed a water treatment facility in Kibera which can pump up to 300,000 liters of water at a time. The water is pumped to aerial pipes that connect to various water kiosks throughout the slums. The water then goes to 24 kiosks stationed at strategic points across the slums, solving the issue of water scarcity in the area.
“SHOFCO programs are owned by the people in the grassroots. We chose the organization for this award because of its programs that touch directly the lives of the most vulnerable in slum communities. These include youth and women empowerment programs,” Sadia said, adding that SHOFCO’s water program has benefitted the residents of Kibera and Mathare.
In his remarks, SHOFCO Founder and CEO Kennedy Odede had this to say while receiving the award, “Volunteerism is power. There are things that money cannot buy. When you do something that you’re not paid for, that is humanity. The reason why we have a strong foundation at SHOFCO is because we started with nothing. We were just volunteers in the community.”
Odede said he has paid school fees for children he does not know and bought food for the people in the streets voluntarily.
He added that he started the Shofco Urban Network (SUN) program in 2013 as a community networking platform that allows people to solve problems voluntarily.
Consolata Odhiambo, a founding member of SUN, echoed Odede’s sentiments saying, “I have seen SHOFCO grow from nothing to something. It is not about money, but the love of the community and we thank Odede for the initiative.”