Grant Recipient: Kennedy Odede, Class of 2010
Major: Government and Sociology
Organization: Shining Hope for Communities
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
I arrived in Kenya at the end of May and have been completely swept up in my work since my plane touched the runway. This summer I am working for an organization that I co-founded in 2009, Shining Hope for Communities (SHC). SHC runs a free school for girls and a community center in Nairobi's Kibera slum, where I was born and raised. This summer, I have been fulfilling a life-long dream for myself and my community as I start construction on what will be one of the only truly accessible high-quality community health centers in all of Kibera: the Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic. In June I worked with community residents and leaders to purchase land for the clinic right next to the school--one of the most exciting moments was realizing we would be able to build a full 10-rooms and a two story building (of which there are few in Kibera). The space will allow us to have multiple examining rooms, a delivery room for mothers and infants, a pharmacy and in-house lab. In addition to overseeing construction, I have been meeting with top health professionals throughout Nairobi, and had the pleasure of hiring to fantastic staff a young and enthusiastic physician to oversee the clinic, and an experienced community health worker trainer to work with our team of community health workers. Taken together, this summer has been a truly one-of-a-kind experience that I know will have an incredibly long lasting impact on my own future career and on my neighbors, friends, and community back home.
