NEW YORK – The United Nations has honoured Dr. Kennedy Odede, founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), with the prestigious 2025 Nelson Mandela Prize, recognizing his transformative work in community-led development in Kenya’s informal settlements.
Dr. Odede, a longtime grassroots activist born and raised in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, received the award on Friday, July 18, at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York.
He becomes the first Kenyan man to win the prize since its inception in 2014.
He shares this year’s honour with Brenda Reynolds of Canada, as part of the UN’s commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day.
A Champion of Community-Driven Change
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who presented the award, hailed Odede’s work in uniting vulnerable communities and delivering vital services across Kenya.
“The organisation he founded now reaches 2.4 million people each year with essential services from education to water,” said Guterres. “Nelson Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation and transformation continues to inspire and drive us.”
Founded in 2004, SHOFCO began as a youth movement with no funding.
Today, it operates in over 90 locations across 35 counties, offering services such as clean water, girls’ education, healthcare, gender-based violence support, and micro-loans to low-income families.
The organisation’s impact includes:
- 1.3 million youth leaders mobilised
- 156,000 children treated for malnutrition
- 40,000 households receiving clean water
- Over $10 million disbursed in small business loans
“We’re Not Waiting for Permission”
Speaking at the UN, Dr. Odede described the award as more than a personal milestone—it’s a recognition of what’s possible when under-resourced communities take the lead.
“In so many communities like Kibera, the gates of opportunity remain narrow,” he said. “But at SHOFCO, we are not waiting for permission to belong to the future we are building.”
“We are demonstrating that transformative leadership emerges precisely from the places the world overlooks—not just to walk through existing gates, but to widen them for others.”
He called for a global shift away from “parachute aid” toward localised development, where funding and decision-making reside with the communities themselves.
National and Global Recognition
Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ekitela Lokaale, applauded the win, noting it “recognises Mr. Odede’s work of promoting Nelson Mandela’s legacy of peace, dignity, social justice, and equality through SHOFCO.”
Beyond SHOFCO, Odede serves on high-profile global platforms including:
- USAID Advisory Committee
- UN International Commission on Financing Global Education
- Obama Foundation’s Africa Leaders program
- World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders
He is also a recipient of multiple accolades, including:
- Echoing Green Fellow (2010)
- Forbes 30 Under 30 (2014)
- Schwab Foundation Social Innovator (2022)
- TIME 100 Most Influential People (2024)
About the Mandela Prize
The Nelson Mandela Prize is awarded every five years to one man and one woman whose life’s work reflects Mandela’s values—justice, dignity, and service.
Dr. Odede’s recognition marks only the third time the prize has been awarded since it was created by the UN General Assembly.
