Kennedy Odede

find me unafraid, Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum, by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner (pp 324). This is a story of a charismatic young man living in the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya who founds an organization that transforms his community. It is told through parallel narratives: his and that of a Denver-born Wesleyan student who visited on a summer abroad visit and stayed on, eventually marrying him. This is NOT a story of a young white woman saving an impoverished village in Africa. Rather, it’s a story of an amazing man who survived a brutal childhood and went on to transform his own life and the lives of thousands of his neighbors. Importantly, the transformative projects were conceived, built, and run by locals, as opposed to resulting from drop-in western philanthropists. I found the story inspiring, in no small part because it described a phenomenally successful home grown, grass roots effort, as opposed to foreigners coming to the rescue of impoverished natives. American philanthropy was a factor in the expansion of the program, but those dollars supported rather than created what became a very successful social service program network.… (more)

I just finished reading this gorgeous powerful book and am still crying - Kennedy and Jessica are smart and brave, powerful and determined to make this world a better place. Kennedy grew up in one of the worst slums in Nairobi Kenya, and Jessica was raised in Denver and educated at Wesleyan. They couldn't have been raised more differently, yet when she arrived in the slum as a volunteer while still a college student, they fell in love and through hard work and creative dreams, they together brought hope and new life to a very fragile land.

This book was a beauty. Kennedy and Jessica are so inspiring - they are change agents who let nothing stand in the way of creating a better world. I loved every moment of reading about their work and their life together - they are truly heroes.… (more)