E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSKennedy Odede and Jessica Posner, both graduates from Wesleyan University, built the first free school for girls in Kibera, Africa's largest slum.
By Amber Payne
NBC News
When I first spoke to Kennedy Odede over the phone, I suggested we conduct his in-person interview at the place on his college campus most significant to him.
“How about Usdan Marketplace?” he asked, referring to one of the popular lunch spots at the Middletown, Conn., school.
I was a bit confused, and frankly, the aesthetics and the difficulties of getting quality audio in a cacophonous dining hall concerned me.
But Odede, 27, went on to explain. When he first arrived at Wesleyan University in fall of 2008, he would literally run to the dining hall because he wanted to get there before the food disappeared. He didn't realize that for the first time in his life, there would always be enough for him to eat.
Odede grew up in Kibera, a slum in Kenya where more than one million people live in an area the size of New York City's Central Park without sewage systems, roads, or access to basic health care and education.
And on Sunday, May 27th, he stood proudly before his graduating class with honors, and gave the commencement address. He became the first person from Africa’s largest slum to graduate from an American University.
For the young man who had never seen a shower until he came to the U.S., it was a life-altering four years. Now, he is determined to use his education and his passion to change the lives of those in his hometown.
“I know millions of people who are struggling,” he said. “It is not that they are lazy or they can’t do it. It’s that there’s no opportunity. I want to be a symbol that anyone in the world, given an opportunity, can make it.”
'Dare to hope'
Hope is the theme has guided Odede. His mission that bright afternoon in May was to light a fire for social change among his peers. He shared some of his inspiring journey: how he came from being a poor factory worker to standing before them as a Wesleyan graduate.
And he left them with his mantra: “When you dare to hope, we create more hope in the world."
Odede's scarlet cap and gown contrasted beautifully against the bright blue sky as he confidently commanded the attention of his class, and their friends, family, and faculty.
Kennedy Odede grew up in the Kibera slum in Africa, and never thought he could graduate from Wesleyan University – let alone graduate with honors.
“Please repeat after me,” he said. "Today I promise ... to use my education ... to champion hope."
All 713 of his fellow undergraduates enthusiastically reiterated his charge.
When Odede was growing up, he dreamed of becoming a teacher or a doctor. His mother, he said, gently told him not to get his hopes up too high. He vividly remembered the day his mother tried to enroll him in primary school but could not afford the $10-a-year tuition.
But hope truly is what brought Kennedy to Wesleyan. He was talented and driven enough to receive a scholarship from the university with the help of a young woman who shared his passion to help others.
Shining Hope for Communities
"Nightly News" first introduced viewers to Kennedy Odede and Wesleyan grad Jessica Posner in our Making a Difference series.
Together they founded Shining Hope for Communities in the slum Odede grew up in.
“We believe that if people have hope and they have access to resources, there are so many amazing things they can do to change their realities,” Posner said.
During Odede’s first year at Wesleyan where he attended on a full scholarship, he and Posner were awarded a $10,000 grant to build a small school for girls in Kibera as an educational institution and a safe haven for girls. They built the school in the summer of 2009 and Posner, a 2009 graduate, has been living in Kibera heading the organization while Odede finished school.
Since its founding, the school and the organization as a whole has grown tremendously. In addition to securing nearly $1 million in grants, they built a health clinic and clean water and latrine station, and two community centers with youth and adult literacy programs -- community services that will help more than 30,000 people this year.
Love at first bus stop
Odede and Posner met in 2008 at a bus stop in Nairobi. Posner was a junior studying abroad and when she learned of Odede’s community work, she was inspired to join him.
Posner fondly called it “love at first bus stop.” They married on Saturday in Denver. Posner was thrilled to show us her ring and she described the ceremony as a mix of Kenyan and Jewish traditions.
They will both return to Kibera this summer to build a life together and to continue to build their organization.
“We both come from different worlds. We compliment each other,” Odede explained. “And that’s why we are a really, really powerful force.”
A special day for the family and the community
Odede's younger sister Elizabeth Odede, his 7-year-old brother Hillary Odede, and his best friend, traveled to Wesleyan to join the graduation festivities. While young Hillary inspected our camera Elizabeth was so overcome with pride for her big brother, she could barely form words when I asked her how she felt.
Odede’s mother was unable to attend commencement, but she sent him a text, congratulating him on following his dream to attend university: “It is the best day of your life as you graduate. We wish you the best and we are thinking of you. This is a really special day for the family and the community!”
Odede graduates with a degree in sociology, but he told us and his fellow graduates that the momentous day was not for him only.
“My dream is to attend a Wesleyan commencement 13 years from now and sit where our families are today to watch a graduate from the Kibera School for Girls accept a Wesleyan diploma,” he said. “Proving that it does not matter where you come from, only where you want to go.”
Leave a Comment:
I thought this story was about Obama.
Cut me a break! Don't you understand what you read?
Robin,
Some people are just TOO stupid for words. xsted1 is just one of those that is a perfect example.
Cut xsited1 some slack. I'm pretty sure it was a joke.
Really? A sick one maybe. Then again, idiots like him actually don't mean it as a sick ignorant one.
No, I don't think xsited1 was making a joke; if he was, it wasn't 'funny. More like pathetic.
xsited1 do you know how to read?
Robin-JKLD- Gumps
I hope you people don't get me wrong, I wasn't condoning xsited1s' vain attempt at humor. I try to ignore pointless posts and/or replies like that. I realize now that "cut some slack" wasn't exactly what I meant. "Don't give it a second thought" is really more along the lines of what I was thinking. I guess I wrote quicker than I thought.
I fall on my sword.
from the article "Odede graduates with a degree in sociology"
What ?!? A degree in Sociology? The fellow seems to be a hard worker.
Don't sweat it, wichiasha. I thought the article was an inspirational piece about a guy who went through some pretty tough times and still came out of it well. But I suppose there are still too many right wing lunatics who can only see some guy from another country coming here, getting a "free" education on our dime... Personally, I think the money spent on this guy's education was well spent.
My hat off to this man. The world needs more people like him and it will be a much better place.
Gumps
Thanks, and I do too, think the money was well spent that is. My sentiment was mirrored at #3.1.
Have a good evening.
OMG! Look at the insults, intolerance and misunderstandings in the posts above! Wow. Just, wow! Did anyone bother to read about the organization this guy started? He's a community organizer and he's done amazing work. If you read the MSNBC story, information on the organization's site and other sources, you'll find there are some parallels between him and Obama. Good grief, people, get a grip. And if you can't, I understand that 'haters are going to hate'. Good day.
(And my apologies. I had to flag a few posts for insults. That is truly uncalled for. I am really ashamed of several of you. If you had any decency, you would be ashamed of your actions as well.)
It's a very inspiring story, captured best in the line, "Proving that it does not matter where you come from, only where you want to go."
Proves that it can be done if they have some morals and are willing to work for it. Racism = lie.
Jake,
Sounds like you have a bit of a bigot in you. Better check your white sheet - it's showing.
JKLD, what the heck are you talking about?
Once again, a half baked story from MSNBC. Doesn't really say what his excelled in to get a full ride. I"m glad he's making the most of it.
Frankly, I don't even care if our tax dollars helped him out. He is using his education and success to return home and give back to his own community and those who could not physically follow in his footsteps. He is making it possible for them to become educated so they may become perhaps better able to care for themselves and their own environment, perhaps to face and overcome adversity rather than run away from it to become pitiful future refugees of a careless world.
I salute him and his wife. These are the slow painstaking steps that change the world.
Who cares? It's people like this who will make a difference in the world, unlike the idiots who major in whatever to work on WallStreet or have no empathy for other people less fortunate than themselves and who are only interested in themselves.
screminmimi
That was vey well said and I agree with you 100%.
I'm sure you will never understand this since I doubt you've ever seen or been in an actual graduation ceremony. The story has Odede giving the graduating class address. I wouldn't expect one making such ignorant remarks as you to know that that is an HONOR reserved for the Valedictorian of the class...the Graduate with the HIGHEST grade point ratio (GPR).
JKLD- Why are you so bitter? What is wrong with wanting to make money and give yourself and your family a good life?
There are others ways to make a difference other than living in an under-developed country.
duplicate
Wesleyan only gives financial aid based on need - no merit scholarships (standard for elite schools). He was obviously poor enough to qualify for a full ride. What a success story!
Sincere congratulations and wishes for the very, very best in the future for this young man and his wife. May their hope bring them fulfillment and success. May they live long and prosper in their endeavors.
He obviously knows more about English than the person who wrote the title of this story.
Why would anyone want to come to an "unexceptional racist country" whose system of government "has never worked" to get a completely free education. Isn't that the same path as a certain ungrateful O. family.......???
Boy, if there is one thing I've learned, is that so many of us can be complete jerks to people who study hard, and make something for themselves. You want to be a hater, go for it, dude. What a waste of energy though.
Way to go Art - congratulations on posting the first bigoted remark.
Because despite the racism this country still projects (and you can decry me all you want, because you know it's true), there's still some exceptional parts to this country that offer opportunities to people who wish to take them on. If you can afford it, we still have some of the top universities in the world.
Keep on chugging that haterade, bro.
Art, did you forget where you placed your white hood and sheet?
Oh, you're wearing it!!!!!
Art's comment was not racist. You people throw that term around to justify your own stupidity. He was commenting on hypocracy, for the most part. Many people out there who condemn our country and wish it harm are happy to come here for a free education. Not sure what he means about Obama, but it is not racist. You all use "racist" so much you sound like the little boy who cried "wolf." Soon, when we hear the word, it will mean nothing.
Lee, your comment wasn't racist, it was just plain stupid.
Lee actually does have a point. I've seen people labeled as racist for simply disagreeing with something Obama favors. That's sad.
But this wasn't about someone disagreeing with Obama. Lee's post was indeed stupid.
Gumps has a point. He would in fact know stupid when he saw it.
I wonder whose seat he took at school and what they might have been able to do with the same free ride.
Sociology?!? He must be hoping for a career in government with that useless degree. Guess he couldn't pass the pre-med courses.
@lessThan99%...
Well, you certainly seem like a nice guy...I'm sure this man is inspired by your kind words.
I wonder why lessThan99% would make such a stupid comment... Maybe because his IQ is less than 99%?
He lived in a African slum but his mother has a cell phone and can send test messages.
It's entirely possible that since he was here for four years someone managed to assist him in seeing that his mother was given a cell phone to keep in touch with him. She was obviously a woman of intelligence as she tried to enroll him in school and even tried to warn him about the possible futility of his dreams.
She didn't laugh at him or sorrowfully shake her head at his delusions of grandeur. She just "gently" warned him it might not be possible, thereby not completely destroying his enthusiasm but trying to prepare him for eventual disappointment.
So she probably had the smarts to use a cell phone. Don't over think this.
Cellphones are no longer luxuries in Kenya. Just Google M-Pesa. Kenyans are some of the most mobile transactions savvy people on earth. Almost everyone has a cellphne in kenya.
Yes. We should all be engineers instead, and then when that field gets flooded, you can go whining and complaining about that as well.
He's obviously a bright mind with a lot of intelligence doing what he loves. I have no doubts he'll find a job doing what he wants to do. You are one jealous bastard.
The US college explosion over the last 20 years is about 4x the number of psychology, sociology and education majors with only a 50% increase in computer engineering while chemical engineering is on the decline. There is such a shortage of engineers, and to meet industry demand, they must be imported from other countries, including the UK and Europe.
There is nothing wrong with "importing" skills when local supply is not enough. I'd rather hire the brightest Russian kid than look to train the 10th most talented American. Moreover, the Russian kid was educated using their taxes/subsidies and not ours. It's the free market system, right? Welcome to the future.
Usually it's private scholarship funds, and not tax dollars that fund people like this young man to come to American schools. I went to a small Liberal Arts College in the late '70s and we had two young men from Africa and a young woman from Malaysia on full scholarships. All were funded by private funds. What the small-minded here fail to understand is that having students from other cultures and backgrounds enriches the experience for the other students on the campus. The world is a big and diverse place. Taking the opportunity to learn from others different than oneself is a good thing. Surrounding oneself only with people who look/think/act like you is so limiting.
And as to CommonMan's comment above: why do you presume that because this young man's mother was able to send him a congratulatory text message that she owns a cell phone? Many times in poor countries such devices are shared or rented when needed. And even if she does have her own phone, why should that be implied as an issue? Are people who have to live in slums forbidden from owning anything in your view?
It gives students (who don't have the opportunity) an idea of what it's like to travel to a different country for education.
Why is it such a great humanitarian act toward a better tomorrow, a liberal random act of kindness when the recipient of a helping hand is from a third-world country? If these “make-the-world-a better-place,” self-righteous socialists would venture beyond their hallowed halls of academia they would literally trip over hungry children right here in the streets of America. Just around the block from their ivory towers they would meet the thousands of homeless American children. Every year the hopes and dreams of young, new high school graduates are crushed as they stand and watch scholarships and other assistances being awarded abroad. After all what do these American children have to complain about, they can sign their life away for student loans to help the bleeding heart liberals provide a free ride to gain success. Now I need to go puke.
And the oh-so-high-and-mighty conservatives are just chomping at the bit and racing to help the poor, right? The conservatives subscribe to the ROAD theory of handling the poor, handicapped and elderly. ROAD - Roll Over And Die. That's what they want for those hungry and homeless children. Then when it happens, they have cannon-fodder to aim at the liberals.
What's wrong with you? I thought you conservatives were AGAINST handouts to the poor? What is it you guys call that? "Entitlements?" Yeah, wonderful folks you all are. Tell the poor to pull themselves up by the bootstraps while you cut them off at the knees.
kmusic50
Please do-
Very inspiring for this young man, but how about he take his education and go back to where he came from and change things in Africa instead of bringing more people here to the U.S. that we can't afford to take care of. I'm all for progress for those that have lived in humble circumstances, but the U.S. can't reform every single person on the planet - they can't ALL come here - our tax dollars are already stretched way past what they can handle. The progress in his own country is what is going to change the world and he's made a good start. Encouraging other people who have come to the U.S. for education to make things better in their own countries is what is going to change the world. This guy got 2 separate grants. I would really like to know who paid the grant money? Where did that money come from?
The article states that he and his American wife are moving back to the slum he came from in Africa to continue their work to help the people there. Sounds like he is taking the education he was given and planning to use it for good to help his native countrymen.
BTW, given that he's now married to an American woman, he has the right to live and work here permanently. Kudos to them that they are making the choice that they have.
Uh, do you have a problem comprehending what you just read? Apparently you do.
Go back and REREAD THE ARTICLE.
Agreed. And if he succeeds at making a dent in the problems of his native community, that could mean less future unrest and less need for the aid that Americans fund as a matter of good will, and even moral responsibility. This is an increasingly interconnected world.
I was in the audience when Kennedy spoke. It was the most inspiring graduation speech I've ever heard. (And I gave one!) And no, I doubt that any public funds were used to pay for his scholarship, Wesleyan is a private university. Kennedy was not speaking because he was the valedictorian, he wasn't. He was chosen overwhelmingly by the student body to represent them. Yes, Kennedy serves as an inspiration to those back in his native land. He showed that if you work hard you can achieve great things (a very American ideal). But for me, more importantly, the 700 plus other graduates, mostly children of privilege (the University costs over $54k/year) learned that not everyone can take higher education for granted. They learned lessons about perseverance and hope from Kennedy. The most popular person to get a photo taken with after the ceremony was not the Senator from Colorado in attendance, nor the very popular college President, but Kennedy Odede. The students were so proud to have this young man represent them, their University and the ideals of their Nation. How do I know this? Because my daughter graduated with Kennedy and I have a picture of the two of them that I now cherish.
berksquat, well said! And, congratulations to both your daughter and Kennedy!
And just WHY do you need to even ask such an ignorant question to begin with?
Oh, I forgot! People like you have NO empathy for those less fortunate than yourself, do you? Or is that he's from an african nation and not from here? Or is it prehaps that he intends to go back and make his village BETTER with the knowledge gained from his education and you're rather keep "them" ignorant because "they" shouldn't be helped?
Wow, the human spirit, congratulations to the couple, it's people like them who should inherit our world in the future to ensure the human race survives; the alternative is we destroy ourselves with hatred, be it racial, religious, or what-have-you.
I hope he succeeds.
More than likely took the seat of a less qualified candidate. He must have done something right. He graduated with honors and gave the commencement speech. I wonder what the kid that graduated 713th in his class did. I presume that kid took the seat of some kid that would have been the 714th if there had been room for him.
He is creating a better world for the people of his country. Did you even read the story?
More than likely took the seat of a less qualified candidate. He must have done something right. He graduated with honors and gave the commencement speech. I wonder what the kid that graduated 713th in his class did. I presume that kid took the seat of some kid that would have been the 714th if there had been room for him.
You think they would have founded a school in Kenya and possibly helped tends of thousands of other people over the next several decades?
"African slum"???? He's from Kenya!!! There are like 50 other NATIONS in Africa!! Now I understand why Americans are so dumb----the media is dumb and that's where they get all their information!
Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine lessthan99%!
Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine lessthan99%!