Nairobi — The United States Government has appointed renown Kenyan social entrepreneur Dr. Kennedy Odede to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) of United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The all-powerful ACVFA was first established in the aftermath of World War II and has existed longer than USAID itself, playing an important role in shaping the United States' approach to international development.
Over many decades, the committee has evolved to play a key role in fostering cooperation between the US government and a range of NGOs, and it has provided a platform for civil society to engage with USAID and help inform its approach to US foreign assistance.
It is another major feather in Dr. Odede's cap and the appointment comes less than two years after the Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) founder and CEO hosted USAID boss Samantha Power at the inaugural World Communities Forum (WCF) where he shared with her, alongside other global leaders, how his focus on community-driven change has seen his organisation impact over 2.5 million slum dwellers in Kenya through various causes.
The forum brought together high-profile development experts such as Chelsea Clinton, Darren Walker, Dr Oby Ezekwesili and Cecile Richards who listened and learnt about grassroots solutions from community-based leaders while inspiring a localisation revolution to decolonise development.
It is at the forum that Dr. Odede challenged Power and the other leaders to invest more in community-led solutions and as a result, the USAID has committed 25 per cent of its resources to local orgainsations with a promise to do more.
Power, who was impressed with Dr. Odede's work that has changed the lives of slum dwellers in Kenya through various causes such access to health, water, community advocacy platforms, education and leadership development for women and girls, promised to follow the Shofco boss' lead and responded with the huge resource allocation.
The all-powerful committee, which will serve for three years, has membership from leading experts representing NGOs, private sector, academia and civil society drawn from across the globe.
"The committee's new membership is comprised of internationally recognised leaders representing a broad range of sectors who will support the Agency's mission and goals by advising on key development challenges and priorities. The Committee will be chaired by Nisha Biswal, Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce," said Power in her statement confirming the appointments.
USAID is an independent American agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion (Sh3.2 trillion), USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all US foreign assistance, the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.
The appointment expands Dr. Odede's global network to champion his pet subject of how partnerships between the government and community-led organisations can help end poverty within Kenyan and African slums while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Odede shared this when he joined a panel of eminent persons at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in May 2022 to discuss how to eliminate global poverty.
He has been urging the national and local governments, private sector, NGOs as well as global leaders to invest in community-led solutions if the world has to achieve substantiable development.
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His tenacity and persistence over the subject was vindicated in June 2022 when Shofcos' community-driven change became a model for global NGOs following a case study conducted by Bridgespan Group which had a close-up look at on-the-ground approaches that make the Kenyan organisation tick.
Shofco stood out among the other NGOs around the world with Bridgespan concluding that their model of community-driven change has achieved impact that lasts because the community feels a sense of ownership.
Bridgespan Group is guiding the philanthropic choices of many leading donors, including MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation among others.
Dr. Odede founded Shofco in 2004 in Kibera slums in Nairobi and it has now expanded to 16 counties across Kenya, serving over 2.5 million people directly.
