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    Whatever Happened To ... The Street Kid Whose Life Was Saved By Kindness

    Kennedy Odede was a homeless kid in the slum of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. Now he's the founder of a successful nonprofit helping his community. How's he and his group faring?
    by Marc Silver Aug 29, 2018 4 minutes
    Kennedy Odede (in blue shirt) is dancing for a good reason. The charity he and his wife started has been awarded the $2 million Hilton Humanitarian Prize. He's joined by residents of Kibera, the neighborhood in Nairobi where his nonprofit group provides educational, health and clean water services.

    In 2015, I heard about this made-up holiday called "World Kindness Day" and thought it would be interesting to talk to someone whose life had been changed by the kindness of strangers. A contact put me in touch with Kennedy Odede.

    As a homeless kid in the slum of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, Odede stole a mango. A mob began beating him. A kindhearted middle-age man saw what was happening and paid for the mango. Later on a Catholic priest helped Odede go to a local school.

    He went on to graduate from Wesleyan University and found a nonprofit called Shining Hope for Communities in 2004, based in Kibera. SHOFCO,

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