Wealth Is Togetherness with community organizer Kennedy Odede
A Bit of Optimism
The Optimism Company from Simon Sinek
4.8 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 10 September 2024
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The slums of Kenya are a tough place to grow up. Stealing a mango could get you killed.
Kennedy Odede grew up in Kibera, Africa's largest urban slum. A street kid at age 10, he dreamed of factory work for 10 cents a day. But after stealing a mango out of hunger, a stranger's single act of kindness changed the course of his life.
Today, Kennedy is the CEO and founder of Shining Hope for Communities, or SHOFCO. For 20 years, SHOFCO has empowered Kenya's poorest neighborhoods, helping over 4 million people access clean water, education, and Internet. In 2024, TIME Magazine named Kennedy one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Kennedy shares with me what it takes to see human goodness while surrounded by scarcity and anger, and how poverty taught him that being together is one of the greatest forms of wealth.
This...is A Bit of Optimism.
To learn more about Kennedy and his work, check out:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For a kid raised in the slums of Kenya, life was harsh and unforgiving. |
| 0:05.8 | Hunger, violence, and bad sanitation were normal. |
| 0:10.2 | So what would it take for a starving boy from the streets of Nairobi to become a leader |
| 0:15.4 | who millions of people look to for clean water, education, safety, and hope? |
| 0:21.4 | It all started with a single stolen mango. Stay tuned. |
| 0:28.0 | For decades the mafia had New York City in a stranglehold, |
| 0:31.7 | with law enforcement seemingly powerless to intervene. |
| 0:35.0 | It uses terror to extort people. |
| 0:39.0 | But the murder of Carmichaelante marked the beginning of the end. |
| 0:42.9 | Sparking a chain of events |
| 0:44.3 | that would ultimately dismantle |
| 0:46.2 | the most powerful crime organization in American history. |
| 0:50.4 | It sent the message to them that we can prosecute these people. |
| 0:56.0 | Discover how a group of young prosecutors took on the mafia. |
| 1:00.0 | And with the help of law enforcement brought down its most powerful figures. |
| 1:04.6 | These bosses on the Commission had no idea what was coming their way from the federal government. |
| 1:10.6 | From Wolf Entertainment and I-Heart Podcasts, this is Law and Order Criminal Justice System. |
| 1:17.0 | Listen to Law and Order Criminal Justice System on the IHART Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:25.0 | Hey, I'm Jiano Predente. |
| 1:31.0 | And I'm Jamey Jackson Gadsden. We're the host of Let's Talk |
| 1:33.9 | offline, a new podcast from LinkedIn News and I Heart Podcasts. When you're just |
| 1:38.9 | starting out in your career you have a lot of questions like how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job girl yes each week we answer your unfiltered work questions. |
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