Odede ’12: Slum Tourism, a Personal View

Writing for The New York Times OpEd page, Kennedy Odede ’12, a resident Kibera, Kenya, the worst slum in Nairobi, discusses the phenomenon of people from developed countries treating slums as curious tourists destinations. Odede says that while some arrive hoping to better understand the conditions through first hand experience, for most it’s just a curiosity bordering on a bizarre form of entertainment, and then they move on.

Odede and Jessica Posner ’09 have co-founded Shining Hope for Communities, an organization that has built a school and health care center in Kibera over the last two years. They have been supported by a start-up grant from the Davis Projects for Peace, as well a grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, a Dell Innovation grant, and a 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship. Posner also was the winner of the 2010 VH-1 “Do Something” award.