Kennedy Odede

Kennedy is one of Africa’s best- known community organizers and social entrepreneurs. For twenty-three years Kennedy lived in the Kibera Slum, the largest slum in Africa, where he experienced the devastating realities of life in extreme poverty first hand. The oldest of eight children, he became a street-child at the age of ten. Still, he …

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Ola Orekunrin

Ola Orekunrin is a medical doctor, helicopter pilot and managing director of the Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd, West Africa's first air ambulance service and a crucial link for critically injured people who, like many across the continent, are far away from hospital care. Along the way, Orekunrin has become a passionate advocate for finding African …

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Jane Otai

When Jane Otai walks through the Nairobi slums, she is no stranger. No stranger to the women living in corrugated-metal shacks or worse, no stranger to the poverty, overcrowded conditions and health problems devastating families. Most of all, she is no stranger to the huge boost that family planning services can provide for the urban …

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Yetnayet Asfaw Demessie

A physician by training, Asfaw has dedicated her professional and personal life to advancing the cause of girls and women for the past 18 years.  As country director for EngenderHealth, her primary foci are encouraging family planning, promoting maternal health and ensuring quality of health care.  She also led the first USAID supported project for …

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Nafi Chinery

Chinery is passionate about promoting women's rights in African countries. In her role at AWDF, she works with women-led organizations to build their leadership and help them advocate for inclusive decision-making processes. Through this work, she has gained stories of successes and failures among grassroots organizations. Chinery began her career with Oxfam GB, where she …

Meet the Fellow