Ex-soldier to revive charity programme in his Oyugis backyard

HOMA BAY: I was born 75 years ago to a staunch Catholic family on the outskirts of Oyugis Town, Homa Bay County, and was baptised Audi Odhiambo.

Upon turning 22, I joined the military where I served in various positions before quitting after ten years. Despite the good life I enjoyed in the forces as a captain, I could not help but feel for the poor I often came across.

I kept stumbling upon street children who instead of being in school were busy rummaging through heaps of garbage in the filthy Dandora Dumpsite in Nairobi. Others begged with bowls in hand. Most of them were orphans. There were also widows and the marginalised.

With stringent military rules, I found it rather cumbersome to concurrently serve my master and at the same time care for the homeless as I wished. It was then that I initiated the idea of running a charitable organisation dubbed Confessional Ecumenical Foundation (CEF) to serve as a rescue home for these destitute. I had to resign from the military to run the organisation.

As a religious organisation, CEF majored in spiritual nourishment and development programmes aimed at empowering and giving hope to needy children and the youth.

CEF operated both primary and secondary schools - St Erick Academy and Vocational Training Centre - where programmes included Christian ministry courses, youth development, widow development, health and nutrition, community care, and agriculture for food security.

With funding from non-governmental organisations, local and international donor agencies and self-help groups, CEF had no difficulty in providing for the over 500 beneficiaries and employees.

But the institution came tumbling down in the wake of the 2007/2008 post-election violence. I ended up in Nyagowa where my home is situated with virtually nothing. Surprisingly, the case here was more or less the same. There exists the less-privileged. Now that I cannot make it back to the city, I plan to establish a similar charity project here at home to empower the less-privileged. I have the passion and willingness to work with any like-minded people or organisations to realise my dreams of reviving CEF to uplift the needy.