Find Me Unafraid

Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum, by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner

This is not your usual "white savior" book. Jessica Posner went to Nairobi, Kenya as a college student to work in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa. Instead of staying with her middle-class homestay family, though, Posner insisted on moving into the slum, informing Kennedy Odede she'd be living with him. After growing up deeply poor, Odede had started a youth empowerment nonprofit to help other poor Kenyans: Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., he scraped together 20 cents for a soccer ball and started a youth group.

Beyond the cultural complications of Posner insisting she must live with Odede, she is an impressive young woman who becomes increasingly aware of her own privilege by immersing herself in life in the slums.

Posner and Odede eventually fall in love and get married. Facing many challenges, including corruption, violence against women, and lack of infrastructure, they put their focus on educating young girls and realize great successes in their work. With Posner's help and connections, SHOFCO started a tuition-free school, health center, and water treatment plant. They've accomplished amazing work together.

I found Odede's chapters far more interesting than Posner's, as he reflects on his own childhood compared to his American wife's, and he feels some ambivalence from the ways he's benefited from her wealth and privilege.