George Okewa
In Kibera, George is a well-known and respected community organizer and activist. After graduating from high school, George continued to educate himself, despite his families’ inability to afford further education. He attended seminars in community health, organizing, and development. He has organized around issues of labor injustice, unemployment, and the government’s denial of services to the people of Kibera. In 2004, George began working with Kennedy Odede to help start a grassroots organization founded and run by the people of Kibera. George has since led slum-wide sanitation and anti-violence campaigns. In 2006 George founded Kibera’s own grass-roots security organization to protect and serve residents, as the police do not work inside the slum. George’s work has received widespread acclaim, even attracting the attention of Prime Minister Raila Odinga. George believes that the uplift of women is central to changing Kenyan society and the lives of all people in Kibera. He also believes that for such change to take place men and women must work together for equality, education, and justice. He lives in Kibera with his wife and two children.