For almost two years, Eunita Odongo MA '13 has found support in the United States, enhancing her worldview and enriching her education of social justice and policy. Among over 140 masters in Sustainable International Development students at Brandeis, she represents one of the many distinct cultures prevalent at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Hailing from western Kenya, around Kisumu, she is a deaconess of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, working to educate orphans and empower and provide shelter for women.
As a field coordinator for Diakonia Compassionate Ministry, a nonprofit faith-based organization, she has instilled hope in and promoted support of the Kenyan community. Working with the 1001 Orphans Program, she has helped identify children in need, counseled them, and paired them with Christian families within the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Americans who sponsor these children cover their medical expenses, the cost of school supplies and food.
"Provision of these basic needs makes these kids feel ... loved. There's somebody caring for them," Odongo said in an interview with the Justice.
The name "1001 Orphans" reflects DCM's goal to reach 1,000 children "plus one lost sheep," according to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod website. The "lost sheep" refers to the Christian belief that the church's work is never complete; there is always an additional child who needs nurturing.
1001 Orphans is a component of the larger Project 24, an initiative to build 24 orphan rescue centers across Kenya. The centers will provide a more conducive environment for the education of these children.
After winning a scholarship from the Ford Foundation, Odongo enrolled in Brandeis in 2011. She has taken courses in leadership, human rights, gender and planning and implementation that will further her career as a social worker in Kenya. When she returns home in June, she will arrive more knowledgeable about how to organize and execute projects, spread awareness of human rights and increase empowerment.
"There's a lot of expectation from me when I come back ... home," Odongo said. "They [Her employers at Project 24] feel ... if I go back home, I will add some value to the project to make some progress in terms of reaching out to people and planning and managing it."
Reverend David Chuchu, the director of Project 24, has expressed just that. He said to her in a phone conversation about two weeks ago that he wants her to finish her education soon and return to Kenya, bringing her new skills and experiences to improve their programs.
Odongo also has a vision to establish a women's empowerment center to educate women on their rights, with regard to education and medical services, mentor and motivate them and provide skills-based trainings.
While Odongo is eager to resume her projects in Kenya, she is equally happy to return to her husband and four children whom she has not seen since the summer. "It was really challenging, but I saw it as another opportunity [to] ... pursue education."
Though she frequently speaks to her family, the distance is still difficult to manage. "I do call, and sometimes, I hear, oh, this child is sick. Oh, Mom, today we don't have sugar. Then, you feel like if I would be there, they would be having this. So, sometimes, it's very stressful and sometimes very lonely," Odongo said.
Yet Odongo acknowledges the benefits of her international education. "I'm very excited to go back home and put into practice the knowledge, the experience and the ... skills that I've gained here so that I can promote the social justice that I think I came for. ... How can I put it into practice so it can have influence and have progress and have a lot of improvement and changes in the people's life?"
To her, education is crucial. It enables her to build upon her own set of ideas, experiences and challenges. Having grown up in an impoverished society, she is motivated to effect change, turn despair into opportunity and reach a consensus on how to confront obstacles that Kenyan children face. And, pursuing further education is always an option. Though she won't immediately seek another master's degree or a Ph.D., the possibility is not off the table.
In referencing former South African President Nelson Mandela, Odongo said, "education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world."
Odongo went on to explain how this statement inspires her work. "I'm looking for women empowerment to promote change. Once you educate women, you educate the whole family. ... Women normally think holistically. ... They think the social welfare of the whole community. That's why I have a passion of working with women, so that they become a tool for change for other people."