Philanthropist Dr Elizabeth Anyango Odaga was on Saturday 22 November honoured by the Jamhuri Kenya Awards for her role in empowering young people and supporting vulnerable families in Siaya County.
The community development advocate received the Youth Empowerment and Community Impact Award in the leadership category during the fourth edition of the awards held at the Argyle Hotel in Nairobi.
The ceremony, themed “Celebrating Kenya’s Changemakers”, brought together leaders, innovators and community builders from across the country. Her award was received by her personal assistant, Paul Obimbo alongside a team of her community outreach organizers led by Braxton Otieno. Dr. Anyango is currently in the United Kingdom.
Her recognition reflects years of consistent work through the Change Africa Foundation , which she founded to uplift orphans, widows, persons with disabilities and disadvantaged youth. What began as small acts of support during her visits home from the UK has grown into one of the most active grassroots empowerment programmes in Siaya County.
The foundation pays school fees for 320 students across the county and has built homes for elderly citizens, widows and orphaned families. Many of its projects focus on restoring dignity and giving vulnerable groups a chance to rebuild their lives.
Dr. Anyango’s most ambitious initiative has been the establishment of art centres across Siaya. The centres are designed to address unemployment by equipping young people with practical skills that can lead to immediate income. The pioneer centre in Akala, Gem, launched in August 2024, is currently training more than 100 youths in welding, beauty therapy and tailoring. A second centre in Aram, Rarieda Sub county, is offering lessons in computer studies, welding and beauty therapy.
The foundation is now rolling out new centres in Alego Usonga, Bondo, Ugenya and Ugunja, each tailored to the needs of the local youth. Courses include motor mechanics, welding, computer studies, tailoring, driving, hairdressing and plumbing.
Her commitment to service is shaped by her own difficult upbringing. Dr Anyango grew up in the crowded slums of Nyalenda in Kisumu, where her family struggled to survive. As a child, she sold simsim, paraffin and mangoes to supplement the family’s income and keep herself in school. Home life was turbulent, worsened by domestic violence after her father took a second wife.
During an exclusive interview with this publisher in August last year, Anyango recalled a moment when she had to flee home and seek refuge at her relatives after being disowned for being a mother at seventeen years old. She later moved to Mombasa, where she trained as a hairdresser.
Dr. Elizabeth Anyango’s team receiving the Award from the chief guest Mr. Felix ChegeHer life took a different turn after meeting her husband, a British national before they both moved to the UK. Moving to the UK opened a path to further education, and she later studied counselling psychology, law, politics and sociology at Cambridge University. Despite the new opportunities abroad, her focus remained on the struggles she had left behind. Every visit home reminded her of the women and children facing the hardships she once lived through, grounding her commitment to community service.
She is now among emerging African leaders to be profiled in the Africa Feature Network’s end-year publication, Luminate Africa Journal ,Feature Network’s end-year publication, Luminate Africa Journal, which highlights influential figures driving change across the continent.
Others who were awarded included Kiharu member of parliament Dindi Nyoro, Karachuonyo Constituency MP Adipo Okuome, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian, Kisumu County Assembly Speaker Elisha Jack Or are Kisumu County Assembly majority leader Kenedy Ouma Ooko, members of county assembly from across Kenya, entrepreneurs, media personalities, environmental conservation champions among others.
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