At 10 , Kennedy Odede was on and off the streets in a sprawling Nairobi , Kenya , slum . He was extremely poor and believed he was fated to die poor -- this was his prison . Odede 's life turned around when he read Nelson Mandela 's books and speeches . I knew I was born poor , and believed I was fated to die poor . The man who had been imprisoned for 27 years became an activist against apartheid South Africa.
At 10 , Kennedy Odede was on and off the streets in a sprawling Nairobi , Kenya , slum . He was extremely poor and believed he was fated to die poor -- this was his prison . Odede 's life turned around when he read Nelson Mandela 's books and speeches . The man who had been imprisoned for 27 years became an activist against apartheid South Africa.