Partner Page: Chris Omondi

127 Partners

CHRIS OMONDI

Chris grew up in the slums of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. After coming to faith through a Swahiba Networks (SN) program during his school years, he now leads the day-to-day initiatives of Swahiba as the organization seeks to serve young people living in one of the largest slums in the world by meeting physical and spiritual needs.

Partner Grant

127 Partners

Chris Omondi

Chris grew up in the slums of Kibera in Nairobi. After coming to faith through a Swahiba Networks program during his school years, he now leads the day-to-day initiatives of Swahiba as the organization seeks to serve young people in one of the largest slums in the world.

Welcome to Swahiba Networks!

Swahiba Networks was founded in 2002 by Peter Abungu. Peter answered God’s call to serve the young people in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. In Kibera, roughly 250,000 people live a 4 square mile “tin city,” often with no running water or sewers. Swahiba shares the truth of the gospel to local youth primarily through meeting temporal needs, working in schools and through and programs ultimately aimed at creating disciples.

While Peter remains the Founder and is still involved in the work of Swahiba, Chrispine Omondi has slowly transitioned into 127 Worldwide’s main contact and local leader for partnership. Their relationship stands as a testimony for how God uniquely brings people together from totally different life circumstances to best serve his kingdom and how important it is to invest in the generation to come. 127 has partnered with Swahiba on that very camp that brought Chris and Peter together, as well as many other programs and projects throughout the years.

Meet Chris Omondi

Chrispine Omondi (Chris) was born and raised in the slums of Kibera. He always shares that his childhood wasn’t a “good life” as he often went to bed hungry. In addition to his family’s economic challenges, Chris’s parents divorced when he was four, leaving him with strained familial relationships and almost no material resources. Following the divorce, he was handed from relative to relative until eventually moving in with his stepmother. When he was a teenager he was in search of food and learned of a ministry that provided meals. There he met Peter, founder of Swahiba Networks, for the first time. Chris learned about a camp offered through Swahiba and was later awarded a scholarship to attend.

Chris was part of the first class of youth to attend Abide Camp and has since spent more than a decade under Peter’s leadership and mentorship. Chris is now married with one child and serves as the Director of Swahiba.

127 Partnership Highlights

Mentorship and Empowerment Program

127 Worldwide has supported the Mentorship and Empowerment Program (MEP) since its beginning in 2012. The MEP program targets young women who are recent high school graduates and takes them through a series of training sessions to prepare them for college and the workplace. Swahiba has seen a 98% success rate in graduates going on to gain employment, start their own small business or pursue a college education. In June of 2022, 94 young women graduated from MEP learning skills in business, technology, baking and beauty.

Abide Camp 2022

Each year Swahiba organizes a week-long camp that brings select youth together outside of the slum, many for the first time, for a week of camping, fellowship, bible study, mentorship and faith based inspiration through the gospel message. 127 Worldwide has supported the scholarships of hundreds of students over partnership with Swahiba. In 2021, 162 individuals were part of Abide Camp with 49 new believers by week’s end. Those new believers were plugged into other year-long Swahiba programs to continue in discipleship on their new faith journey