43 pages • 1 hour read
Kennedy Odede, Jessica PosnerFind Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, And Hope In An African Slum
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 12-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary: “jessica and kennedy”
Jessica is back at home with her family in Denver, Colorado, when she receives a call from Kennedy about violence in Kibera, but the call is cut short before she can learn what is happening. She frantically searches the news for any information on the conflict.
She learns that Kenya’s president was reinstated to office under suspicious conditions and possible election fraud, which led to intense rioting in Kibera between the Luo and Kikuyu tribes, also known as the Luo and Kikuyu massacres. Kennedy and his friend Antony hide at the SHOFCO office outside of Kibera in Olympic. When a gang shows up to kill them, he calls George. George gathers 15 people, and they scare the gang away.
The next day Kennedy wants to return to Kibera and plans to stay with a friend. Jessica warns him to be careful, and he is equally touched by her concern but also frustrated by the distance between them. Kennedy ultimately decides to stay in Olympic, and the next day he learns that the friend he wanted to stay with in Kibera was murdered via forced circumcision.
Jessica gathers money from friends to buy Kennedy a plane ticket to Tanzania where he can hide until the violence subsides. At a police checkpoint, where the Luo ethnic group is being murdered, Kennedy escapes, noting that he speaks “both Kikuyu and Luo perfectly, the languages of the main two opposing groups” (200). He cheats death again, makes his plane and travels to safety.
In Tanzania, he applies for admission to study at universities in the United States. Jessica sends him the applications: “The subject line is only one word, all in caps: APPLY” (204).
Chapter 13 Summary: “jessica”
Jessica proves herself to be a savvy organizer and actively works to get Kennedy into the United States. She collects funds to send Kennedy plane ticket money via Western Union. Her parents take her to an immigration lawyer where she learns that Kennedy has two options for getting an American visa: “Plan A, Kennedy goes to college in the United States and comes by a student visa; or Plan B, we get married so he can get a visa” (206). Jessica emails the dean of admissions for the 15 schools that provide scholarships to foreign students.
Jessica has trouble re-adjusting to college life while Kennedy is still struggling through violence and trauma. A psychologist diagnosis her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from her study abroad. Three universities respond to her email and agree to accept his applications late, so Jessica works diligently to gather the materials needed to secure his admission. Kennedy receives a full scholarship to Hampshire College and Wesleyan.
Unable to wait any longer to see Kennedy, Jessica wins a research scholarship to Kenya to study postelection violence for her senior thesis. Jessica walks into a different Kenya, with Kennedy not able or willing to talk to her about the conflict.
Before they can leave for the United States together, Kennedy must travel to his village to build a house. Jessica goes with him and meets his mother for the first time. When Jessica is called to help build the house, she notices it looks a lot like a wedding set-up, “The look on his face—oh my God—this is a wedding” (221). Kennedy hadn’t told her that he must build the house with a wife in order to have his family’s blessing to leave for America, otherwise he wouldn’t be invited back home. They argue over the fact that Kennedy keeps secrets and won’t tell her about his culture, presuming she won’t understand. Jessica helps him complete the wedding ceremony by cooking dinner outside the house.
Chapter 14 Summary: “kennedy and jessica”
Kennedy and Jessica travel to America together. Kennedy had a hard time leaving Kibera but knew he needed to go:
‘Listen, guys, I am not going to America to work in a grocery shop,’ I rebutted. ‘Here in Kibera, I’m the mayor. I’m so proud. I have my dignity. My heart will stay here with you, and I will come back after my education’ (225).
In New York, Kennedy is overwhelmed by the prosperity and advancement that he has never seen before, like bathroom showers and fast food restaurants.
He travels to Ohio to meet Linda, the American woman who “has written me and supported me for over ten years, but we have never met” (227). Kennedy keeps learning new things, like how to behave as a black man in America, how to use a fork and knife, and how his life with Jessica will be challenging. Some of the cultural differences are funny and light-hearted, while others are serious and threaten their relationship. As Kennedy works to build a new life at Wesleyan University, he struggles to create a new identify for himself without forgetting where he came from: How is he going to become successful and still take care of his community in Kibera? He starts a SHOFCO chapter at Wesleyan and continues to work towards building the organization.
Jessica and Kennedy continue to struggle in their relationship as work to combine their two worlds: “Maybe it was naïve to think that we could just take out love and transpose it here, with all these new expectations and pressures” (239).
Kennedy learns that his little sister Jackie is pregnant after being raped. The phone call brings Kennedy crashing down emotionally, as he mourns for his sister and his community. Jessica and Kennedy brainstorm starting a school for girls. When she sees a flyer on campus for a $10,000 grant for peace project, they quickly apply. They win the grant to launch the Kibera School for Girls.
Chapter 15 Summary: “jessica”
Summer has arrived, and Kennedy and Jessica are busy making plans to build the new school. In June Kennedy will be in Paris for a fellowship he won, and then Jessica, Kennedy, and Jessica’s brother Max will spend six weeks in Kibera building the Kibera School for Girls. Jessica has every detail of the school and building plans organized on an excel spreadsheet. They don’t have any time for delays, which are inevitable when building in Kenya.
They arrive in Kibera to build the school but their excitement quickly turns to concern when they find the SHOFCO office pillaged of furnishings and computers; Kennedy blames himself for the loss. Antony, one of the organization’s strongest supporters and Kennedy’s good friend, sold all the belongs at the SHOFCO office. They also learn that Antony paid someone to hurt Kennedy because Antony is jealous of his success and wants to see him harmed.
Kennedy works tirelessly to secure land for the girls’ school, while Jessica grows bored and idle having nothing to do. She isn’t allowed to work alongside Kennedy for fear that the presence of a white person will raise cost and suspicions of the project. Despite the setbacks to building, Kennedy secures land and building begins.
Chapters 12-15 Analysis
Part 2 introduces a different stage in the novel and in Kennedy and Jessica’s relationship. The section opens with Jessica back in Colorado and Kennedy struggling to survive post-election violence, illuminating the stark contrast between their lives. The authors, by alternating narration, highlight the difference between life in Kenya and life in America and the forthcoming difficulties their relationship will have to endure when they are reunited.
As they learn to navigate their new situation as a couple, Jessica evolves in her role as Kennedy’s partner, both personally and professionally. She is no longer an American living in a foreign land, not able to provide or help. Back home in the United States where she has access to resources and contacts, Jessica steps into her role as an organizer, capable and savvy at grant writing and researching. She supports Kennedy from afar in his efforts to grow SHOFCO and to secure admission into an American university. Unlike when they were in Kenya together and Jessica had to rely on Kennedy to navigate such a foreign, hostile landscape, she delights in being able to help advance Kennedy’s charitable mission.
Kennedy struggles to escape the violence in Kibera. He comes to a crossroads where he must choose to suffer along with his community or step outside of it in order to save it. He continues to choose perseverance and hope in the face of hardship, never losing sight of his goal to find ways to improve the lives of his people. Kennedy struggles to adjust to life in the United States and often feels guilty for his success and privilege, yet just as when he was in Kibera, Kennedy never loses hope that he can bring about meaningful change for his hometown.
As Kennedy experiences a difficult transition into American culture at Wesleyan, the authors often tell explain his culture shock with humor and lightheartedness. The readers understand that this is not only a story of hardship, trauma, and hope, but it is also a deeply personal love story for Jessica and Kennedy as they learn about each other’s lives and cultures through humor, joy, connection, and understanding.
