Salma Hayek may be known for her Hollywood roles, but a big part of her heart is in Kenya. In a powerful show of compassion and commitment, she visited Kenya's largest slum to support Shining Hope For Communities (SHOFCO) — a charity driving change in the African nation's challenging environments. But the star's dedication goes beyond her work for the organisation — she's a trusted confidante and friend to the charity's founder, offering support in ways that reach far beyond the spotlight.
SHOFCO founder Kennedy Odede exclusively tells HELLO!: "Any time I am personally going through anything in life as a change-maker, Salma will be there. She is not fake, for me Salma is real. That's the kind person she is. She is just a person with soul, who is caring."
Kennedy's Kenya-based charity aims to help transform "urban slums" by providing important services and advocacy platforms, alongside education for all women and girls. And Salma has seen the work the charity do first hand during her personal trips to the country.
"I have been fortunate to be with Salma in my hometown, the Kibera slum, which is the largest in Kenya," Kennedy explained.
Salma has empathy, she has feeling, she has a soul and I have been fortunate enough to see her, when she sees people struggling, women, children, she gets really bothered and she is doing a lot that she doesn't talk about.
"She meets people where they are. She has been a deeply personal supporter of work like SHOFCO and Girl Effect. She gets into the strategies. She wants to see big change, not just incremental."
Kennedy was incredibly impressed with Salma's involvement and her demeanour during their visits to the slums to see the charity's work: "You could see, beyond the cameras she was really into it and she really felt connected." Salma "always wants to do something", says the charity founder. "She said, 'Kennedy! What can I do? How can I help?!'"
SHOFCO is only one of several charities to which Salma lends her star power. She also uses her global platform — which includes a social media following of 29 million followers — to bring attention to the Cameron Boyce Foundation.
The organisation was set up to honour the life of American actor Cameron Boyce, who sadly died in 2019 at the age of 20 following an epileptic seizure. The ultimate goal of the charity is to find a cure for the condition.
The cause is incredibly personal for the actress — she played Cameron's mother when they co-starred in the Grown-Ups series of films. The pair kept in touch after working together, which Salma revealed in a personal tribute to the actor following his death.
Cameron's parents, Victor and Lydia told HELLO! how much it meant for them to have the star's support.
"We're so grateful to Salma for using her platform to bring awareness to our cause, and we hope to continue working with her more closely in the near future."