SIE President Kathy Kaaf reports back from the Conference on the Proposed SI African
Federation which took place in Nairobi,
Kenya,
22nd – 24th March 2012.
"Kenya Strikes Oil“ was the headline of the “Daily
Nation” on Tuesday 27th March when SIE President-Elect Ulla Madsen, SIE Vice
President Christine Peer and I left Nairobi after
the successful Conference on the proposed SI African Federation in the capital
of Kenya. However, as many of the cartoons in local papers pointed out, oil is fine but what about water?!
What a fabulous time lay behind us: Some 100
Soroptimists from 10 African and 7 European countries, plus the USA,
had listened, discussed and enjoyed the conference, spending time
together to find the best way of heading for an African Federation. It was an
honour and a great joy for all of us having SI President Alice Wells among us,
who had been unfazed by the 27 hour trip from Phoenix, Arizona to be at this
first meeting with Soroptimists from all regions of the African continent. Soroptimists from Tunisia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda
and South
Africa were in
residence, representing the two Federations of SIE and SIGBI, with their presidents,
in the common effort to join hands for the future of an independent entity.
The Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA) outside Nairobi
was the perfect setting for a successful conference with its fascinating
speeches, animated discussions, round-table sessions, exhibitions, the
interesting election procedure, wonderful meals and an outbreak of
dancing. Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Sally Kosgei, gave the opening address on the role of women in providing food, pleading for the
conservation of healthy soil, and condemning the use of
inappropriate chemical fertilisers. Kenyan clubs have found an excellent
partner in the Environment Secretary, Dr. Alice Kaudia, of the Ministry of
Environment and Mineral Resources. She proposed not only to look at the
negative impact of climate change, but to look at new opportunities for fostering a more sustainable relationship with nature.
The second part of the conference was dedicated to our programme work, with SI President Alice illustrating the great variety and efficiency
of our worldwide organisation during her presentation. “Just
have a look at the Global Impact Report on the SI website and you can be proud”,
was her message!
We can only
praise ourselves on our long-term projects and commitments: from the
anti-landmine and cluster-bomb engagement to our Peace Prize, from the
initiation of the Water- and Sanitation Projects to the “Water and Food”
programmes, working hard in the fight against starvation and malnutrition.
SIGBI-President Maureen Maguire contributed her Federation’s Project on
Maternal & Child Health in The Gambia.
Everybody listened carefully to the reports of the
four African Regions: North, West, East and South which showed how much the
African Soroptimists are engaged in projects for the benefit of their
communities. SIE-Programme Director Ulrike Neubert reminded us of our core purpose: Programme Work.
In a passionate speech entitled “Where does the Shilling
Fall”, Rose Mwangi, SI UNEP Representative, made the African Soroptimists
realise the importance of an equitable receive-give balance. One of the most
enjoyable sessions were the round table sessions where groups worked
in teams on the topic “How to Implement a Project”. This was in accordance with the system developed by
“Women for Water Partnership”
whose chair, Alice M. Bouman, was one of the keynote-speakers and a great
partner of SIE since 2007.
The highlight of the
conference was the speech given by Dr. Ida Odinga, the Prime Minister’s wife, who
used to teach at the same school as Ulrike Neubert some twenty years ago. Her topic, “Promoting Women for Political Leadership”, is precisely what Soroptimists have been working on under the international theme of “Education and Leadership”.
Our thanks go to all
who worked on the successful outcome of this conference.