Alice Odingo is one of two SI UN Reps in Nairobi (Kenya), at the UN Environment Programme. In this blog she sets out some of the achievements and challenges that she and colleague Rose Mwangi have experienced. 

I am Dr. Alice A.O. Odingo, a wife, a mother and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi. I am a Soroptimist from Karen Blixen Club of Nairobi, under Soroptimist International (SI) Europe Federation, since October 2008.  

My colleague, Mrs. Rose M. Mwangi is also a wife, a mother, and a member of the Karen Blixen Club.  Rose works with the Ministry of Agriculture in the Kenya Government as a National Coordinator of one of the Major projects in the Ministry.  Rose and I became SI UN Representative Designates in the UN Office in Nairobi in February 2011 and were promoted to full SI Representatives at UNEP and Regional Office for Africa in July 2011. We are grateful to Ms. Else Larsen, former SI UN Representative in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome, for training and guiding us during the early stages of our work.

We would like to thank SI for giving us the opportunity to serve and the continuous support each time we call upon them.  The initiative to have SI UN Representatives monthly meetings to share information and now the proposed meeting in May are all signs of good will of SI to support the work of SI UN Representatives.

We became part of the Women Major Group (WMG) on our first day of UNEP meetings, after attending our first Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF) briefing. We were interested in learning and understanding how UNEP engages with the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and how we could push forward the SI agenda in the process.  Since then, Rose and I have made efforts to attend every Governing Council (GC) and GMGSF meetings each year, where we have made valuable contributions during deliberations and in some occasions signed statements, with permission from SI.  We are also invited to the prestigious Network of Women Ministers and Leaders for Environment meeting, which take place during the Governing Council.

Having attended our first meeting in February 2011, we have been successful in a number of activities:

• We applied to be part of the Review Team from the GMGSF on GEO5 (between June and July 2011) and we succeeded.  We made recommendations for re-evaluation of long-term environmental impacts of the proposed geo-engineering technologies as well as inclusion of more women in decision-making on environmental issues. 
• In May 2011 and June 2011, we attended the workshops on Agri-practice adding value for Women and Disaster Risk Reduction-Gender and Youth, respectively, where we presented a paper in the later.  Practical recommendations were made to SI. 
• In June 2011, we applied to be one of the Members of the WMG Steering Committee for Rio+20 Conference, where we were responsible for drafting the WMG Statement. We were successful for the second time and SI became one of the organizations that signed the Rio+20 WMG Statement.
• During the same time (June – July 2011), we organized several meetings with the CSOs in Nairobi to encourage them to contribute to the Rio +20 Conference statement and a number of them did so.  With little resources, we hope to re-energise the group and make it a strong Environment working Group in Nairobi.
• With the support from SI, in June 2012, we attended the Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, where the WMG Statement was delivered.  During the Rio+20 meeting, there has been restructuring of the organization, with a possibility of having a new name and mandate.  We shall inform SI in due course when all is clear.
• Lastly, in the year 2012, we requested to be part of the Major Group Facilitating Committee (MGFC) at UNEP.  The MGFC works with all the representatives from the 9 Major Groups to set the agenda for the GMGSF, including the GC.  As UNEP is under review to assume its global mandate, the WMG decided to have at least four WMG Facilitating Committee members (representing Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia) in alternate basis.  This is where I was able to secure one of the positions as Global Coordinator for WMG. 

All these activities have increased the visibility of SI and promoted its status as a strong women’s organization on matters of environment.

In July 2013, Rose and I will be attending the SIE Congress in Berlin to share our experiences on environmental issues.

SI UN Representatives need to have the relevant qualifications so that they participate constructively in the discussions and deliberations. We also require communication skills to deliver accurate information diplomatically to the audience.  Thirdly, it is important to allocate time for all the activities at the UN, for example to attend UN meetings, write reports, put up claims, attend the monthly SI UN representatives meetings, and communicate with the SI headquarters, when need arises.  Most importantly, one must be a true Soroptimist, whereby service to fellow women and children is key, even if it may mean shelving your own interests.  Personal time and resources may be required to support a just cause to improve the lives of women and girls and alleviate their suffering, while also respecting other women. Rose and I also believe that a Soroptimists must maintain professionalism, carry herself with dignity and high self-esteem.

Apart from the Rio+20 Conference, where our attendance was sponsored by SI, Rose and I have been using our own personal resources to carry out the work. It has therefore been a challenge.  This is because we found the claim process a bit tedious for us using low value currencies. 

I believe that we need to mobilize SI Clubs and Women Organizations in UN centres to improve SI participation where possible.  Secondly, SI should concentrate on finding opportunities to showcase some of our projects as best practices during the UN meetings and in the process push our agenda.  Thirdly, there is need to restructure SI to have an income generating wing to meet the new demands and expectations.

Read about Alice Odingo’s election as Global Co-ordinator to the UNEP Women’s Major Group

Image: Nairobi UN Reps Alice Odingo (left) and Rose Mwangi