Sarah Ogalleh is determined to be a catalyst for change in her society.
For nearly a decade, she has been tirelessly working to combat retrogressive traditional beliefs that have stifled development. She does this by equipping farmers—both men and women— with knowledge and means to manage their environment, using scientific facts and participatory methodologies that the local people can understand.
Sarah Ogalleh is determined to be a catalyst for change in her society.
For nearly a decade, she has been tirelessly working to combat retrogressive traditional beliefs that have stifled development. She does this by equipping farmers—both men and women— with knowledge and means to manage their environment, using scientific facts and participatory methodologies that the local people can understand.
She has extensively studied climate change issues in agriculture, focusing on the role that local knowledge plays in coping and adapting to climate variability.
Sarah is the Kenyan representative on the Gender Water Alliance (GWA), an East African regional body including scientists from Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda who are experts in water and sanitation and environmental sustainability.
In addition, Sarah holds other positions internationally with other institutions such as; she is a Trainer of Trainers (TOT) facilitator from 2012 with the Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources (WOCAN); she is the National Gender Focal Point for the Gender Water Alliance.
Position | Head of Research and Academic Training at the Centre for Training and Integrated Research in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Development (CETRAD) |
Country | Kenya |
Education | PhD in Agriculture and Natural Resources from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, BOKU – Vienna Austria |
Mentee | Juliet Braslow, Program Coordinator, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) |
Sarah is particularly excited being a mentor with the YPARD pilot mentoring programme as it will help her give back to the community. She believes the community has made her what she is and therefore she would like to give back to it by mentoring the youth.
Being a pioneer under this program, she says she needs to unleash her best to help set a strong foundation for the next phases and future mentoring programs. She has great hopes in mentoring of the youth and says that it empowers, increases their visibility, knowledge and skills to take up opportunities.
She also expects that through the experience, she will enhance her leadership skills, learn and share knowledge with fellow mentors and also understand life from her mentees perspective.
Sarah believes that research and academic trainings are the pillar of youth development in the world.
“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” Words she borrows from John F. Kennedy.