Student wins trip to Cancun climate talks

By Crystal Okusa

"It is not a daily occurrence that a girl like me gets to attend an important international meeting like the UN Climate Change Conference. I feel very privileged," says the elated 17-year-old environmentalist.

The Form Four student at Kisumu Girls High School is one of four students who will attend the 16th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 — December 10.

With a goal of re-greening the now deserted Kajulu and Riat Hills around Kisumu, Laureen Omollo has set out to plant 600 trees this year and 100,000 trees by 2012.

“When I was young, I would join my uncle Dr Kelvin Kachola in his environmental projects. I wanted to know why conserving the environment mattered so much to him. On joining Kisumu Girls, I saw the opportunity to explore my dream by joining he environmental club,” she says.

The second-born of a family of six was recognised when the British Council held a forum for environment champions where schools showcased climate change projects. Ten schools were short-listed and Kisumu Girls was one of the three schools picked in Nyanza Province alongside Kisumu Boys High and Dago-Kokore Secondary schools.

Fight climate change

Environmental clubs from each school were wrote proposals on their mission to fight climate change. Omollo emerged as the winner, thereafter joining other winners at the United Nation’s Environmental Programme headquarters in Nairobi to where they made presentations on their initiatives to protect the environment.

She scooped first place. Wiliams Ero from Ruaraka was first runner’s up and Beryl Cheryl from Moi University came third. All the three are now members of the International Climate Champions.

“As the chairlady of environmental club, I instigated a partnership with Xaverian and Kisumu Boys High schools to plant trees 100,000 trees around Kisumu. We have so far planted 200 trees in our school, more at the Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground, Kisumu Boys High School, Bishop Obiero Secondary School and the Kenya Pipeline Corporation grounds in Kisumu,” says the shy, soft spoken girl.

A KCSE candidate, Laureen does not have a lot of free time but that does not deter her from sparing sometime in the evening to water the trees in school. Together with members of the environmental club, she tends to the other trees planted around Kisumu.

Mrs Mary Oruko, the patron of the club and Omollo’s mentor guided her in writing the proposals and speeches.