Sarah Njeri

Lecturer
SOAS University of London
United Kingdom

Sep 17, 2024

Sarah Njeri is a lecturer at the department of development studies at SOAS University of London. Sarah’s journey into academia took a non-traditional route, starting in Kenya. Due to financial constraints, university initially seemed out of reach. Therefore, after completing secondary school, she attended a computer training college, through supported by the local catholic church.  She then was employed as a secretary before eventually gaining employment with the Jesuit Refugee Service (Eastern Africa region), which was an NGO operating in refugee area. She started as an information officer, later advancing to the role of information and policy officer. In this role, she focused on policy issues affecting refugees, such as small arms, child soldiers, and landmines. The NGO's operations in Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and South Sudan exposed her to various refugee camps and the complex issues they faced.  Internationally the organization had witnessed the impact of landmines on the refugees crossing the various borders.  It therefore became policy within the organization to support the campaign to ban landmines.  Sarah then got involved in the civil society advocacy as part of her role.

Driven by her passion for peace and conflict resolution, Sarah aspired to further her education. Initially intending to pursue only an undergraduate degree, she was guided by the University of Bradford’s Peace Studies Department to apply for a postgraduate diploma as a conditional offer for a Master’s program depending on performance. She excelled in her program and was permitted to proceed and complete a dissertation project to complete a Master’s degree.  While undertaking her Master’s, she continued engaging in landmines advocacy and undertook research for the Landmine Monitor.  The different research experiences compelled her to pursue a PhD.  She applied within the same department and was admitted to research landmines in Somaliland. Her research was a critical examination of the implementation of mine action programs in Somaliland from a liberal peacebuilding lens.  From this research Sarah’s work continues to  provide critical insights into peacebuilding and humanitarian policies and practices.

Before joining SOAS, Sarah was a Research Fellow with the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and a post-doctoral research associate at the African Leadership Centre at King’s College London. Her extensive experience includes working on conflict prevention, post-conflict peacebuilding, humanitarian disarmament, advocacy, and development-related issues in Somaliland, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Cambodia. Her current research themes encompass peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, environmental peacebuilding, mine action, humanitarian disarmament, and climate resilience.

Sarah is dedicated to supporting projects at the intersection of landmines and the environment. She is preparing to launch a pilot project in this area and has contributed to studies that examine mine action and community resilience to climate change.  With the assistance of Dr. Christina Greene, Sarah is preparing a report on the nexus between climate change and land contamination and degradation resulting from the remnants of armed conflict.  She is doing this on behalf of the Bonn Contact Group on Climate, Peace and Security ahead of COP29.  Together with LINKS Europe and the Bonn Contact Group, they will identify action points that will be brought to the attention of the COP29 leadership to be taken forward. For Sarah, mine action is a crucial entry point for combating climate change. She is also passionate about embedding advocacy in her research and she does this by seeking to redress the invisibilisation of local communities and local knowledge in mine action activities (and research generally) and exploring how they can contribute to solving issues while integrating environmental narratives and discussions.

Throughout her career, Sarah has faced challenges, including skepticism about her qualifications due to her non-traditional academic path and the difficulties of being a woman from the African continent in a Western-dominated academic and policy space. Additionally, balancing her roles as a young mother, family supporter, and student presented significant obstacles. Despite these challenges, Sarah has experienced rewarding moments, such as gaining recognition for her work from policymakers and being sought for her expertise. She encourages young people to explore different ways to engage with issues that matter to them, emphasizing that there is no single pathway to success. She advocates for merging diverse interests and being innovative in shaping one’s career.

For Sarah, environmental peacebuilding means challenging siloed thinking and opening up coherent ways to address complex issues. It provides a forum for integrating various critical concerns. Joining the Environmental Peacebuilding Association was a natural fit for her, as it combined all her interests. Looking ahead, Sarah envisions a future in environmental peacebuilding where marginalized voices are heard meaningfully, more people are aware of this field, and collaborations increase. She is committed to seeing a more inclusive and collaborative approach to addressing environmental and peacebuilding challenges.