With the state of the environment high on the list of most people’s priorities these days, we ask what we can do, as individuals, to help to bring a balance to global warming and pollution. One woman stands out, far ahead of the rest of us. Many of you will have heard of Wangari Maathai, the strong, remarkable Kenyan visionary. She has been one of my idols for many years and most certainly embodies this month’s theme of Power, Empowerment and Self Confidence.
Professor Matthai began life as a farmer’s daughter in the Kenyan highlands and later journeyed to the United States, obtaining degrees in Biological sciences in Atchison, Kansas and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She went on to study in Germany before returning to Nairobi where she took her Ph.D, taught veterinary anatomy and was appointed an associate professor in 1977. Professor Maathai was the first woman in East or Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, to become an associate professor there and, most marvellous of all, the first African woman to win the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. The committee commended her as a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace. They also praised her for taking a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights, and women’s rights in particular. Wangari Maathai has received many world awards: among them, France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur, and consistently appears on the lists of various magazines and movements who draw up the top one hundred names of inspirational people.
The idea which built her path towards the Nobel Prize and many other awards was a simple one: while serving on the National Council of Women in Kenya, she introduced the concept that everyone should plant a tree in their back garden and continued to develop it into a broad-based, grassroots organization encouraging conservation of the environment, the prevention of soil erosion, providing a sustainable supply of wood for fuel and economically improving the quality of life for thousands of poor, uneducated women. Through her Green Belt Movement, she has assisted women in planting more than 30 million trees on their farms, schools and church compounds. Professor Maathai said, It took me a lot of days and nights to convince people that women could improve their environment without much technology, or without many financial resources. The movement went on to include education, nutrition, and other issues important to women.
In 1986, they established a Pan African Green Belt Network with the result that many other countries in the region now have their own tree-planting initiatives.
The movement was not at all popular when it began, and Wangari Maathai was arrested several times for campaigning against deforestation in Africa. In the late 1980’s she became a prominent opponent of a skyscraper planned for the middle of Nairobi’s main park and was vilified by President Daniel arap Moi’s government, jailed, and beaten unconscious by the police on one occasion. However, nothing could deter this extraordinary woman from her chosen course. When a new coalition was swept to power in 2002 when Mr. Moi stepped down, Professor Maathai was elected a Member of Parliament with 98% of the votes. In 2003 she was appointed Deputy Environment Minister.
Recognized as an expert and a leader in this field, the Professor has addressed the United Nations on several occasions, spoken on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly, and serves on the board of many powerful and insightful institutions across the world. It was an absolute thrill for me, earlier this week – and after starting this article – to hear her on the radio discussing the environment and empowerment with a number of other people. She has written two books: Unbowed: A Memoir, and The Green Belt Movement. You will find much more information about this inspiring woman at http://www.greenbeltmovement.org
If one woman can do so much, think what the rest of us can do. Plant as many trees as you can and encourage others to do the same. If you don’t have room in your own garden, buy one for the local school, church, park, or a rest home for the elderly. Choose them as gifts for family and friends. Or, an excellent idea, make a donation to an organization interested in reforestation. Penny Pines is one such and I can highly recommend them; our garden club in California regularly collects enough money to plant an acre at a time and that one club alone must have donated over seventy acres by now. Perhaps you could inspire your club, gym, office, street or just family and friends to make this a regular goal; it can be as small or large a project as you wish. Go for it!
