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| Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai |
Wangari
Maathai, an astute scholar, environmentalist, politician and human rights
activist, is one person whose contribution to humanity cannot be summarized in
a few lines or pages. Here we highlight some important issues that you need to know
about her.
Birth and education: Wangari
was born in Nyeri Kenya in 1940 to Kenyan parents. She joined St Cecelia
Catholic School in Nyeri where she emerged top of her class. She later
proceeded to the prestigious Limuru Girls High School in Limuru.
The JF Kennedy Airlifts:
Wangari was one of the 300 young Kenyans who were selected under a program
initiated by USA President JF Kennedy to help educate young promising students
from Africa. Notable among these students was Barrack Obama Sr. the father of
former USA President Barrack Obama. She attended Benedictine College in Kansas
where she majored in Biology with minors in Chemistry and German, and did her
master’s degree in Biology at the University of Pittsburgh. She proceeded to
teach zoology at the University of Nairobi Kenya.
Founder of the Greenbelt Movement:
In partnership with Wiheim Elsrud, the executive director of the Norwegian
Forestry Society, Wangari founded the Greenbelt Movement. The Greenbelt
Movement was a grassroots organization based in Nairobi that focused on
environmental conservation, planting of trees and advocating for women’s
rights. The movement planted over 30 million trees around Africa.
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| Karura Forest, Kenya |
Saving Karura Forest:
Located on the outskirts of Nairobi city, the forest measures 2,500 hectares.
Dubbed the lungs of the Nairobi city, the natural forest serves as a catchment
for four major rivers while its dense undergrowth and canopy are home to many
species of flora and fauna. Here, Wangari carried out a ferocious campaign to
save it from land grabbers. It became a symbol of the fight against land
grabbing in Kenya.
Saving Uhuru Park
In
1989, Maathai learnt of a plan to construct a 60-storey Kenya Times Media Trust
Complex in Uhuru Park. The complex was to house the headquarters of of the
ruling party KANU, the Kenya Times Newspaper, a business centre among others.
Wangari led protests against the project and called upon the international
community to oppose the project. The government carried out a crackdown on the
activities of the movement and forced her to vacate the office. The movement’s
activities were moved into her home. Her protests attracted international
attention leading to the cancellation of the project by the foreign investors.
The Release Political Prisoners
Campaign: On 28th February 1992, she took part in
the release political prisoners’ campaign hunger strike in a corner of Uhuru
Park. After four days the police forcibly removed the protestors. Wangari and
others were beaten unconscious by the police. The attack attracted
international criticism from the USA State Department and was condemned by
leading USA Congressmen Al Gore. In early 1993, the efforts of Wangari paid
when the prisoners were released after sustained efforts by the protestors.
Wangari Maathai the MP:
In 2002, she ran for the Tetu Constituency parliamentary seat in Nyeri County and
won. The new government of President Mwai kibaki appointed her Assistant
Minister of Environment and Natural resources a position she held up to 2005.
She later founded the Mazingira Party as a platform of environmental
conservation.
Winner of Nobel Peace Prize:
In 2004, she became the first African woman and environmentalist to win the
Nobel Peace Prize for her effort in promoting sustainable development,
democracy and human rights. In her autobiography book Unbowed, she vividly captures the moments after being informed that
she had won the prize: “tears streamed from my eyes and onto my cheeks…these
were tears of great joy at an extra-ordinary moment.”
Posthumous Recognitions: In
2012, Wangari Gardens a 2.7 acre garden was opened in Washington DC. This
garden recognizes her legacy of environmental conservation. On 25th September
2013 the Wangari Maathai Trees and Garden was dedicated to her posthumously on
the lawn of the University of Pittsburgh, symbolizing her contribution to
environmental conservation. In 2016, Forest Road in Nairobi was renamed Wangari
Maathai Road.
Wangari Maathai the humming bird
Wangari
Maathai referred to the Japanese story of the humming bird as a source of her
inspiration. The story is about the huge forest being consumed by a fire. All
the animals in the forest come out and they are transfixed as they watch the
forest burning, except this little hummingbird. It says, ‘I am going to do
something about the fire!’ So it flies to the nearest stream and takes a drop
of water. It puts it on the fire, and goes up and down again for more.
In
the meantime, all the animals much bigger animals like the elephant with a big
trunk that could bring more water, are standing there helpless. When discouraged
by other animals that it was doing so little, the hummingbird replied, ‘I am
doing the best I can.’ Indeed Wangari, the hummingbird did the best she could
for Kenya, Africa and the rest of humanity.
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