Wangari Maathai's fight for the environment is celebrated here in Kenya and across the world. Her legacy lives on even as we celebrate 10 years of her passing today.
25th September 2011the world lost Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement.
"Trees are living symbols of peace and hope. A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded...” Wangari Maathai
When Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, her goal was simple: help improve the lives of rural women (and men) by improving the environment on which they depend for water, food, fuel, and medicine by planting trees.
No matter your age, background, or situation, you can mobilize and drive #climateaction. Wangari Maathai, the 1st African woman to win the @NobelPrize, continues to inspire new generations. pic.twitter.com/KaKJWMTZUk
— UN Women (@UN_Women) September 25, 2021
She was a woman of many firsts:
- First in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD- her PhD was in Veterinary Anatomy (1971).
- First African woman to win the Nobel Peace prize ( 2004).
She overcame a lot of stereotypes and adversities to leave a lasting legacy.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.
"The most important thing is to assure yourself you are doing the right thing."
Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift she studied in the United States.
"You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself, that values itself, that understands itself.” - Wangari Maathai pic.twitter.com/W6v7DmwdTg
— Africa Archives ™ (@Africa_Archives) August 24, 2021
In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights.
“A tree is a little bit of the future.”
— Brain Pickings (@brainpickings) September 26, 2021
Remembering Wangari Maathai, who died 10 years ago today, after becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize with her inspiring movement of planting trees as resistance and empowerment https://t.co/iaxFtuAEYm
Maathai was an elected member of the Parliament of Kenya and between January 2003 and November 2005 served as assistant minister for environment and natural resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki.
The small things make a huge difference and the impact of her little thing is seen across the globe. Her legacy continues to thrive even in her passing.
