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Dr Wangar Maathai
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A Remarkable Education
Born in 1940, in a remote rural area in Kenya, Wangari Maathai was allowed the almost unheard of chance to pursue higher education overseas. She earned first a degree in biology from Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas, and then a master's degree at the University of Pittsburgh, before returning to Kenya.
Despite opposition from male students and faculty alike, Wangari Maathai worked in veterinary medicine research at the University of Nairobi, and even earned a Ph.D. there, eventually working her way up to becoming the head of her faculty - the first woman to hold such a high post at the university.
Wangari Maathai is a visionary trailblazer, pioneering many 'firsts' for women in Africa; she was the first woman in east and central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, as well as receiving several honorary doctorate degrees from institutions around the world. She was not only the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize; she was the first environmentalist, paving the way for a string of environmentalist Nobel Prize winners.
"African women in general need to know that it's okay for them to be the way they are - to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence." Wangari Maathai
Green Belt Movement
In 1977, under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya, Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya; a grassroots environmental program focussed on planting trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion and provide firewood for cooking fires.
Through her work with the movement, Wangari Maathai became known as the Tree Mother of Africa.
In the last 30 years, the Green Belt movement has established over 5,000 grassroots tree nurseries across Kenya and planted over 30 million trees, combating serious problems with deforestation: soil erosion, water pollution, lack of animal nutrition and habitat, and scarcity of firewood for fuel. Most of the planting is done by women in rural areas of Kenya, providing them with employment while protecting their future.
Today, over 30,000 women in Kenya have been trained in forest management, food processing and bee keeping, as well as other trades, which help them to earn income while conserving their natural resources and lands. Whole communities have been motivated to restore environmental destruction as well as restoring past damage.
Since the founding of the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai became increasingly active in both environmental and women's issues. She began working with the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976, and became its chairman from 1981 - 1987.
In 1986 the Green Belt Movement began branching out around the continent, establishing a Pan African Green Belt Network, with tree planting initiatives being created in countries such as Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
"You have to get to the root causes by promoting environmental rehabilitation and empowering people to do things for themselves. What is done for the people without involving them cannot be sustained." Wangari Maathai
Nobel Peace Prize
Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. In a statement announcing her as the winner, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that Wangari Maathai has served as an inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights, especially for women, as well as using innovative forms of action, which has increased awareness of political oppression both in Kenya and internationally.
Awards
In addition to the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari Maathai has a string of other prizes, awards and honours under her belt; in 1983 she won the Woman of the Year award in Kenya, in 1987 she made the Global 500 Roll of Honour, in 1988 the Better World Society Award, in 1989 she was chosen Woman of the World.
Wangari Maathai was awarded the esteemed Goldman Environmental Prize in 1991, as well as the Hunger Project's Africa Prize for Leadership in the same year. In 1993 she won the Edinburgh Medal for her 'Outstanding contribution to Humanity through Science,' and many more prizes and recognition for her work.
Last year Wangari Maathai won the World Citizenship Award as well as the Indira Gandhi Prize.
In addition to all her hard work with the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai also serves on the boards of many organisations, including the Jane Goodall Institute, the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament, World Learning for International Development, the Women and Environment Development Organisation, Green Cross International, the WorldWIDE Network of Women in Environmental Work, the Environment Liaison Centre International, and the National Council of Women of Kenya.
"We are sharing our resources in a very inequitable way. In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace." Wangari Maathai
After fighting against the oppressive Moi government for many years, and standing for elections several times, Wangari Maathai was finally elected to Kenyan parliament in December 2002, with a landslide 98 per cent of the vote. Following her election, the Kenyan president appointed her as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife.
Saving a National Park
Wangari Maathai originally began her crusade against the Moi government when she dared to protest the development of a 60 story business complex in 1989. The building development was planned to be built in the public forest of Uhuru Park, as a gift for the then ruling KANU party.
Wangari Maathai's courageous fight against the construction of the skyscraper led to President Moi branding her as a "subversive dissident." She suffered from police harassment, and was imprisoned and beaten as a result; however, her opposition led to the foreign investors withdrawing support for the development and the project was cancelled.
Today, Wangari Maathai continues in her work to bring about social equality and environmental security. Through her work in the government as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, and through her continued presence in the Green Belt Movement, and hosts of other projects, Wangari Maathai has devoted her life to bringing awareness to the world, and making a change for the better.
"We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind." Wangari Maathai