Taking Root

“I found myself not just a woman wanting to plant trees to provide food and firewood. I found myself a woman fighting for justice, a woman fighting for equity. I started planting trees and found myself in the forefront of fighting for the restoration of democracy in my country.” —Wangari Maathai

Born in 1940, Wangari Matthai grew up in a rural village in Kenya.  As a girl she collected water for her mother in the nearby stream where she played with tadpoles and fish.  Her mother taught her never to collect firewood from the giant fig tree nearby calling it a “tree of God”. She would always remember this connection with the land.  When Wangari got old enough she asked her mother if she could go to school even though girls in her village didn’t do that.  Her mother agreed and her daughter was an excellent student who eventually won a Kennedy Scholarship to study in the US in 1960. 

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She studied there for five years and earned her Master of Science during the civil rights movement.  Returning to Kenya she became the first East African woman to earn a Ph.D in Veterinary Anatomy in 1971.  She later taught at the University of Nairobi and headed a department there.  She was married for ten years and had three children.

Wangari began to work with women in the villages in Kenya.  When she asked them what problems they had, they reported having to walk long distances for firewood and water and that their children were suffering from malnutrition.  Wangari figured out that many of the problems were due to the deforestation of the land.

The British colonizers had begun this deforestation, cutting down large areas of forest for the wood to build camps in which the indigenous people were detained.  After independence, the governments had continued to cut down forests to create land for growing cash crops such as coffee resulting in streams drying up, drought and soil erosion.

Wangari could see that planting trees would solve many of these problems so she got foresters to teach the village women to do so.  Soon the women were teaching each other.  In 1977 she founded the Green Belt Movement with the National Council of Women in Kenya which quickly grew into a network of thousands of groups.  The women were investing in their own communities and making things better for their families and future generations.

The movement grew and Wangari realized that the government which had had the same leader for years with no elections, would have to change.  She became involved in a long fight for democracy which eventually resulted in elections.  She herself was elected to the government in 2002.

Over three decades, the Green Belt Movement planted 45 million trees.  The movement spread to 30 African countries.  Wangari was the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.  You can view excerpts of her Nobel address on youtube .  When people are struggling for food and water, peace is very difficult.  By planting trees to provide firewood, fruit, and watershed stabilization and the prevention of drought and soil erosion, people can thrive and a culture of peace is born.  That was Wangari's vision.

At the end of her life in her last book, Replenishing the Earth (2010) Wangari writes, “I have come to realize that the physical destruction of the earth extends to humanity, too… In the process of helping the earth to heal, we help ourselves" (p.16).  She goes on to write, “We can love ourselves by loving the earth; feel grateful for who we are, even as we are grateful for the earth’s bounty; better ourselves, even as we use that self-empowerment to improve the earth; offer service to ourselves, even as we practice volunteerism for the earth"(p. 17).

She passed away in 2011 at age 71 from cancer.  Her tribute by world leaders is worth hearing.

Wangari often told a story about a hummingbird that she learned in Japan.  The hummingbird tries to put out a forest fire by taking one drop of water at a time and putting it on the fire while the other animals deride it.  The hummingbird says it is "doing what it can."  Wangari said she wanted to be like the hummingbird and do what she can and that collectively if we all do what we can we can achieve great things.  You can hear her colourful telling of this story with cartoon animation that is great for children and adults on youtube.  There are two books for children about her life as well.  One of them is available at Wangari's Trees of Peace.  I decided to get these books for the grandchildren in my life.  It is a story they need to hear.

I heard about her extraordinary life from the movie Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Matthai which I found in my library.  You can also get the DVD from the  Greenbelt Movement website   or see clips on the PBS website.

You can also hear some of her vision by listening to Planting Trees is Planting Hope.  Whichever one of these you feels drawn to, listening to Wangari Matthai speak is inspiring and motivating.  She is evidence that one person can make a difference especially when they join with others.  After listening to her you may even want to join with this movement and plant a tree.  You will make a difference!