wangari maathai primary sourceswangari maathai primary sources
Although seen by some as an ill-advised move, in retrospect it proved a boon for the development of the GBM and the career of Maathai in environmental advocacy. ed. A meeting with Prof. Reinhold Hofmann from the University of Giessen in Germany provided an opportunity not only for employment but also for the advancement of her field of interest at the upcoming university. Wanyiri Kihoro, Never Say Die: The Chronicle of a Political Prisoner (Nairobi, Kenya: East African Education Publishers, 1998). The separation between the NCWK and the GBM that occurred in 1987 as a result of political pressure from the Moi regime, proved another milestone in the development of the identity and stature of Maathai as an environmental activist. Another volume, The Challenge for Africa (2009), criticized Africas leadership as ineffectual and urged Africans to try to solve their problems without Western assistance. Upon her divorce, her ex-husband insisted that she drop his surname. When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope. xcbdg`b`8 $1{0@@"$Q$x;A,u me`b H5 dw Wangari Maathai went to college in the United States, earning degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964) and the University of Pittsburgh (1966). That the GBM withstood and survived harassment from the government of Kenya and its security apparatuses was a testimony to the strength and capacity of these networks. The concept of Ubuntu has been widely discussed in South Africa, but here it refers to Desmond Tutus rendering of it in his book, God Is Not a Christian: Speaking Truth in Times of Crisis (London: Rider, 2013), 2124. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Kenya, Bridging Ethnic Divides: A Commissioners Experience on Cohesion and Integration (Nairobi, Kenya: Mdahalo Bridging Divides, 2018). She straddled academic activities and civic engagement as a member of the NCWK and as a board member of the Environment Liaison Centre.45 As a highly educated woman, she gained visibility and much appreciation. In some circles, her move in the direction of elective politics was seen as opportunistic.40 Fortunately, this did not ruin the GBM, a tragedy that often befalls institutions from which prominent leaders emerge. The most important dates and events in the current school year can be found in our calendar. In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a non-governmental organization, which encourages women to plant trees to combat deforestation and environmental degradation. Wangari Maathai: storyteller Wangari's Words to Live By . In 1971 she received a Ph.D. at the University of Nairobi, effectively becoming the first woman in either East or Central Africa to earn a doctorate. These skills stayed with me wherever I went from then on.20 However, this educational experience failed to expose Maathai to the ongoing civil rights struggle or the intense debates in the United States at that time on the vagaries of the Vietnam War. 13. The influence of the nuns began in this school and continued all the way to university. In the midst of enormous challenges and obstacles, she created a formidable Green Belt Movement (GBM) to empower grassroots women. Wangari Muta Maathai Anchor was a prominent Kenyan environmental and political activist. 60. 34. She creatively defied this by changing her last name to Maathai, by adding an a to her ex-husbands surname. 48. Maathai, The Challenge for Africa, 1112 and 272273. Both families migrated from the Nyeri District to the Rift Valley province in search of employment and land to cultivate. 55. Working for the GBM widened her horizons and provided a canvas upon which Maathai painted her broad vision for sustainable development, peace, democracy, gender equality, and grassroots empowerment in Kenya and Africa. It diverted her critical energies from the issues that were dear to the GBM. They returned to Kenya soon after independence. While her father was formally educated, her mother was not. While colonial and Western education at times alienated her from her mother tongue, culture, and home environment, it paved the way for her to achieve the highest academic distinction and many honors. 29. Her venture into politics plunged her into new controversies and, ironically, resulted in more publicity for the GBM. Bruce Currie-Alder, Ravi Kanbur, David Malone, and Rohinton Medhora (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), chapter 52. Kiraitu Murungi, In the Mud of Politics (Nairobi, Kenya: Acacia Stantex Publishers, 2000), 110 and 185187. 24 0 obj Describing her experience at St. Cecilias Intermediate Primary School, Maathai writes: I really enjoyed learning and had a knack for being an attentive listener and very focused in the classroom, while being extremely playful outside of it.10 However, colonial education also exposed her to contradictions and challenges with regard to African cultures and in particular with regard to her mother tongue.11 In her school, speaking in her mother tongue was a punishable offense. Lawrence M. Njoroge, A Century of Catholic Endeavour: Holy Ghost and Consolata Missions in Kenya (Nairobi, Kenya: Pauline Publications Africa, 2000); Samuel G. Kibicho, God and Revelation in an African Context (Nairobi, Kenya: Action Publishers, 2006); and David P. Sandgren, Mau Maus Children: The Making of Kenyas Postcolonial Elite (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2012). Dr. Samuel Kobia, the former general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), November 2018, indicate Wangari participated in the early debates at the WCCs Conference on Faith, Science, and the Future at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1979); and in the Church and Society Committee of the WCC. << /Type /XRef /Length 71 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Columns 4 /Predictor 12 >> /W [ 1 2 1 ] /Index [ 22 32 ] /Info 37 0 R /Root 24 0 R /Size 54 /Prev 82415 /ID [<27d5614c796589e23c265b2454e3ebce><27d5614c796589e23c265b2454e3ebce>] >> Wangari Muta was born on April 1, 1940, in Ihithe, Nyeri Province, Kenya during British colonial rule. Located between the Aberdares Mountains and Mount Kenya, the Nyeri District was well known as the epicenter of Gikuyu resistance to colonialism and the imposition of colonial taxation. Her impact and influence had extended well beyond her constituency in Tetu, Kenya, and far beyond Africa. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. The contending social forces of the colonial period persisted in postcolonial Kenya, impinging on the concept of modern marriage and incipient African womanhood. Later in life, as she became more engaged with various communities, her respect and appreciation of Gikuyu language, culture, and indigenous knowledge deepened and widened.17. Such was the world into which Maathai was born in 1940 and subsequently raised. A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari MaathaibyWritten by Nicola RijsdijkIllustrated by Maya MarshakIn a village on the slopes of Mount Kenya, a little girl work. Omissions? University of Nairobi Research Archive, Citation on Professor Wangari Muta Maathai on her Conferment of the Honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) It is here that the GBM mobilized women, self-help groups, and communities into tree-planting networks.44 Its reputation soared in the context of environmental advocacy, tree planting, and the raising of awareness of poverty at grassroots levels. Maathais mother, her brother Nderitu, and another member of the family made this critical decision, which would open the doors for Maathai to quality education in Kenya and eventually in the United States, thus introducing her to international networks which were to shape her future. This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Wangari Maathai, and supports the standard of individuals' achievements and contributions to environmental preservation. This was a political maneuver intended to weaken the chairperson role and a calculated strategy to undermine umbrella organizations by the withdrawal of members. Though such encounters in colonial Kenya were often limited, Maathai strived to base these relationships on equality, freedom, dignity, learning, and mobilization in common pursuit of sustainable development. Alan Fowler, Striking a Balance: Guide to Enhancing the Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in International Development (London: Earthscan Publications, 1997). Professor Wangari Muta Maathai was born to Muta Njugi and his wife Wanjiru Muta in Nyeri, Kenya on 1st April 1940. Your recognition as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate has without doubt now confirmed your extraordinary identity in Tetu, Nyeri, Kenya, East Africa, Africa and the World.60. << /Filter /FlateDecode /S 128 /Length 115 >> This source greatly helped my understanding of the The Third Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, Johannesburg, South Africa, July 19, 2005; Sustained Development, Democracy, and Peace in Africa, Gwangju, South Korea, June 16, 2006; and the Keynote Address at the Second World Congress of Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya, August 24, 2009. When I finally learned to read and write, I never stopped, because I could read, I could write and I could rub.9 After a period of attending primary school, it was decided she should join her cousin at St. Cecilias Intermediate Primary School, a boarding school operated by the Mathari Catholic Mission and Consolata Missionary Sisters. She became the first woman in East and Central Africa to acquire such an academic degree.24 With her academic career assured in the new University of Nairobi, she became the chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy in 1976, and thereafter an associate professorthe first indigenous woman to acquire the rank. This was characterized by land grabbing, destruction of forests and wildlife, and by exploiting the complex dynamics between public service and engagement in private business. As elites, they were keen to build careers, and acquire wealth and status in the emerging society. It also gave her increased international exposure which provided some degree of political protection and a platform to highlight issues related to the environment. Elsewhere, especially in the Rift Valley, where people were embroiled in state-sponsored ethnic conflicts since the early 1990s, Maathai joined with the churches, democratic activists, civil society organizations, international and local press to highlight atrocities committed against nonKalenjin ethnic communities in various parts of the Rift Valley. One of Maathais remarkable gifts and indeed a notable strength was her ability to build alliances between local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs, with environmental celebrities, activists, and the press, thereby raising local and global awareness of grassroots environmental issues. 46. The GBM established strong footholds in the districts where land consolidation and settlements had taken place and where modern farming methods and marketing were adopted. The encounter with expatriate Germans opened a unique opportunity for Maathai. To see her customs denigrated at this stage of her personal development was devastating.12 Despite that negative experience, Maathai remained proud of her culture and valued indigenous knowledge and related stories. Ecologist Wangari Maathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her years of work with women to reverse African deforestation. 15. Prof. Hofmann had a mission to fulfill at the emerging University College, Nairobi: to establish a Department of Veterinary Anatomy in the School of Veterinary Medicine. These factors, together with the limited number of schools in colonial Kenya, meant that the young Maathai was very fortunate. Africentrism. With hindsight this move was misguided and diversionary. The accompanying population explosion also meant more people needed to be fed, educated, and their various needs provided for. 62. These agrarian reforms were adopted and intensified by the postcolonial government, leading to the increased degradation of rural areas. These events were critical to the formation of Maathai, who became an environmental champion, an engaged intellectual, a Nobel laureate, and an icon of grassroots activism. Agricultural cooperatives were established in rural areas to ensure that quality agricultural commodities were produced and marketed. This article has benefited a great deal from discussions and interviews held toward the end of 2018 and in 2019 with Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Rev. In many instances she learned by imitating what her mother and other village women were doing. Wangari recognised rural women's primary interest and role in maintaining a productive landscape, for assuring food needs as well as making daily household necessities - water and fuel - easier to collect. In discussing her childhood in her autobiography, Maathai paints a picture of an idyllic life set in a pristine and lush rural environment. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Wangari Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount . in biology, 1964) and at the University of Pittsburgh (M.S., 1966). 22 0 obj Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), the first woman to obtain a PhD in East and Central Africa, was a scholar, and an environmental and human rights activist. However, no healing of the scars inflicted on you, I am convinced, can equal the soothing of the Nobel Peace Prize you have now won. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Maathais knowledge of the German language (which was a minor subject during study for her first degree) became useful as it enabled her to interact with the German lecturers who were assisting with the establishment of a school of veterinary medicine. The World Conference on Women held in Mexico (1975) and subsequent ones in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995) set the stage for fundamental changes in gender policies, relations, and for womens participation in development and leadership.49, International discourse on the environment and climate change also advanced after the Stockholm conference through a series of initiatives culminating in the United Nations Conference on Environmental Development (UNCED), Earth Summit (1992), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg, South Africa (2002).50 Such discourse broadened debates on development, giving critical attention to issues surrounding the environment and climate change. She summarized her experiences at Mount St. Scholastica College in the following manner: My four years at the Mount, and experiences I had both on and off campus, nurtured in me a willingness to listen and learn, to think critically and analytically, and to ask questions. . Her time in academia gave her opportunities to engage in voluntary community activities that were not strictly academic, although regarded as part of university community service. 44. She was not deterred by personal abuse and threats, and today this open space in the center of Nairobi is a testimony of her courage, persistence, and foresight. She was recognized at once for doing no harm and for not upsetting the status quo. 16. When she was globally recognized with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize, she became an instant national icon.59 Duncan Ndegwa, an outstanding public servant from Nyeri County, brought out this ironic situation in his congratulatory letter to Maathai when he wrote: Lest you forget, and far away from any vestiges of dignity, we have seen you being shoved aside if not totally ignored by the government, labeled feminine chauvinist and treated like a common criminal all for being principled and living for a cause. Characteristically, Maathai turned this misfortune into an opportunity which in the final analysis worked for the good of the GBM and her work with the NCWK. But as painful as it was, it seems to have given Maathai a measure of latitude to pursue her interests and achieve success as an activist. When she was growing up, her father, a truck driver, made sure she was brought into family discussions and valued her opinions. She was baptized Miriam at the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, Ihithe, to become Miriam Wangari. The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai: Key Speeches and Articles, November 11, 2020. As an alternative, she chose to further her education, which led to a doctorate in the field of veterinary science from the University of Giessen, a first for an eastern African woman, for which she was widely recognized. Hence Maathai was shaped mainly by Gikuyu culture, colonial and postcolonial history, contacts with Catholic clergy, nuns, and grassroots women. However, some people who had early contact with colonialists and missionaries lost valuable land and were displaced, while others were relegated to migrant labor. Maathai played an active part in the struggle for democracy in Kenya, and belonged to the opposition . 25. This was a joint program between the University of Giessen and University College, Nairobi. The list of supporterswomen, men, and institutions in Kenya and elsewherewould be long. Most studies have focused on the societal importance of marriage and the negative effects of divorce on families. The intention was to pacify central Kenya and create a favorable apolitical climate for consolidating the interests of settlers and the colonial administration. In the following year, despite political and ethnic maneuvers, she was elected to the position of chairperson and re-elected repeatedly until 1987, when she retired from the position. Researching ticks at the University of Nairobi also exposed Maathai to the environmental degradation taking place in rural Kenya and its impact on the livelihoods of rural women. The first indigenous woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai started school in 1948 at Ihithe Primary School. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Consequently, Professor Maathais ingenuity and persistence were widely recognized and honored, and earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. 3. On this farm she interacted with ordinary people from other ethnic communities as well as foreigners. 50. As more funds were secured and more international attention gained, the GBM was assured of survival, both financially and politically. Later Years and Death. However, both were interested in Western education.5 They realized the value of education and encouraged their children to attend school. In many areas of Kenya, the tree cover was restored. To all of them, I am eternally grateful, as I am to the powerful who were willing to use their positions to protect me.37. Born in the midst of a world war and growing up among the conflicts and ambiguities of colonial domination, thereafter she cultivated, mobilized, and networked for a world of democratic and peaceful governance and sustainable development. Born on April 1, 1940 Wangari Maathai grew up in Nyeri County, located in the central highlands of Kenya. 27. Maathai had the unique opportunity of going to school when girls in her age group were typically not given the opportunity of doing so. Nevertheless, it was not easy balancing bringing up three children, earning a living, carving her identity, as well as navigating through turbulent political waters.29. Two years into their marriage, she attained her PhD, which accelerated her career in academia. 54. Wangari Muta married Mwangi Mathai in 1969. Most people think of Ms. Maathai as an environmentalist, planting trees. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. These changes started with the alienation of large tracts of land for white settlement at the onset of British colonialism. Maathai seems to have been aware of these tensions as she juggled the roles of mother, politicians wife, and university teacher, as well as affirming herself as an African womanin manner of dressing, hospitality at home, and speaking local languages to meet the expectations of her husbands constituents.28 Hence her marriage might have become a theater of contestations of different perceptions of womanhood in independent Kenya. The genius of Maathai and other women leaders was to turn this elite organization into a vehicle for the empowerment of rural women. With Maathais guidance, the program went from a series of local womens activities into a national and international phenomenon. Lillian Mwaura interview, November 2018. 2021 marks 10 years since Prof . Wangari Maathai Lesson Plan: Individual's Contributions Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8 *Click to open and customize your own copy of the Wangari Maathai Lesson Plan . Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the Wangari Maathai Institute. Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). At times she utilized these international alliances and networks to expose the atrocities and injustices that people had suffered under the auspices of their own government. She benefited mainly from the tide of change which was sweeping the country, not because she had articulated her own political ideas.42. Upon her return to Kenya in 1966, she dropped her Christian names and retained her African names, Wangari Muta. The couple had similar family backgrounds. 32. Hence the dynamics of local and international forces coalesced in the work of the GBM. The first attempt in 1982 was blocked; in the 1997 attempt, she failed to secure a seat. << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1638 >> 41. Childhood & Early Life. She also had close relationships with other African regional institutionsfor instance, the African Development Bank (AfDB). Her position at the university also opened opportunities to venture into other fields of service and leadership for which she was to become well known in addition to her academic pursuits. I'm very conscious of the fact that you can't do it alone. Maathai, Unbowed, 112, 144, 151155. All the girls in the school came from the same community, but were prohibited from speaking their language. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Maathai was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica College (now Benedictine College; B.S. Accordingly, she adopted new Christian names, to later abandon them in favor of her African names, a saga repeated upon marriage and divorce.13, In 1956, Maathai took another important step in her education journey by joining Loreto High School, Limuru. 17. Upon entry into St. Cecilias Intermediate Primary School, she embraced Roman Catholic teachings, especially the Legion of Mary. In the 50s, for purposes of controlling insurgency in central Kenya, cash crops such as coffee and tea, and the keeping of dairy animals were introduced. << /Linearized 1 /L 82815 /H [ 810 195 ] /O 26 /E 63939 /N 11 /T 82414 >> She had a bucolic childhood spent in the rural Kenyan countryside and was sent to St. Cecilia Intermediary, a mission school, for her primary education. In 1977, Maathai founded a grassroots organization, the Green Belt Movement, focused on reforestation to promote sustainability and establish financial income for women in the region. By the time that the GBM had spread out to other African countries, acquiring a pan-African perspective and reputation, it had already taken deep roots in rural Kenya. Maathais campaigns to empower women may have been rooted in these experiences of gender inequalities and marginalization.53, In the 80s most African countries underwent structural adjustment policies leading to economic and social reforms, the privatization of state enterprises, and the limitation of the role of the state in development activities.54 These externally initiated reforms impacted negatively on the provision of health, education, and other social services. 1 Her homeland was established by the British as the East Africa Protectorate in 1895 and then became the Kenya Colony in 1920; the independent Republic of Kenya emerged in 1964 after gaining internal self-government the prior year. In 1977, Wangari Maathai started a campaign that came to be known as the Green Belt Movement in her home country of Kenya. xZF}W907s!d!c%:U]mT{/$uo_N>Br4@~{O[O^}ovp]n |~VJ[GOPZWer9_\RN.gz}z4bot#'t:U1m1bU.h]Y HRkC`X:w63u4_Hg~4R~0)(Jc)& AV{-1j$sNDD~OnyL>Re,LF*!j' M{1e%-lh O:0q|V6M1+a|k>>H.p`T@v5{b-. endstream The interplay of these dynamics served in critical ways to shape the life work of Prof. Wangari Maathai which was recognized and awarded in 2004 with the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathais elder brother Nderitu was the first in the family to attend school, thereby creating a positive image of schooling and serving as an inspiration to his sister. In 2005 ten heads of state of countries bordering Congo Basin recognized her by giving her the title of goodwill ambassador for the Congo Basin rainforest ecosystema responsibility which she cherished.61 I remember once visiting her office to find her immersed in the study of French so as to discharge the responsibilities of the new position. Wangari Maathai was born as Wangari Muta on 1 April 1940 in the village of Ihithe in the central highlands of the colony of Kenya. Henry Okullu, The Quest for Justice: An Autobiography of Bishop John Henry Okullu (Kisumu, Kenya: Shalom Publishers and Computer Training Centre, 1997); and Kabiru Kinyanjui, The Christian Churches and Civil Society in Kenya, in Local Ownership, Global Change: Will Civil Society Save the World? Thus, the NCWK provided an appropriate platform to develop and experiment with innovative ideas such as the GBM. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Program went from a series of local womens activities into a vehicle for the of. Benedictine College ; B.S joint program between the University of Giessen and College! Influence of the Honorary Doctor of Science ( D.Sc. attend school related to the environment the way to.! 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