Blast From The Past: Wangari Maathai

All over the world, when Kenya is mentioned two things might come to one's mind. Kenya the great land of athletes or Kenya the mother land of 2004's Nobel peace prize winner and environmentalist Professor Wangari Maathai.

Born Wangari Muta on 1st April 1940 in Ihithe in Nyeri Central Kenya, her birth was no lie neither was the baby girl born that day a fool. She was brains and determination rolled into one tiny bundle of joy that had a great destiny ahead of her.

Wangari was born a pace setter, she was a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift which sponsored Kenyan students to the United States, she studied at the prestigious St Pittsburgh University and the University of Nairobi. She became the first woman to receive a PhD in Veterinary Anatomy.

A great lover and protector of the environment, Wangari founded the Green Belt Movement and will be remembered for her fearless attack on the government's intention to construct the Kenya Times Media Complex at Uhuru park. Her fearless attack gave her international recognition and the construction was halted.

A mother of three and divorced from her husband, Mwangi Mathai, Wangari lived an exemplary life of commitment to preserving Kenya's environment. She played politics for a while as Member of Parliament for Tetu constituency but she will forever be remembered for her relentless effort to protect the environment.

On September 25, 2011, from complications related to Ovarian cancer, Kenya lost its heroine. She died leaving behind a legacy and having put Kenya on the global map. For every environmentalist, the name Wangari Maathai means a mentor and a hero.

Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World, (2010) the last book published by Wangari Maaathai. It is available on www.textbookcentre.com

Article by Anne K Kanake