Sustainable development blog : ecology and humanitarian aid

Translated by Marcella Oliviero from http://palletecofriendly.blogspot.com/2010/06/wangari-maathai-una-donna-che-ha.html

Picture courtesy: https://environmentalheroes.pbworks.com/w/page/19132731/Wangari-Maathai

She is the first African woman in the world to receive the Nobel prize for peace in 2004. Wangari and her Green Belt Movement have planted 40 billion trees in several African nations like Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ugunda, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Kenya. She didn't planted firs or eucalyptus that have been imported by European and Australian people, but native plants likeacacia, baobab and olive trees. This planting is a symbol of her fight against injustice and even since receiving the coveted prize she has not stopped fighting. Colonialism, she says, has  not disappeared; before the invaders were British and French people; now Chinese people have come to exploit Africa. This is not the only problem that Wangari Maathai has faced.

In addition to being the first African woman to receive the Nobel prize, she was also the first (female?) graduate in biology in Nairobi. And because she is a woman she has had some problems in her career, as she has been expected to accept less pay than her male colleagues. After drawing attention to it, she finally received the title of honorary male professor! She choose to teach poor, African women how to plant trees; many of whom have have not been lucky enough to be able to study and don't have adequate water, food and firewood.

Near the villages there were no more forests and wood, the water was gone and the little that was left had been polluted by pesticides coming from factories. Huge areas had been cleared huge to built palaces and golf courses. But without trees there is no water; without water there is no energy; and without energy there is no development. They had no money and so began to collect seeds directly from the plants.  By starting to plant the seeds, they began a real revolution. "This work has a moral and symbolic meaning," Wangari says, "because when you plant a tree and you see it growing something happens inside yourself. There is an implicit sense of civic duty and maternity, because it will give life to something useful for yourself and for all the people.

The tree also has a symbolic meaning because it pushes its roots into the ground and soars high into the sky, so you can take it as an example, because in order to fight for something you have to be firmly planted in the ground". We can learn from this woman’s example, because she has changed a lot by doing a simple action, by putting a seed in fertile soil and letting nature take its course.