Wangari Muta Maathai

Born April 1, 1940 (Kenya); died September 25, 2011 (Kenya)

Wangari was a Kenyan environmental activist. As a child she and her mother and siblings had to live away from their father (who was a farmer) so she could go to school. She also went to a Catholic boarding school as a child. At the school, she was protected by recurring violence in the country. After completing school, she was selected to go to the United States for college. She went to school in Kansas and Pennsylvania, where she studied Biology, Chemistry, and German. After her undergraduate studies, she continued her education back in Kenya and also Germany, receiving her doctorate degree. Wangari, while in Kenya, rented a small shop and set it up as a General Store so her sisters could work. After all her schooling, Wangari began extensive environmental activist work, while also promoting women’s rights. She established the Green Belt Movement, even though it was opposed by the government, which focused on environmental conservation and tree planting. She joined many councils and lectured often; her impact was greatly felt in her home country. In 2004, Wangari received the Nobel Peace Prize, the first African woman and the first environmentalist to do so. In 2006, she was one of the flag bearers for the Winter Olympics. Wangari received many awards for her passionate work to help her community and country. She passed away from cancer, leaving behind one son and two daughters.

“African women in general need to know that it’s OK 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.”