Words Ntokozo Kunene Photo Martin Godwin/Guardian News & Media 2007
Today the world mourns the loss of Wangari Maathai – the first African woman to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. She dedicated her life to social and economic change through environmental conservation, and was honoured by Time Magazine in 2005 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
ARISE magazine first featured Wangari Maathai in our regular Icon feature back in Issue 5, and today we once again remember her positive impact and many achievements.
In 1976, while serving as the chairman for the National Council of Women of Kenya, Maathai began paying women a few shillings to plant trees in their community in an effort to counteract the effects of deforestation. Initially a community-based project, the initiative grew into a broad-based grassroots organisation committed to the alleviation of poverty – providing local women with a form of employment and a means to afford basic resources. The organisation became known as the Green Belt Movement and to date has planted more than 40million trees throughout Africa.
Maathai was also listed as one of Forbes’ 100 Most Influential Women in the World – unsurprising when you learn of her many achievements. In 2002 she was elected to the Kenyan parliament, winning 98 per cent of the votes; she was the first East African woman to receive a PhD; the first women in Kenya to become a senior lecturer (and associate professor) in veterinary medicine; and the first African woman and environmentalist to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to social development, democracy and peace.
After a long battle with cancer, Professor Maathai passed away yesterday at the age of 71. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called Maathai a "global icon who has left an indelible mark in the world of environmental conservation".
"'My life is my message,’ Maathai once said, "Also plant a tree".