A HEROINE TO REMEMBER
Apr 28, 2022
First story
Every year on 8 of march people worldwide celebrates a woman.It's usually called the International Women's Day.The world on this day celebrates the social,economic,cultural and political achievements of women.Today here we are going to remember our hero,all the achievements she had,what she did to make sure we conserve our environment and maintain peace.
It is almost 10years since the demise of a Kenyan social,environmental and a political activist Wangari Muta Maathai.
Wangari Muta Maathai was born in April 1,1940 in Kenya,Nyeri county.She was a first woman to obtain a degree from her rural area.She attended St.Cecilia Intermediary,a mission school for her primary education.Wangari Maathai later joined St. Scholastica Collage,majoring in Biology in the United State.In 1964,she obtained her bachelor of science in biology.she upgraded her studies and had a Master of science degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1966.She then pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi before obtaining a PhD in 1971 from the University of Nairobi.
After graduating,she taught Anatomy at the University of Nairobi,where she later became a chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy in 1976 and 1977 respectively.Wangari Mathaai was the first woman in East Africa to earn a doctorate degree.
Professor Maathai acted as the chairman of the National Council of Woman of Kenya from 1976-1987 where she introduced the idea of community-based tree planting,which later grew to an organization,the Green Belt Movement (GBM). The main focus of the movement was poverty reduction and environmental conversation through tree planting.Through the movement,Prof. Maathai mobilized thousands of women and men to plant tens millions of trees throughout Kenya.
In 2002-2007,Professor Maathai represented the Tetu constituency in Kenya's parliament and served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources(2003-2007). While serving,she was awarded a Nobel Prize for Peace in 2004 becoming the first black African woman to win a Nobel Prize.In 2005 she was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador to the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem by the eleven Heads of State in the Congo region.She founded the Nobel Women's Initiative the following year(2006). In 2007,she was invited to be co-chair of the Congo Basin Fund.
Professor Maathai was named a UN Messenger of Peace by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General in December 2009.She was appointed to the Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group, which was established with the aim to urge worldwide support for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2010.She also became a trustee of the Karura Forest Enviromental Education Trust the same year.In partnership with the University of Nairobi,she founded the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Enviromental Studies (WMI).
Professor Wangari Maathai was also an Author. She authored four books namely: The Green Belt Movement,Unbowed: A Memoir,The Challenge for Africa and Replenishing the Earth.
Professor Wangari Muta Maathai died on September 25,2011 at the age of 71 after a battle with ovarian cancer.
