Le] ww = — <{ ra °o = te] S = Yo Me | o a | ooTable of Contents Introduction... 2... ee 3 Bad News in Kenya... . 0... .0005 4 The Problem of Clearing Land ...... 6 Women Working Together ........ 8 Working for All People’s Rights. . . . - 12 Glossary... 2... ee 15 Index... ee ee 16 Introduction Wangari Maathai (wahnegahreee mahetie) was known as the Tree Woman of Africa, People called her this name because Wangari planted trees to help save the environment in Africa. She believed all people have the right to a clean environment. Wangari fought to protect that right throughout the continent of Africa.Bad News in Kenya Wangari was from an African country called Kenya. In 1965, she was 25 years old and had been away from her home for five years. Wangari was in the United States studying science and learning about the environment. Kenya is on the east coast of Africa. Trees were cleared for building in the cities. The next year, Wangari returned home. She went to the village where she grew up and was shocked by what she saw. All the trees near her home had been cut down. In fact, all across Kenya, thousands of trees were gone. Building companies had taken the wood and were using it to make buildings in Kenya's cities. Now giant farms appeared where the trees had once stood.The Problem of Clearing Land Cutting down trees causes many problems. Trees hold the soil in place. Without trees, rain washes away the topsoil that is important to farmers. The topsoil is where farmers plant crops. Disappearing topsoil is not the only problem. When topsoil gets washed into rivers and streams, it acts like a dam. The soil clogs the rivers and streams. When the water can’t flow, the rivers and streams dry up downstream. The stream where Wangari had drunk water as a child had dried up. These environmental problems were hurting Kenya's people. Kenyans in rural areas did not have enough food to eat. The water and topsoil were gone. As a Village in Loiyangalani, Kenya, showing the effects of land being cleared result, it was hard to grow food in many places. Without trees, there was also no firewood to cook with or to heat homes.Women Working Together Women in rural Kenya were affected more than men. Through the years, Kenyan women were in charge of their homes. They cooked meals and grew food in family gardens. Women also gathered firewood. Since there were so few trees, finding firewood was hard. Women spent most of their days collecting firewood. Wangari wanted to help Kenya's women. She thought of a simple, easy solution. She would plant new trees. Wangari started at her own home by planting a few trees in her backyard. Then she helped other women in Kenya to plant trees, too.10 Wangari spoke to women all over Kenya. She told them it was their right to have food and clean water. Also, she told the women that they could fix the problems caused by the clearing of the land. All they had to do was plant more trees. With this simple act, Kenya’s women could help make changes in their lives. Soon Wangari's plan spread all over Kenya. By 1977, Wangari started a group called the Green Belt Movement. The group assisted thousands of women in Kenya to plant trees. Women in other African countries took notice of what was happening in Kenya. Before long, almost one million women were planting trees. By 2004, women in Africa had planted nearly 30 million trees. African girl planting a tree People started calling Wangari by a new name. They started calling her the Tree Woman of Africa. 1112 Working for All People’s Rights Wangari spoke out against the Kenyan government leaders who had allowed the building companies to cut down the trees. She said it was everyone's right to use Kenya’s resources such as water and firewood. Wangari's protests caused the leaders to leave the government. Later, Wangari became a leader in the government, too. There, she was able to make more changes to help solve Kenya's problems. Parliament Buildings in Nairobi Wangari received many awards in addition to her Nobel Peace Prize. People in other parts of the world heard about Wangari. In 2004, she was given a great honor when she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari went to Norway to receive the prize. In her acceptance speech, she explained how helping the environment could help make peace in the world. Wangari believed that people are more likely to fight over resources when there are not enough of them to use. 1314 In the conclusion of her speech, Wangari said that the Green Belt Movement showed how people could come together to change things. By working together, people could save the environment. Together, people could work for a more peaceful world. Wangari passed away in September, 2011. To date, Green Belt Movement communities have planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. Wangari’s legacy lives on in the trees and ideas she has planted. Glossary dam environment honor resources rural topsoil something that blocks the flow of water in a river or stream our natural surrounding a gift or prize that shows that someone has done something important things of value found in nature, such as water, soil, and trees coming from or being in the countryside the top layer of the ground where crops are planted 15