I went to see Wangari Mathaai in 2007 at the Paramount Theater in Seattle with a friend who served some time in the Peace Corps in Africa. I was so impressed with what she was able to accomplish with the help of women and plants (and a little money). She basically educated the women in plant propagation and set up small edible plant nurseries for each woman. She was required to raise the trees and also to teach the next woman how to do the same. They used grey water from cooking and washing to feed the plants, and eventually the trees got big enough to plant and harvest from. The women were able to harvest the fruits and provide more nutritious food for their families as well as sell the excess and buy other supplies for their household. It is such an easy plan, but it took time and education and lots of people. The trees also provided much needed shade for the people and animals of the household, and the soil started to become more workable between the trees.
Seriously, she was a genius and her Noble Prize was much deserved! After the speech, in the afterglow of good will that happens after a great person has moved you, we all were just smiling at each other with hope. The woman next to me told me that her mom had been one of the recipients of some of those trees! Wangari Maathai had literally changed her life. She felt like her family had been raised up from this movement, and that was the reason she was able to go to school in the US. It was amazing to be in the presence of such hope and greatness. I am eternally grateful for her work. May she rest in peace and may we continue with the forward thinking projects that would make her proud!
