The Mother of Trees Wangari Maathai

March 27 - Today's post contributed by Valarie Budayr

The Mother of Trees Wangari Maathai
By Valarie Budayr

“ It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.”

She was called Mama Miti ,which means Mama Trees, by many people in Kenya Africa. I first heard of Wangari Maathai when she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace. She was the first African woman to win this honor.

photo credit www.nobelprize.org

After learning more about her, I became inspired by her quest to re-forest Kenya with her Green Belt movement, how she inspired others and launched a grass-roots movement which spanned de-forestation and land conservation, gender issues, education, and politics.

There is a wonderful children’s book recently published called Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prevot and Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty.

Wangari Maathai was remarkable on many levels. Born in 1940, the eldest of six children, it was thought that she would be the second mother in her family and help raise the other children. When Wangari was 8 years old she moved with her mother and two brothers from the farm in the Kenyan countryside to a village which had a school so her brothers could attend. Her brother asked why Wangari didn’t go to school ? This question prompted Wangari’s mother to let her go to school. Wangari had a full education and in 1960 when British colonialism ended, President Kennedy of the United States invited many young Kenyans to study at Universities in America.

Wangari Maathai studied at Mount St. Scholastica College in Aitchison, Kansas where she received a bachelors degree in Biology. She then went onto graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh where she earned a Masters degree in Biology. After finishing her degrees in the US she returned to Kenya where she worked as a research assistant in zoology. Through travel to Germany and then back again to Nairobi and amid much political strife, Wangari received her Ph.d in Veterinary anatomy from Nairobi University. The first woman to do so.

photo credit Martin Rowe www.takingrootfilm.com

Throughout her studies she traveled extensively throughout Kenya. The trees and wildlife she had known as a child were simply vanishing due to de-forestation caused first by the British colonists and then by the Kenyans themselves. She found that wild animals had fled the chain saws, women couldn’t feed their children because farms had been made into plantations for rich people, and the rivers were muddy due to the top soil eroding into the river because there were no tree roots to hold it back. She was shocked.

From this point on Wangari knew how to make use of her education. She would tell leaders and her fellow Kenyans about the importance of trees. “A tree is a treasure that provides shade, fruit, pure air, and nesting places for birds. “ Change happened very slowly. In 1977 she created the Green Belt Movement. Traveling from village to village, speaking on behalf of trees, animals, and children, she encouraged villagers to think about their future. Teaching women to plant tree nurseries in each village, she provided women with a financial bonus for each tree that grew. One tree turned into thousands, thousands of newly planted trees turned into millions. To date over 30 million trees have been planted in Kenya creating forests for the future.

As her Green Belt Movement continued to grow she had another problem facing her. The Government made their money by cutting down trees and forests and here was Wangari Maathai planting trees. There was a conflict between Wangari, her Green Belt Movement, and the Kenyan Government. In her quest not to let one more tree be cut down, Wangari rallies her friends to fight the bulldozers which cut down trees for large real estate projects.

photo credit Martin Rowe www.takingrootfilm.com

She fought the Kenyan government for 24 years. Like the trees she now wanted democracy to grow in Kenya. She knew that if her people worked together to create new laws for Kenya, her country would become stronger.

She ran for office many times opposing President Daniel Arap Moi. In a last ditch effort President Moi tried to divide the people in order to remain president. He knew that if that tribes would start fighting each other they wouldn’t have time to look at how he was governing. Wangari and the Green Belt Movement were onto President Moi and foiled his plans. Wangari suggested to each tribe that they offer trees from their nurseries to neighboring tribes as symbols of peace. Tree by tree, peace and friendships were cultivated between the tribes of Kenya.

Eventually in 2002 President Moi was defeated. Wangari Maathai won her bid for office in parliament and spent her last years creating a fair nation for women, men, children and trees.

photo credit www.plant-for-the-planet-billiontreecampaign.org

To this day the Green Belt Movement is planting trees and protects the 2nd largest tropical forest in the world.

Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees is a beautiful tribute to a life well lived. Filled with colorful and vibrant painted illustrations. This book will become a cherished addition to your library as well as an inspiration to make a difference.


Valarie Budayr is publisher at Audrey Press, founder of the award winning website Jump into a Book, and co founder of Multi-Cultural Children’s Book Day: Read Your World.

Writing about Wangari Maathai

March 2 - Today's post provided by Donna Jo Napoli

Writing about Wangari Maathai

By Donna Jo Napoli

January 2012

          One spring I got a phone call from the editor Paula Wiseman at Simon & Schuster.  She said something like, “I want you to write a book about Wangari Maathai.”  I said, “Who?”  She said, “Go look her up.”  Well, the conversation may have been a little longer than that, but it was short.

          Over the following weeks I did nothing but read articles about and both articles and books by Wangari Maathai.  And I told Paula, “Expect it,” and I began writing the book MAMA MITI.

          Wangari Maathai was born in 1940 in Nyeri, Kenya.  In that time and place not many people got an education, and those who did were mostly male.  But Wangari Maathai studied in the United States and in Germany, and then returned to Kenya, where she became the first woman in central and eastern Africa to earn a Ph.D.  She taught in veterinary medicine at the University of Nairobi and soon was the head of the veterinary medicine faculty – the first woman to head a university department in Kenya. It was natural, then, for her to get involved with the work of the National Council of Women of Kenya.

          Dr. Maathai studied animals and nature, and this work made her a leader in the fields of ecology, sustainable development, natural resources, and wildlife.  But it also made her recognize enormous problems that Kenya was facing.  Timber factories were deforesting Kenya, and in the process polluting the air and water.

          It is hard to overstate the importance of trees to life on earth.  Trees supply people and animals with fruits.  Dead branches make wonderful fuel for hearth fires.  The leaves of some trees are good fodder for some animals.  The leaves of other trees are medicinal and can be used to cure illness in animals.  The leaves of still other trees can be wrapped around bananas to ripen them.  Trees with thorns can make good protective barriers against dangerous animals.  Some trees grow straight and their trunks yield good lumber and poles for building homes.  The branches of trees can be used as stakes in gardens when you grow vines.  The roots of some trees are natural filters of the rain water, so that the water is clean by the time it reaches the water table under the ground and flows out into streams.  The uses of trees go on and on.  And on top of all that, trees can have beautiful flowers and can provide shade on hot sunny days and break the force of the wind on cold blustery days.  You can climb a tree to see far, or simply for the joy of it.

Dr. Maathai had grown up with a respect for the many roles trees can play.  In 1976 she started the Green Belt Movement.  This is a grassroots organization that aims for peaceful coexistence between people and nature, largely by planting trees.  Dr. Maathai began by encouraging village women to action, but over time more and more people joined the movement and today it is a massive movement that has planted millions and millions of trees throughout Africa. 

This work was not easy for Dr. Maathai.  She began it as a single voice speaking out against the destructive acts of certain large companies and against governments that allowed these large companies to exploit the land and the people.  That took enormous courage.  As she gained respect and influence, she became a force to reckon with, and she was imprisoned for her political activities.  But Amnesty International waged a letter-writing campaign, which led to her being freed.  Rather than walk away from it all, her courage only grew, and she continued her political organizing.  She was imprisoned repeatedly through the years, but her work was so obviously for the good of the people that they couldn’t keep her in prison. 

Wangari Maathai in Nairobi, Kenya
28 August 2006
Photo by Fredrick Onyango
CC BY 2.0

In 2004 Wangari Maathai was honored for her work by being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  She was the first African woman to win this award – the most prestigious award in the world.  Dr. Maathai died in September 2011.  She was a hero of her times, intellectually, politically, and spiritually.  She believed that ordinary people could work together to accomplish extraordinary things.  Given enough people cooperating, no task was too huge.  Dr. Maathai’s life is proof of her belief.  I invite you to go onto the Internet and see and listen to Dr. Maathai tell the story of the hummingbird – a story she heard in Japan, and that she told repeatedly at public lectures.  This address shows her telling the story in March 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHtFM1XEXas

           I chose to write a book not about Wangari Maathai’s life, but about what I see as one of the most important messages she had for the world.  If you see a problem and you do the very best you can to solve it – and if all of us do that – then together we can make a difference.  We can be powerful – even against strong economic forces.  This is an essential message for children, in particular, because children are often seen as the least powerful members of society.  But a child can plant a tree.  A child can take responsibility for our environment.  A child can become the custodian of the globe.  We know that, thanks to Wangari Maathai.

         
Editor's Note:
Author and linguist, Donna Jo Napoli, "writes for all ages, from picture books through young adult books." Her awards are too numerous to mention but may be viewed on her website, http://www.donnajonapoli.com/ .

copyright Donna Jo Napoli

Women of Color Make Their Presence Known

March 21 - Today's post provided by TheHappyNappyBookseller

 

I loved the movie A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall. The story is inspired by the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. It's been years since I've seen it but I still remember a lot of it.  Geena Davis was fearless behind the plate, and of course the now classic scene of Tom Hanks screaming, "there's no crying in baseball."

Another smaller scene I will never forget is when the players are practicing and a ball gets away from Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell's characters.  On the other side of the fence three Black woman are walking past. When asked to return the ball, one of the woman just guns it back.  All the women just stare at each other for a blink of a second.  The Black woman is clearly good enough to play but can't because of her race.   

The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, by Russell Freedman, the story of singer Marian Anderson, broke my heart.  Anderson was rejected many times because of either race or gender. 

It's not lost on me that both examples I've given feature Black women.  It's second nature for people to focus on what they feel most connected to.  The trick is to recognize this and make a conscious  effort to think outside of yourself.            

One book I discovered last March was Amelia to Zora: Twenty-six Women who Changed the World, by Chin- Lee Megan, illustrated by Halsey Sean Addy.  A few of the women featured are Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an athlete that excelled at every sport she played; Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin, an astronomer and the first female professor at Harvard University; Nawal El Sadaawi a doctor and fighter for woman's rights; Grace Hopper inventor and computer pioneer; Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit -an Indian diplomat and the first woman president of the United Nations.   I love that the woman included are as diverse as their accomplishments. 

 It's no secret Women of Color  face more obstacles in life and I am always moved by their stories.  Below are a few of the ones I've loved.   

Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Lin Wang- The first Asian movie star in Hollywood. If you get a chance watch this great interview with the author.


The Little Piano Girl : The Story of Mary Lou Williams by Ann Ingalls and MaryAnn Macdonald, illustrated by Giselle Potter -  Not only was Mary Lou Williams a jazz pianist she was also a  composer and arranger.  In the afterword there is a Duke Ellington quote - "Mary's music retains a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like soul on soul."

In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage by Alan Schroder,  illustrated by JaeMe Bereal - Augusta Savage was one of the primary artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Thanks to this biography I know that Savage created  a sculpture for the 1939 World's Fair in New York, "The Harp."

She Loved Baseball by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate. The story of Effa Manley, co-owner of the Brooklyn Eagles, a Negro League Baseball team. Manley is the first woman to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Skit Scat Raggedy Cat : Ella Fitzgerald by Roxanne Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls.  We get a whole lot of Ella. Perfect for anyone who loves Fitzgerald's music and for those who are not familiar with her work.   

Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss, illustrated by Carl Angel - One of only two Chinese American women to serve in Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during WWII. Moss includes some wonderful photographs in the back, including one of Maggie in her uniform and Maggie's mother building Liberty ships, hardhat and all.
    
Side by Side/Lado a Lado by Monica Brown,  illustrated by Joe Cepeda- Dolores Huerta is an activist and co founder of National Farmers Workers Association with Cesar Chavez. There are a few children's biographies on Cesar Chavez, although as far as I know this is the first one that pertains to Dolores Huerta.

Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler-  This is my favorite children's biography on Wangari Maathai. My interview with the author can be found here. 

Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in  the Bronx by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Edel Rodriquez - A timely biography on the first Latina judge to serve on the Supreme Court.  

I did my best to place the biographies in a timeline order. This last one should be somewhere in the middle but I felt its gender and racial unity made it the perfect book to end with.  

The Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-girl Swing Band in the World by Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney - The Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all women swing band in the world. When formed in 1937 the band included a Chinese saxophonist, a Hawaiian trumpeter and a Mexican clarinetist, along with Black musicians. In 1943, White musicians join the band for the first time.  

All of these women refused to let anyone deny them their rightful place in history.  Knowing what all they have accomplished in spite of everything fulls me with so much joy.  All of these biographies make sure their contributions, successes and sacrifices are not forgotten. 

Editor's Note:
TheHappyNappyBookseller is a bookseller and baseball fan in Atlanta Georgia.
Author Audrey Vernick, mentioned above, has shared her experience of writing She Loved Baseball in an earlier post.