ABA Journal The digital English academy
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A couple of day’s ago Google’s doodle is for Wangari Maathai and she is such an inspiring woman, we thought we’d practice our English and learn about her at the same time!
Wangari Maathai – a story
Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt movement in Kenya in 1977, which has planted more than 10 million trees to prevent soil erosion and provide firewood for cooking fires. A 1989 United Nations report noted that only 9 trees were being replanted in Africa for every 100 that were cut down, causing serious problems with deforestation.
The program has been carried out primarily by women in the villages of Kenya, who through protecting their environment and through the paid employment for planting the trees are able to better care for their children and their children’s future.
Born in 1940 in Nyeri, Wangari Maathai was able to pursue higher education, a rarity for girls in rural areas of Kenya. She earned her biology degree from Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas and a master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh.
When she returned to Kenya, Wangari Maathai worked in veterinary medicine research at the University of Nairobi, and eventually, despite the skepticism and even opposition of the male students and faculty, was able to earn a Ph.D. there. She worked her way up through the academic ranks, becoming head of the veterinary medicine faculty, a first for a woman at any department at that university.
Wangari Maathai’s husband ran for Parliament in the 1970s, and Wangari Maathai became involved in organizing work for poor people and eventually this became a national grass-roots organization, providing work and improving the environment at the same time. The project has made significant headway against Kenya’s deforestation.
Wangari Maathai continued her work with the Green Belt Movement, and working for environmental and women’s causes. She also served as national chairperson for the National Council of Women of Kenya.
In 1998, Wangari Maathai gained worldwide attention when the Kenyan President backed development of a luxury housing project and building began by clearing hundreds of acres of Kenya forest.
In 1991, Wangari Maathai was arrested and imprisoned; an Amnesty International letter-writing campaign helped free her. In 1999 she suffered head injuries when attacked while planting trees in the Karura Public Forest in Nairobi, part of a protest against continuing deforestation. She was arrested numerous times by the government of Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.
In January, 2002, Wangari Maathai accepted a position as Visiting Fellow at Yale University’s Global Institute for Sustainable Forestry.
And in December, 2002, Wangari Maathai was elected to Parliament and named as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife in January, 2003.
Wangari Maathai died in Nairobi in 2011 of cancer.
Vocabulary
Prevent – to stop (something) from happening or existing.
Soil – the top layer of earth in which plants grow.
Erosion – the gradual destruction of something by natural forces (such as water, wind, or ice) : the process by which something is eroded or worn away.
Earned – to deserve or get (something) because of something you have done.
Skepticism – an attitude of doubting the truth of something (such as a claim or statement).
Ranks – a high position in a society, organization, group, etc.
Grass-roots – the ordinary people in a society or organization : the people who do not have a lot of money and power.
Headway – to move forward or make progress.
Backed – to support.
