“No matter who or where we are, or what our capabilities, we are called to do the best we can.”
Wangari Maathai
Background:
Founder: The Green Belt Movement “When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope”
Documentaries and/or Books:
TedTalks and Interviews:
Birthday: 1 April 1940 - 25 September 2011
”There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments.”
“Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then you protect.”
“What a friend we have in a tree, the tree is the symbol of hope, self improvement and what people can do for themselves.”
“I have always felt that perhaps women have sometimes almost embraced the same values as men, and the same character as men, because they are in the men's world, and they are trying to fit into a system that men have created. And maybe in truth when there is a critical mass of women who play that role in governments, then we will see whether women can really manage power in a way that is less destructive than the way that men have used power.”
“I’m very conscious of the fact that you can’t do it alone. It’s teamwork. When you do it alone you run the risk that when you are no longer there nobody else will do it.”
“We tend to put the environment last because we think the first thing we have to do is eliminate poverty. But you can't reduce poverty in a vacuum. You are doing it in an environment.”
“Every person who has ever achieved anything has been knocked down many times. But all of them picked themselves up and kept going, and that is what I have always tried to do.”
“We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk!”
“I stand before you and the world humbled by this recognition and uplifted by the honour of being the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate. As the first African woman to receive this prize, I accept it on behalf of the people of Kenya and Africa, and indeed the world. I am especially mindful of women and the girl child. I hope it will encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership.”
“Resources on the planet are limited, and limited resources can come to an end. But there are also a lot of resources that are renewable. A lot of land, for example, can be reclaimed from the encroaching deserts.”
“It was easy for me to be ridiculed and for both men and women to perceive that maybe I'm a bit crazy because I'm educated in the West and I have lost some of my basic decency as an African woman.”
“In Kenya women are the first victims of environmental degradation, because they are the ones who walk for hours looking for water, who fetch firewood, who provide food for their families.”
“You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself. That values itself. That understands itself.”
“No matter who or where we are, or what our capabilities, we are called to do the best we can.”
“Education is a very empowering experience, so many people who went to school also managed to improve their quality of life much faster because they could get a job, they could get money. Once people see that you improve your life if you are educated, then education becomes a valuable tool and people want it.”
“We are very fond of blaming the poor for destroying the environment. But often it is the powerful, including governments, that are responsible.”
“There will always be people who think that you have ambitions.”
