The Life of Dr. Wangari Maathai
Lizzie Wood, Staff Writer
Wangari Maathai is a
name heard on the Mer
edith campus often. Her
relationship with Mer
edith College began in
2009 when her book.
Unbowed, was chosen
to be the book read by
the Meredith community
that summer. Maathai
then came to the Mer
edith campus to deliver
the annual Lillian Parker
Wallace Lecture. Students
and Faculty gathered
in the Meredith College
Amphitheater to listen to
the story of her experi
ence with environmental
reform world-wide.
Born in Nyeri, Kenya in
1940, Maathai felt a con
nection with nature from
early childhood. She shared her stories of
growing up in Kenya listening to the wildlife
and exploring the natural world she grew up
experiencing. Despite the turmoil Kenya was
experiencing at the time, Maathai kept her
focus in her studies. She attended St. Cece
lia’s Intermediate Primary School, where she
graduated first in her class, then went to Lo
reto High School Limuru. She was chosen to
participate in former Senator John F. Kenne
dy’s Airlift Africa program. Along with three
hundred other Kenyans, she was given the
opportunity to study in American Institutions.
She earned her undergraduate degree in biol
ogy and minored in both chemistry and Ger
man from Mount St. Scholastica College. She
then returned in 1964 to get a master’s degree
in biology from the University
of Pittsburgh. After returning
to Kenya in 1969 to lecture
at the University College of
Nairobi, she was soon mar
ried and became a mother.
She was the first East African
woman to receive her Ph.D
from the University College
of Nairobi when she earned a
Doctorate of Anatomy.
While she did participate in
some Kenyan politics, she is
most known for her contribu
tions to the Green Belt Move
ment. She became a coordina
tor for the organization. In
1985 at the Global Women’s
Conference in Nairobi, she
gave seminars and met others
who shared her passion for
environmental issues. After
image via greenbeltmovement.org Kenyan government
raised issues due to her protests against in
dustrialization, Maathai’s reputation and the
fate of the Green Belt Movement were ques
tioned. Although Wangari Maathai’s efforts
were being recognized internationally, Kenya
did not seem to appreciate what she was do
ing. Despite years of conflict with the govern
ment, Maathai decided to run for Parliament.
She lost the election, but did not lose her
drive. She became even more involved with
the Green Belt Movement. She was injured in
a 1999 protest which triggered several other
protests throughout Nairobi. After the pro
tests, she returned to the U.S. briefly to teach
at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmen
tal Studies.
After returning to Kenya in 2002, she was
elected to be the Assistant Minister in the
Ministry for Environment and Natural Re
sources. She also founded the Mazingira
Green Party of Kenya, allowing candidates
to have conservation as a platform in their
campaigns. In 2004, she was chosen as the
first African woman and the first environmen
talist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her
life efforts. Other awards to her name include
the 2003 Global Environment award, the
2007 World Citizenship Award, and the 2009
NAACP Image Award.
Maathai’s influence can be seen across the
Meredith College campus. In honor of her
Green Belt Movement and visit to Meredith,
students and faculty planted 350 trees. Dr.
Wangari Maathai herself planted a tree be
tween Johnson Hall and Joyner. Dr. Janice
Swab says “I would think that the ‘legacy’
from this would be that students can always
visit the campus and see ‘their’ trees.” Today,
students can see her tree decorated with rib
bons to honor her death on September 25th,
2011 from cancer. On October 2nd, 2011, the
Meredith chapel held a memorial service lead
by local Kenyans. The Reverend Canon Sally
G. Bingham was a friend of Maathai’s and says
that she remembers Maathai “for her extraor
dinary tree planting and women’s empower
ment efforts in Africa.” She is saddened by her
death “But [she] takes heart in knowing that
her legacy lives on with her Greenbelt Move
ment, and with the enormous hope and inspi
ration she gave to people in Africa and all over
the world.” Wangari Maathai’s legacy also
continues with the Green Belt on the Meredith
College campus. To learn more about the
organization, visit www.greenbeltmovement.
org.
Campus
coll&ted by Kristen Gallagher
alendar;
DVop-In Resume Clinic Junior Class Ring Dinner - Oct 21
Et^ery Monday (ioam-12) and Thursday (11-noon)
^ Sophomore Class Guardian Angel - Oct 22
‘each For America 10/19/20118;oo PM Online Infor-
ation Session Meredith Fall Choral Concert - Oct 23 (in Jones Audi
torium)
North Carolina State Government Summer Internship
Program 10/21/2011 2:00 PM Academic & Career CSI Week (Sociology/Criminology) - Week of Oct. 24
Planning
The New Green: Red, White, and Blue Careers (Day
long Event: Federal Green Jobs) 10/27/2011
Meredith Sinfonietta Concert ~ Oct 27 at 8pm
SAF Deadline - Oct 28
Law School Fair 11/1/201112:30 PM at NCSU Cornhuskin Week - Oct 31 - Nov 4
Holiday Art Sale Info Meetings - Check in the Art Dc-
artment