Calling Americans people with golden hearts, Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, urged the College audience to pressure their government representatives to preserve forests in the face of climate change.
An advocate for womenís rights, Wangari Maathai organized the Green Belt Movement (GBM), which empowers women through planting trees. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her ìcontribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace, according to Chairman of the Norwegian Noble Committe, Ole Danbolt (Noble Prize Committee Website).
At the final event of the 2009 Wooster Forum, Maathai shared with the College how she empowers people, especially women.† First, she asks them to voice their problems and then asks that they take responsibility for them.† Rather than blame the government, police or international communities, ìItís you who did not do what you should do for yourself,” she said.
She addressed this problem as the ìWrong Bus Syndrome,” where individuals do not defend their rights to a clean environment or equal freedom because of fear, misinformation or oppression, and consequently, they take a bus towards an unwanted destination. She believes that once people are convinced to believe in what they are fighting for ìthey want to turn the bus around,” and ìyou have empowered them.”
During an informal discussion in Babcock Lounge earlier that day, Maathai stated, ìWhen you stand up, everyone can see you and if you believe in what youíre fighting for, no one can make you sit.”
As the first East and Central African woman to earn a doctorate degree and as the first African woman and environmentalist to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, Maathaiís history is clearly one of putting words into action.
Since 1977, when she started the GBM, 45 million trees have been planted. Maathai has helped Kenyan women tackle environmental problems such as deforestation, soil erosion and a lack of water and have gained empowerment through improving their quality of life.
For the GBM, tree planting started as an entry point into the communities, but the tree soon became a symbol for democratic struggle.
ìIn order for us to live in peace with each other,” Maathai told the Wooster audience, ìit is extremely important for us to have a political, economic system that allows for us to respect each other, to respect our diversity and to respect our space.”
The GBM sought to teach women, not only how, but why they planted trees beyond their basic needs: ìWe needed to show them that our environment was being destroyed by the very people supposed to protect it.”
The government, at the time, privatized forests to be made into farmlands. Maathai said that what the government considered development was actually ìdevelopment with destruction.” Maathai believes that sustainable development needs democratic governance.
She closed her speech by retelling an allegory about a hummingbird who, despite discouragement, carried individual drops of water to a forest in attempt to subdue a raging fire.† While the other animals told her that she was too small to make a difference, she replied, ìAt least Iím doing the best I can.”
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December, Maathai asked the audience to be like the hummingbird, and encouraged them to write to Senators and voice concerns about climate change.
Maathai said ìWhen Americans see people suffering they give their leaders hell.” She added that no matter how discouraged we may be, there is strength in numbers. ìMillions can make a difference,” she said
After her speech, Maathai consented to sing a few verses in Swahili from a song that empowered the GBM.†† ìHakuna mungu kama wewe” meaning ìNo God like you,” usually includes a chorus: a group of people bonded together for a common purpose because of similar beliefs.†† She reinforced the point that one has to believe that, ìThere is more power beyond our power.”
Wangari Maathai is the author of three books: ìThe Challenge for Africa;” ìUnbowed: A Memoir;” and ìThe Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience.” She is Co-Chair of the Congo Basin Forest Fund (2007), has received honorary degrees from 13 different colleges and universities, including Yale University. She was acknowledged as Legion DíHonneur by the French Government (2006), won the Sophie Prize (2004) and was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes magazine, USA (2005).