Unbowed by Wangari Maathai

I enjoy reading books about the environment and was intrigued by the memoir of Wangari Maathai. Wangari was born into a poor family in Kenya in 1940. Normally girls in this situation were uneducated, but Wangari’s family sent her to a Catholic school for girls. She worked hard and was extremely bright, and the nuns made arrangements for her to attend college in the United States.

She became the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD and she was the first woman to head a University Department in Kenya. She observed the deteriorating environment in Kenya, and realized that poor rural women could play an important role in the restoration of indigenous forests by planting trees in their communities. She started the Greenbelt Movement which spread across Africa.

As I read this memoir, I developed so much respect and admiration for this amazing woman. In 2004, Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for her work in Africa. This book is now available in paperback, and you may also visit the excellent website about Wangari and the Green Belt Movement.

http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/