Wangari Maathai

  • 2 days ago
Transcript
00:00Ah, nothing like relaxing with a good book under a shady...
00:09Who told you to cut down this tree?
00:18An ice sculpture.
00:19In the summer.
00:22Dear Tim and Moby,
00:24My little sister is learning about how trees created peace in Africa.
00:29Can you tell me the full story?
00:31Thanks, Hope.
00:33Hi, Hope.
00:35Your sister is talking about Wangari Maathai.
00:39She started the conservation movement in her home country of Kenya.
00:44That's the idea that we need to protect our natural resources.
00:47Maathai helped people plant more than 50 million trees.
00:52But she improved Kenyans' lives in other ways, too.
00:57She taught them to use more efficient farming methods.
01:00She also fought for women's rights.
01:03And helped Kenya establish a more democratic government.
01:08It's no surprise she won the Nobel Peace Prize.
01:11In 2004, she became the first African woman to do so.
01:16She was also the first environmentalist ever to win the award.
01:21Maathai was born in 1940, when Kenya was still a British colony.
01:27Unlike other colonies in Africa, the system was rigged against the native people.
01:31A few thousand British settlers controlled most of the farmland.
01:36And that was the country's most valuable resource.
01:40After a bloody uprising, Kenya won its independence in 1963.
01:46At the time, Maathai was in America, earning a master's degree in biology.
01:51She returned home, hoping to teach and continue her studies.
01:56But she soon saw that her country needed her help.
02:00Kenya was still a young nation, and its economy was in chaos.
02:04There were shortages in everything, from jobs to food to fuel.
02:09The land was turning to desert from over-farming and deforestation.
02:14With her background in biology, Maathai saw a simple way to address all of these problems.
02:21Plant trees.
02:22Lots and lots of them.
02:25You'd be surprised how much trees can do.
02:29They prevent erosion, keeping nutrient-rich topsoil in place.
02:33That makes it easier to grow crops.
02:35They produce their own healthy food, nuts and fruit.
02:38And their wood can be used for fuel, or to build homes.
02:43Yep, and as they grow into forests, all of these benefits are multiplied.
02:49Plus, paying people to gather and replant seeds would create thousands of jobs.
02:56In 1977, Maathai started the Green Belt Movement to promote tree planting.
03:01Her goal was to staff it with as many women as possible.
03:05Over 30,000 were trained in forestry, food processing, and farming.
03:10The group's influence spread across Kenya and to nearby countries.
03:16Yeah, it's pretty awesome, but not everyone was happy.
03:21Kenya had become a dictatorship, under total control of its president, Daniel Arap Moi.
03:27Moi thought the best course for Kenya was to build it up as much as possible.
03:32So, like most dictators, he went ahead with his plans without getting permission.
03:38He let his friends build a golf course in the middle of a national forest.
03:43Moi tried to build a skyscraper and a mall inside Kenya's biggest park.
03:48Maathai began to change the Green Belt Movement into a political force.
03:53Through protest and publicity, she defeated several of Moi's attempts to develop public land.
04:00At first, Moi just insulted her publicly.
04:04He called her crazy and told her to be quiet like a good woman.
04:08But Maathai was expecting that kind of sexist attack.
04:12Kenya weren't supposed to be as outspoken as she was.
04:16She lost her first chance at a teaching job just because of her gender.
04:20But she went on to become a professor and even fought for equal pay.
04:25So she continued to fight Moi by raising awareness.
04:30She led protests against his use of violence to win elections,
04:34and turned the world's attention to his oppressive government.
04:39Yeah, it takes a lot of guts to face down a dictator.
04:42Moi used his power to harass Maathai.
04:46She was jailed many times, beaten, and even targeted for assassination.
04:51She often had to go into hiding to escape certain death.
04:56Moi chose not to run for re-election in 2002.
05:00Instead, he was backing someone who would continue his policies.
05:06Consequently, Maathai rallied Kenya against him.
05:10They elected a president who was more committed to democracy, as well as the environment.
05:15And Maathai won a seat in parliament with 98% of the vote.
05:20After receiving the Nobel, she took her message around the world.
05:24She became a global leader for women's rights and conservation.
05:29She died in 2011, but her legacy lives on.
05:33The people she fed, the women she educated, and millions of trees, like this one.
05:42You're not really gonna...
05:48Okay?