Wangari Maathai: Taking Root
Wangari Muta Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organisation focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights. Today in PLO.com we pay tribute to the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for ‘her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace’.
ABOUT Taking Root
“Taking Root tells of the journey Wangari took, with the work of many others, following the links from poverty to development, to environmental protection and good governance. Taking Root presents her journey as a model for humanity to follow.” – Lisa Merton, Co-Director/Producer
ABOUT Wangari Maathai
” Maathai was born in the village of Ihithe, Nyeri District, in the central highlands of the colony of Kenya, then part of the British Empire. Her family were Kikuyu, the most populous ethnic group in Kenya, and had lived in the area for several generations.
I have chosen to use a selection of quotes from ‘TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai’ – A Film by Lisa Merton & Alan Dater because Wangari captures in their pithiness the very essence of who she was:
“Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking so that humanity stops threatening its life support system. We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds. And in the process, heal our own. In the course of history there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness. To reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.”
“You raise your consciousness to a level where you feel that you must do the right thing, because it is the only right thing to do.”
“As long as the resources are not adequate, as long as the resources are not being managed properly, as long as the resources are not being shared more equitably, we will be threatened.”
“Culture is coded wisdom. Wisdom that has been accumulated for thousands of years and generations. Some of that wisdom is coded in our ceremonies, it is coded in our values, it is coded in our songs, in our dances, in our plays.”
The VIDEO
RELATED
1. Book: The Challenge for Africa 2. Book: Unbowed: My Autobiography 3. Book: Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience
