We have launched a similar mottainai campaign in Kenya. We are encouraging people to use baskets manufactured locally from bio- logical materials to carry their shopping and other things, rather than use flimsy plastic bags. These thin plastic bags create litter, foul streams and trees, and end up in drainage ditches and sometimes even in the stomachs of domesticated animals, causing numerous health and environmental problems. The campaign is catching on.
I am grateful that Random House has decided to do its part in practicing mottainai by printing Unbowed, as well as other books it publishes, on recycled paper. Wherever I go, I carry the spirit of mottainai with me.
Many people ask me how being a Nobel laureate has changed my life. The main way is that while I'm even busier than I used to be, I now have many more opportunities that weren't available to me before. The peace prize has an extraordinary ability to open doors that would normally be closed. People want to know more about you, your work, and what you think about a whole range of issues. Even those who were not previously interested in your work become so, simply because the Norwegian Nobel Committee has singled you out.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee's historic decision to honor the environment; to make the connection between the sustainable management of resources, good governance, peace, and the need for equity; and to emphasize that we cannot have peace without a combination of all these other factors, in one stroke created the opportunity for a huge constituency of environmental, peace, democracy, human rights, and women's rights activists to come together. The global Green movement was greatly buoyed by the recognition, and there has been a resurgence of energy not only among members of the Green movement but within the larger constituency of people and organizations whose work was touched by this recognition.
Of course, being awarded the prize was an extraordinary recognition, and one I never dreamed of. I relish the honor and the opportunities it has brought. But there are also challenges: It's difficult to do everything I'm asked to, or would like to do. For instance, trying to reach, and remain connected to, all of those who supported me in the past, and to whom I owe so much, and indeed also those who have been inspired by the prize, is hard. Another difficulty is that people expect me to take on more, and larger, causes than I did before; and because I do not like to let people down, I place extra pressure on myself. Still, despite the grueling travel schedule I've undertaken since 2004, I have yet to visit China, much of Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as many other regions and countries that have invited me to visit. This discomforts me, because every one of them is important to the global environmental and peace agenda. Yet I cannot be everywhere at once; and while I am flattered that people may think I, or my organization, can solve any or every issue, it is simply not true. My energy and time are limited. This is also why I want to inspire people to undertake their own campaigns, in their own communities and countries.
In deciding what to focus on since the Nobel, therefore, I have chosen efforts or initiatives that will have the greatest impact on the largest number of people. I am also concerned with reaching people who will listen to what I have to say or share my concerns and who occupy a position of importance, and who can decide to make a difference on a large scale. Such is the case with Gordon Brown, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom. When I met with him, I was able to explain how essential it was to find ways to protect the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem, for which I continue to serve as the Goodwill Ambassador and about which the world still has much to learn. In March 2007, Brown announced the wonderful news that the UK government was committing £50 million ($98 million) to a new fund to protect the Congo Basin forests. The funds will ensure that local people's livelihoods and rights are protected, while promoting sustainable management of the forest. This is a vital step toward preserving this essential planetary “second lung,” the world's most important forest system after the Amazon. Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and I have accepted the UK government's invitation to advise on how these funds are managed and spent.
I feel it is very important to visit communities that advocate ideas I believe in, and that may not have money or power. As you have read in Unbowed, grassroots activists were instrumental in making our efforts successful and advocating for me when I got into trouble. I want to support them and encourage their work.
I continue with the many roles I played before becoming a Nobel laureate: member of Parliament and government; founder/president of the Green Belt Movement; mother and friend. Although I travel abroad much more than I did before 2004, some things in my life haven't changed that much. Most mornings, you can find me in the gym. That's when I can be alone with my thoughts and reflect deeply. It's also a good time to catch up with the news. Weekends when I'm in Kenya I spend in my Parliamentary constituency, working on the issues that matter in people's lives, like health care, education, food security, HIV/AIDS, income generation, and of course, environmental restoration. I also still find time to meet up with my family and friends.
The years since the historic elections of 2002 in Kenya have illustrated the challenges of democracy. I, and many others, both within parliament and outside, have tried to address the needs of the Kenyan people. We've succeeded in some things and been frustrated in others. The legacies of corruption and the politics of ethnic identification have been hard to shake, and at times my conscience has forced me to take positions that have not been popular. But, as you will know from reading Unbowed, I am interested in results. If by serving in the government I can bring about meaningful change, then this is what I must do, because that is what the Green Belt Movement and I had been advocating for over the course of many years. Some innovative work is being done. For one, the government has apportioned funds to each parliamentary constituency for development needs, which communities themselves decide what to do with, whether to fund education or scholarship programs, health care or water projects. If we really want to address poverty and inequity, I believe there's nothing better than asking the people themselves what their priorities are and engaging them in actions to realize these.
The scourge of HIV/AIDS continues to cast a wide and devastating shadow over Africa. Although, thankfully, overall rates of infection in Kenya have declined, HIV/AIDS keeps on taking many lives. The government has made some important decisions, including removing the fees for anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), which combat the effects of AIDS. I have been working to translate national level efforts to diagnose, treat, and care for people living with HIV or AIDS into on-the-ground programs. In my constituency, a number of people living with HIV have resolved to break the stigma that has attached itself to the disease. They are determined not to die in silence, as is still the case with too many women and men. One particular woman, HIV positive herself, is encouraging those living with HIV or AIDS to come out of their homes to support, comfort, and care for themselves and each other, by, among other things, providing each other with information and cooking and sharing nutritious foods. A VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) post has been established in the constituency, and thanks to the Green Belt Movement nearly 300 people meet each month as a support and action group.
The Green Belt Movement (GBM), to my great satisfaction, has also evolved over the last few years, and its vision for how best to achieve its objectives has developed accordingly. We now have offices in London and Washington, DC, as well as Kenya. Opening these branches is partly a result of the interest in me and the work of GBM that followed the awarding of the peace prize. With the sup- port and encouragement of our longtime friends and supporters, it was deemed necessary and useful to establish these offices. They now serve to maintain contact with people interested in GBM, disseminate information, and raise funds for our work.
In Kenya, the focus of GBM's tree planting efforts continues to be on private and public lands, particularly the remaining forested areas and riparian reserves. We are raising indigenous tree seedlings and planting them in zones designated by
government foresters. What makes this work different from what we did before is that the government is no longer a stumbling block to our efforts. In some cases, there are even initiatives where we work in partnership with the government. At last, those foresters with diplomas and those without are working together! Threats to Kenya's forests—from illegal logging, cultivation of crops, pressure for development, and the changing climate—persist. But we are working hard. In 2006, GBM planted 4.6 million trees in over thirty-three districts around Kenya, the most ever in a single year.
At the same time, the Green Belt Movement has received many requests from abroad to share our approach. The staff has been working hard to respond to and initiate new projects and partnerships. One of the important challenges continues to be the effort to reach out to Haiti and establish an effective initiative there. As you know, I've wanted to help Haiti since I visited it with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, whose recent film, An Inconvenient Truth, has helped raise critical awareness of the devastating consequences of climate change.
In East Africa, we are feeling the effects of global warming in droughts, changing rainfall patterns, and accelerated desertification. The glaciers at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya are melting before our eyes. Again, GBM is attempting to alleviate the problems. In November 2006, GBM, in partnership with our friends at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), launched the Plant for the Planet: Billion Trees Campaign, and set about our mission to plant a billion trees worldwide by the end of 2007. Every- one can get involved—individuals, institutions, corporations, and governments. (Find out more at the Green Belt Movement's website: www.greenbeltmovement.org.)
Because I benefited enormously from women and men who encouraged me to fulfill my potential, I feel a strong responsibility to engender in the next generation a spirit of empowerment and entrepreneurship so that they, too, can work to take charge of their lives. In turn, they will be better able to help determine the future of the planet and all the species that call it home. To that end, GBM is developing an empowerment center in Nairobi, which will provide a range of experiential learning opportunities based on GBM's civic and environmental education initiatives. The activities will consist of “experiential learning” (or learning by doing) for environmental primary care. This includes teaching young people how to mobilize communities; establish tree nurseries and take care of the seedlings; and nurture their and others’ capabilities. In coming years, we expect that young people, especially young women, from across the African continent as well as the rest of the world will be invited to participate. GBM will also explore partnerships with other institutions to expand the program's reach and scope.
I have joined with other women Nobel Peace laureates, including the anti-landmine campaigner Jody Williams, the Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, and the indigenous rights advocate Rigoberta Menchú, to form the Nobel Women's Initiative. Together, we are working to address and prevent the root causes of violence by spotlighting and promoting the efforts of women's rights activists, researchers, and organizations advancing peace, justice, and equity. It grieves me that one of the Nobel Peace laureates, the Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, is still not free to travel within her own country, let alone abroad.
I remain committed to the creation of stronger civil society throughout Africa as the best means of ending dehumanizing poverty, ensuring human rights and good governance, and avoiding the conflicts that continue to bedevil us, including the horror that has engulfed Darfur in western Sudan, and other national conflicts that continue to divert Africans from the development agenda. I continue to serve as the presiding officer of the African Union's Economic, Social and Cultural Council, ECOSOCC, which is working to strengthen the voices of civil society and its ability to influence governance across the continent. It is my hope that the issues of governance, health, and environment will be prioritized by African civil society.
Everywhere I go, I still encourage people to plant trees, and often plant one myself. As part of the Billion Tree Campaign's launch in the UK, I planted a tree at Oxford University to replace one that had been standing for several hundred years and had died. I also recently returned from India where I planted a sapling at the Indian International Center in New Delhi to kick-off the campaign in India. Whenever and wherever you happen to be reading this book, I hope you'll contribute to that number and plant as many trees as you can. They will be your legacy for future generations.
Every day, I'm reminded that what we become depends on what we make of our relationships and the experiences we share with those we meet. That journey extends beyond the covers of Unbowed, just as it extends beyond the borders of our lives. I hope Unbowed helps you discover, as I have, that the greatest happiness in life can be found in service. Because of those I've met and you, the readers of this book, I'm filled with new hope. That hope is like a flower, which, when it blooms, does so no matter what mood it's in or who is watching. It always gives its best. We can, too. Each of us can make a difference, and together accomplish what might seem impossible.
In this connection, I would like to leave you with a story that I tell many places I go in the world. I first heard it from Professor Suji in Japan and found it very empowering. The story goes that one day, a massive fire broke out in the forest, and all the animals, finding the flames coming ever closer, decided to save themselves. They rushed to the edge of the forest and watched, overwhelmed and feeling helpless, as the fire engulfed their home.
That is, all animals except one: a hummingbird, who said, “I'm going to do something about the fire!” So she flew to the nearest stream and scooped up a drop of water in her beak and deposited it on the conflagration. Back and forth she flew from stream to the inferno, tireless and focused, without losing patience or speed. Each time she carried a droplet and let it fall on the flames.
In the meantime, as the fire raged, the other animals looked on in amazement and disbelief. They were overwhelmed and dismayed. “You are too small,” they said to the hummingbird. “You cannot hope to put out the fire. What do you think you're doing?”
As she prepared to dive again, the hummingbird turned to the animals and nodded her head. “I'm doing the best I can!”
And this is what we are called to do, no matter who or where we are, or what our capabilities. We are called to do the best we can!
Wangari Maathai Nairobi April 2007
APPENDIX:
KONYEKI NA ITHE, OR
“KONYEKI AND HIS FATHER”
One day a group of young men and women went to a dance. (At that time it was very common for young men and women to dance both separately and together.) The men danced and the women watched. There was one man who was extremely handsome and a beautiful dancer, and four young women at the dance thought him very attractive. One of the women, who was very romantic at heart, fell in love at first sight.
As the evening passed, three of the women noticed that the young man behaved very strangely. At one point as he danced he broke one of his fingernails, took the nail, and popped it into another mouth hidden at the back of his neck. As the mouth opened a swarm of flies came out, buzzing noisily. “Did you see that?” the first girl asked the second, shocked and amazed.
“Yes I did,” answered the second.
“Wow!” said the third. “I think this young man is not what he seems. I think he's a dragon.”
Now the third girl was right, but the fourth girl, who had fallen in love, was very naive and love blind. She saw only good in people, no matter how manifestly evil that person was. “What are you talking about?” she huffed. “I didn't see anything. He is a lovely man!”
“Well, we all saw what he did, and it was disgusting,” responded the three other young women. “No human being has two mouths.”
At this, the love-struck young woman became even more indignant. “Well, you girls never see anything good in anyone; and if you do you're always ready to tear them apart.” And they began a furious con
versation, full of mutual recriminations.
Meanwhile, the mysterious young man continued dancing until, looking around, he caught sight of the four young women and stared at them. They stared back and three of them saw that his eyes could open very wide and close just like the eyes of a chameleon. “Did you see that?” shouted the three young women to the lovesick fourth. “What human being has eyes like that?”
“Those eyes are the most beautiful eyes you could ever see,” murmured the fourth woman. “You girls have never seen anything you didn't want to criticize.”
The girls continued bickering until the dance ended and the handsome young man walked over and invited them to come to his compound. (This was typical practice in Kikuyu culture. It was quite acceptable for girls to go with boys and sleep in the same room together. No sexual intercourse was allowed, but the boys and girls would sleep together in a common area. Girls at that time had what might be termed chastity belts they wore before they went to sleep. This was only a precautionary measure, since young women and men always socialized in groups. This was a deterrent among unmarried young men and women.
On the way to the compound, the young man once again lost a nail and threw it behind him, where it was consumed by his second mouth even as a swarm of noisy flies emerged. Once again the three girls asked the fourth whether she'd seen it, but once again love had made her blind. This was too much for one of the three, who was too scared and returned to her home. The remaining three, including the love-struck maiden, were too intrigued to depart. They didn't want to leave one another alone with this fascinating young man.
It was nearing six o'clock and dusk was drawing in when the young man turned to them. “If you look straight on, over this ridge to the ridge beyond, you will see some white dots. Can you see them?”
The young women strained their eyes and, sure enough, there were the dots. “Yes, we can see them,” they replied.
Unbowed: A Memoir (Vintage) Page 33