Unbowed in Around the World

Jan 05, 2015 Claire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, autobiography, around-the-world, kenyan-literature

An astonishing recollection of the life and work of Wangari Maathai, a woman who applied herself to everything she did with vigour and heart, the opportunity to be educated was a major turning point and was the first of many open doorways she walked through and made the most of, not for own benefit, but always for the good of all.

Though she was a scientist and part of the University for years, the work that she started that would embrace entire communities and develop an awareness of sustainable An astonishing recollection of the life and work of Wangari Maathai, a woman who applied herself to everything she did with vigour and heart, the opportunity to be educated was a major turning point and was the first of many open doorways she walked through and made the most of, not for own benefit, but always for the good of all.

Though she was a scientist and part of the University for years, the work that she started that would embrace entire communities and develop an awareness of sustainable living, was the Green Belt Movement, basically planting trees, collecting seedlings for replanting, developing seedling nurseries and empowering women to do the same in their villages and towns. She knew and practiced that one person can't change everything, it is through showing and empowering others that change happens.

The government for much of the 80's and 90's was against her, almost as if it were personal, she was an advocate for proper governance and management of public resources and as soon as she heard about abuses of powers that would remove public rights, she moved her supporters to action. Through perseverance she won many battles, to save the last big public park in the middle of Nairobi, Uhuru Park from urban development, preventing Karura Forest from being given to friends and political supporters of politicians, the release of political prisoners and even the lobbying of the World Bank to forgive national debt.

"When I see Uhuru Park and contemplate its meaning, I feel compelled to fight for it so that my grandchildren may share that dream and that joy of freedom as they one day walk there."

She was an amazing, inspirational and practical woman, who responded to the call for help on many significant issues that would benefit all Kenyan's and was an example to the world, rightfully acknowledged and awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 2004. Sadly she passed away in 2011 due to complications arising from ovarian cancer.

"Throughout my life, I have never stopped to strategize about my next steps. I often just keep walking along, through whichever door opens. I have been on a journey and this journey has never stopped. When the journey is acknowledged and sustained by those I work with, they are a source of inspiration, energy and encouragement. They are the reasons I kept walking, and will keep walking, as long as my knees hold out."

My complete review here at Word by Word. ...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography-memoir, read2012, around-the-world, location-africa, location-kenya

Wangari Maathai has an interesting story of growing from a Kikuyu child to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I grew up surrounded by stories of the Swahili and Turkana peoples of Kenya because of friends we had living there, but I didn't know much about the Kikuyu or the forests. I learned a lot about the socio-political history of Kenya, how to work toward change (be "patient and committed," she would say), and how much one person can accomplish. I also feel like I saw education from a different pers Wangari Maathai has an interesting story of growing from a Kikuyu child to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I grew up surrounded by stories of the Swahili and Turkana peoples of Kenya because of friends we had living there, but I didn't know much about the Kikuyu or the forests. I learned a lot about the socio-political history of Kenya, how to work toward change (be "patient and committed," she would say), and how much one person can accomplish. I also feel like I saw education from a different perspective.

The rest, I'd rather Wangari Maathai said in her own words, so here are the places I marked:

"These experiences of childhood are what mold us and make us who we are. How you translate the life you see, feel, smell, and touch as you grow up - the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the food you eat - are what you become. When what you remember disappears, you miss it and search for it, and so it was with me. When I was a child, my surroundings were alive, dynamic, and inspiring. Even though I was entering a world where there were books to read and facts to learn - the cultivation of the mind - I was still able to enjoy a world where there were no books to read, where children were told living stories about the world around them, and where you cultivated the soil and the imagination in equal measure."

"A general orientation toward trusting people and a positive attitude toward life and fellow human beings is healthy - not only for one's peace of mind but also to bring about change."

"Education, if it means anything, should not take people away from the land, but instill in them even more respect for it, because educated people are in a position to understand what is being lost."

"When we go through profound experiences, they change us. We risk our relationship with friends and family. They may not like the direction we have taken or may feel threatened or judged by our decisions. They may wonder what happened to the person they thought they once knew. There may not be enough space in a relationship for aspirations and beliefs or mutual interests and aims to unfold. For a couple, this is particularly so because most people marry young and are bound to grow and change in their perceptions and appreciation of life."

"Humanity needs to rethink peace and security and work toward cultures of peace by governing itself more democratically, respecting the rule of law and human rights, deliberately and consciously promoting justice and equity, and managing resources more responsibly and accountably - not only for the present but also for the future generations. ...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Friederike Knabe rated it really liked it

Shelves: african-lit, memoirs

When Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, questions were raised regarding her choice by the Nobel Committee. Why should an environmentalist receive a prize that was identified with peace and human rights, voiced the critics. Reading Maathai's memoir sets the record straight, and justifying her selection for the award. In this fascinating and very personal account, she paints a vivid picture of her life, embedded in the realities of Kenya before and since independence. Her e When Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, questions were raised regarding her choice by the Nobel Committee. Why should an environmentalist receive a prize that was identified with peace and human rights, voiced the critics. Reading Maathai's memoir sets the record straight, and justifying her selection for the award. In this fascinating and very personal account, she paints a vivid picture of her life, embedded in the realities of Kenya before and since independence. Her experiences during the Moi regime, in particular, demonstrate the challenges a young educated woman confronted in the face of traditional prejudice as well as political oppression.

Raised in rural Kenya, Wangari Maathai never lost the deep connection with the land and its the natural beauty. Over the years, she noticed the changes and the increasing fragility of the environment. Trees for her became a symbol and a tool for protecting the vulnerable ecosystem and assisting rural population to stem the growing poverty.

Thanks to the intervention of her older brother and the support of her mother, she was able to attend school beyond the primary level, which was all girls at the time could reach for. As luck had it and, being a bright student, her convent school was one of those selected to send graduates to the US under what became known as the Kennedy Airlift: a program to send young Africans to American colleges for further education. These young people were being primed to become future leaders of their societies in the soon to be independent African states. Maathai returned to Kenya with a Master's degree in biology, a subject that for her combined her scientific interests with her deep love for her natural environment. She was encouraged in her research and added a PhD in veterinary medicine to her record. Life should have been easy after that with a good husband, a blossoming academic career and three wonderful kids. But women in Kenya were not supposed to be independent and strong. Her fight for women's equal rights broadened her environmental commitments. Eventually she lost her academic position, her husband divorced her and she ended up as poor as she was a child. Not deterred by the adversities she was facing, she continued fighting on several fronts. She started the Greenbelt Movement to plant trees to reclaim the land as a campaign for and with rural women. Over time it gained such prominence that it was perceived as a threat by the authorities. Public show of opposition, such as the demonstrations to save Uhuru Park in Nairobi from President-friendly developers, increasingly identified Maathai and the Greenbelt Movement as a focus for opposition forces. They fought for human rights and dignity, anti-tribalism and democracy. The details of these struggles, the friendships and solidarity that Maathai experienced, both in Kenya in internationally, supported her morally and probably saved her life more than once.

Maathai's memoir is very personal and written from the heart. We get to know her thinking and feelings as well as a detailed description of the difficult life women and men who opposed the Moi regime faced. Her easygoing and conversational style softens the impact of her description of the arduous and sometimes even brutal experiences that she relays. At the same time, her story is a stirring example of how one person's strength and perseverance can make a difference to a people and the world. The Greenbelt Movement is now a motor for tree planting around Africa and beyond. This is an inspirational book as well as a historical record. Reading it will make you feel enriched. ...more

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Nov 05, 2007 Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-biography, read-adult-nonfiction, read-womens-history, read-iic

My introduction to Wangari Maathai was through the children's books by Claire Nivola and Jeanette Winter, which focused on her tree planting efforts. However, once I began reading Unbowed, I realized that she is about so much more than that. Her life has involved her in politics, human rights, and women's rights, as well as environmentalism. I can't believe all that she has accomplished! One idea, one activity, led to another. She showed that when many people together do one small thing, they cr ...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Shomeret rated it really liked it

Shelves: memoir, my-reviews

The date July 7 or 7/7 is a significant one for Maathai's movement. It's called Saba Saba in KiSwahili. I'd like to note here that I was reading this book on Saba Saba.

Before reading this, my only exposure to the Kikuyu was Mike Resnick's Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia. Although I think that the Kirinyaga stories are powerful fiction, I am only now grasping that they are a dis-service to the Kikuyu in some important ways.

From a cultural standpoint, I appreciated learning that there are Kikuyu st ...more

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Jun 27, 2020 K rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: environmental-reads, science-reads, feminism-reads, african-reads, kenya

What a deeply inspiring read! This month, I read Wangari Maathai's autobiography, #Unbowed. What a spiritually beautiful book! What a wonderful life well-lived!

Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She was a pioneer her entire life, being the first Kenyan female to be awarded a PhD (in biology), to being the first Kenyan female to head a university department (in a specialty that wasn't even hers)!

What she won her Nobel Peace Prize for was founding the Greenbelt What a deeply inspiring read! This month, I read Wangari Maathai's autobiography, #Unbowed. What a spiritually beautiful book! What a wonderful life well-lived!

Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She was a pioneer her entire life, being the first Kenyan female to be awarded a PhD (in biology), to being the first Kenyan female to head a university department (in a specialty that wasn't even hers)!

What she won her Nobel Peace Prize for was founding the Greenbelt movement. The goal of the Greenbelt movement was to employ rural women all across Kenya, many of whom were illiterate, in planting trees to combat the deforestation throughout Kenya. Between 1950 and 2000, Kenya lost 90% of its forest due to development. How inspiring that every single woman who participated, even if they couldn't read or write, could leave their own legacy to their country with a planted tree! Wangari Maathai encouraged everyone in the Greenbelt Movement to begin to solve the problem of deforestation themselves, and not to look to the government or outsiders for help.

Wangari viewed trees as a way to communicate simply to all the need to take care of the environment. While issues like erosion, or land use, could make someone’s eyes glaze over in boredom (or simply be too complicated for an illiterate person to understand), the optimistic and easy-to-understand issue of planting trees seems so noncontroversial and could attract many more followers than if she had said, ‘I’m going to challenge the corruption of my government and its use of public land.’

So much of this book is universal to all humanity. How do you stop governments from parceling off public lands to their chosen supporters? How do you keep governments from looking at urban parks as development sites? There were so many parallels in this book to other nations and their fights to save urban green spaces and national forests. In addition to planting trees all over the nation, Wangari and the Greenbelt Movement worked to save Nairobi's most beloved urban park from a massive multi-million dollar development, and to keep Kenya's most beloved forests from being decimated by government land handouts to cronies and ministers. This made her the opposite of a popular person with the authoritarian Kenyan government.

Another universal theme in this book is 'what's a smart woman to do?' Throughout her entire career, men, including her husband, resented her success. Government men frequently worked to jail her, or impede her, otherwise she might give other women ideas and cause them to be bold beyond their place. Over and over again, we see her hopes dashed, or her thrown in jail to thwart her work. She would deal with it with wisdom and integrity. She was so honest about all of her failures. We see her pick herself up again and again after her hopes are dashed.

As Wangari Maathai said in her book, the generation that degrades the environment, isn’t the generation that pays the price. When she was a child, she was able to drink directly from the streams near her homestead. She would look down at the water and see the frog eggs, attempting to pick them up so she could string them together for a necklace. Now those streams are dried up, and it is no longer safe to drink directly from the water as they are full of silt. A young child would no longer see the frog eggs and have no idea of what they lost.

This was the first time an environmentalist won the Nobel Peace Prize. She pioneered this too! The Nobel committee awarded it to her because her work linked sustainability and good governance to peace. Wangari thinks of her work as a three-legged African stool: the three legs of democratic rights, sustainability, and peace, hold up the stool seat basin that represents society. Society begins to fail when one leg goes missing, and completely crashes when two are gone. Is this not universal?

One of the things I learned from this book is there is a Congolese Forest in Africa (multiple nations asked her to be the Goodwill Ambassador to protect it) every bit as important to the planet as the Amazon Forest. How could it be that I am just learning about the Congolese Forest at this age? There are scads of wonderful children's books about the importance of the Amazon rain forest, for example, and only two about the Congolese rain forest! How will humanity help Africa protect something we don't even know of?

Unbowed by Wangari Maathai is a wonderful, wonderful read. Prepare to be fascinated by details of British colonization, Wangari's academic adventures in the United States, and her feminism. I can't recommend this book enough, especially to book clubs. I honor Wangari Maathai for leading the women of Kenya in planting 30 million trees across their country. ...more

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