Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to be awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2004. It was a great moment for Kenya and for Africa when she received this honour.

She went to her Eternal Reward on September 25th last. Her funeral saw thousands line the streets of Nairobi to accompany her to Kariorkor Crematorium in Nairobi . Her coffin was made of bamboo sticks, water hyacinth stems and papyrus reeds — a unique casket to comply with the wishes of a conservation icon, who refused to have a wooden coffin used for her funeral.

Wangari was born in the Kenyan Highlands and was one of a number of academically bright Kenyan women and men who went to the US for higher education. She returned in 1971 and soon became involved in politics and environmental issues. She founded the Green Belt Movement and over the next three decades endured much ridicule and suffering, even from her fellow politicians, for her efforts to conserve large tracts of land and especially Uhuru [Freedom] Park in the centre of Nairobi. Subsequently the best known corner of this park is now known as “Freedom Corner” and her funeral cortege paused there to allow State dignitaries offer their last respects.

A few years ago her autobiography ‘Unbowed” was published. I quote from her in this: “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 measures.” What a beautiful concept.

Wangari worked closely with the AOSK—the Association of the Sisterhoods of Kenya. She became our partner and friend and willingly attended our meetings on environmental matters. She was educated by the Loreto Sisters. She fought for women who were denied their rights and aligned herself to the Justice and Peace wing of the AOSK in this struggle. One of our fond memories of her is the celebration of the 4th centenary of the founding of the Loreto Sisters, in Msongari, near Westlands. She invited us all to go out on Easter Monday and plant a tree for the one that was cut down on Good Friday to hang Our Lord, so that we could return to the earth what we had taken from it.

To many here in Kenya she is known as “Mother Nature” and her name is automatically associated with trees, forests and conservation. Her humour, strength, sense and compassion have touched us all. She wanted to remain green to the end and to ensure that her work for peace and protection of the environment would continue. Let us follow her wishes.

Theresa Burke rsm
Kenyan Province