Kenya's former president called her a mad woman. Seen as a threat to the rich and powerful, Wangari Maathai was beaten, arrested and vilified for the simple act of planting a tree, a natural wonder Maathai believed could reduce poverty and conflict.

Former elementary students who planted saplings alongside her, world leaders charmed by her message and African visionaries on Monday remembered a woman some called the Tree Mother of Africa. Maathai, Africa's first female winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, died late Sunday in a Nairobi hospital following a battle with cancer. She was 71.

Maathai believed that a healthy environment helped improve lives by providing clean water and firewood for cooking, thereby decreasing conflict. The Kenyan organization she founded planted 30 million trees in hopes of improving the chances for peace, a triumph for nature that inspired the U.N. to launch a worldwide campaign that resulted in 11 billion trees planted.

Maathai, a university professor with a warm smile and college degrees from the United States, staged popular protests that bedeviled former President Daniel arap Moi, a repressive and autocratic ruler who called her "a mad woman" who was a threat to the security of Kenya.

In the summer of 1998, the Kenyan government was giving land to political allies in a protected forest on Nairobi's outskirts. Maathai began a campaign to reclaim the land, culminating in a confrontation with 200 hired thugs armed with machetes and bows and arrows. When Maathai tried to plant a tree, she and her cohorts were attacked with whips, clubs and stones. Maathai received a bloody gash on her head.

"Many said, 'She is just planting trees.' But that was important, not only from an environmental perspective, to stop the desert from spreading, but also as a way to activate women and fight the Daniel arap Moi regime," said Geir Lundestad, director of the Nobel Institute, which awarded Maathai the peace prize in 2004.

"Wangari Maathai combined the protection of the environment, with the struggle for women's rights and fight for democracy," he said.

Maathai said during her 2004 Peace Prize acceptance speech that the inspiration for her life's work came from her childhood experiences in rural Kenya. There she witnessed forests being cleared and replaced by commercial plantations, which destroyed biodiversity and the capacity of forests to conserve water.

After arap Moi left government, Maathai served as an assistant minister for the environment and natural resources ministry.

Although the tree-planting campaign launched by her group, the Green Belt Movement, did not initially address the issues of peace and democracy, Maathai said it became clear over time that responsible governance of the environment was not possible without democracy.

"Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in Kenya. Citizens were mobilized to challenge widespread abuses of power, corruption and environmental mismanagement," Maathai said.

Maathai's work was quickly recognized by groups and governments the world over, winning awards, accolades and partnerships with powerful organizations. Meanwhile, her dedication to nature remained, as could be seen in her role in a movie called "Dirt! The Movie," where Maathai narrated the story of a hummingbird carrying one drop of water at a time to fight a forest fire, even as animals like the elephant asked why the hummingbird was wasting his energy.

"It turns to them and tells them, 'I'm doing the best I can.' And that to me is what all of us should do. We should always feel like a hummingbird," she said. "I certainly don't want to be like the animals watching as the planet goes down the drain. I will be a hummingbird. I will do the best I can."

Recognizing that never-say-die attitude, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Maathai's death "strikes at the core of our nation's heart." Odinga said Maathai died just as the causes she fought for were getting the attention they deserve.

The United Nations Environment Program called Maathai one of Africa's foremost environmental campaigners and recalled that Maathai was the inspiration behind UNEP's 2006 Billion Tree Campaign. More than 11 billion trees have been planted so far.

"Wangari Maathai was a force of nature. While others deployed their power and life force to damage, degrade and extract short term profit from the environment, she used hers to stand in their way, mobilize communities and to argue for conservation and sustainable development over destruction," said Achim Steiner, the executive director of UNEP.

Tributes poured out for Maathai online, including from Kenyans who remember planting trees alongside her as schoolchildren. One popular Twitter posting noted that Maathai's knees always seemed to be dirty from showing VIPs how to plant trees. Another poster, noting Nairobi's cloudy skies Monday, said: "No wonder the sun is not shining today."

Her quest to see fewer trees felled and more planted saw her face off against Kenya's powerful elite. At least three times during her activist years she was physically attacked, including being clubbed unconscious by police during a hunger strike in 1992.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Monday called Maathai a "true African heroine." The Nelson Mandela Foundation also expressed sadness. The foundation hosted Maathai in 2005, when she headlined the foundation's annual lecture.

"We need people who love Africa so much that they want to protect her from destructive processes," she said in her address. "There are simple actions we can take. Start by planting 10 trees we each need to absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale."

The spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Maathai was a "pioneer in articulating the links between human rights, poverty, environmental protection and security."

In a statement released by the U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was inspired by Maathai's story and "proud to call her my friend."

"Her death has left a gaping hole among the ranks of women leaders, but she leaves behind a solid foundation for others to build upon," she said in the statement.

A long time friend and fellow professor at the University of Nairobi, Vertistine Mbaya said that Maathai showed the world how important it is to have and demonstrate courage.

"The values she had for justice and civil liberties and what she believed were the obligations of civil society and government," Mbaya said. "She also demonstrated the importance of recognizing the contributions that women can make and allowing them the open space to do so."

Njeri Gatonyo, a member of the Green Belt Movement board, said Maathai's organization will continue with the work that Maathai began in 1977. Mbaya said work would continue to establish a Wangari Maathai Institute for Environmental Studies and Peace at the University of Nairobi.

Maathai was the first woman to earn a doctorate in East Africa — in 1971 from the University of Nairobi, where she later was an associate professor in the department of veterinary anatomy. She previously earned degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College — now Benedictine College — in Atchison, Kansas and the University of Pittsburgh.

The Green Belt Movement said on its website that Maathai's death was a great loss to those who "admired her determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier and better place." Edward Wageni, the group's deputy executive director, said Maathai died in a Nairobi hospital late Sunday. Maathai had been in and out of the hospital since the beginning of the year, he said.

Maathai is survived by three children. Funeral arrangements were to be announced soon, the Green Belt Movement said.

i hope the ppl she has inspired continue her work

What a wasted sacrifice!
To bad she decided to go back to Kenya.
Typical African curse.
Every strong woman wey African man and im re-tarded, desperado, shrivelled, blockos-suckers of women nor fit kill na "mad woman"!
Oturugbeke o!
The "new" breed of African women na to chop blokos, nothing else to accomplish.

Mu he he he he he

    

You have gone to a better place darling! R.I.P!

http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/OtherPages/Others/noble.htm

7 South Africans.
3 Egyptians.
I Nigerian.
I Ghanian.
I Kenyan.

ONLY 2 FEMALES FROM AFRICA.

One from Kenya, one from South Africa.

Nice.

^^ only one from nigeria? Wat a pity

^^^
The first and the LAST.
Only by chance.

May her soul rest in peace and may her legacy live on

BootyOnMe:

^^^
The first and the LAST.
Only by chance.

lol

PROF. WANGARI MAATHAI'S AWARDS'S

2010: Earth Hall of Fame, Kyoto (Japan)
2010: Humanity 4 Water Award for Outstanding Commitment 2 Action
2009: The Order of the Rising Sun, Japan
2009: Judge, 2009 Geotourism Challenge, National Geographic, USA
2009: NAACP Chairman's Award , USA
2008: Dignitas Humana Award, St John's School of Theology, USA
2008: Cinema Verite, Honorary President, France
2008: Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Honorary Fellowship, UK
2007: The Nelson Mandela Award for Health & Human Rights, South Africa
2007: The Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, India
2007: Cross of the Order of St Benedict, Benedictine College, Kansas, USA
2007: World Citizenship Award, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
2006: The Indira Gandhi International Award for Peace, Disarmament & Development, India
2006: Premio Defensa Medio Ambiente, Club Internacional De Prensa, Spain
2006: 6th in 100 Greatest Eco-Heroes of All Time, The Environment Agency, UK
2006: Medal for Distinguished Achievement, University of Pennsylvania, USA
2006: Woman of Achievement Award from the American Biographical Institute Inc., USA
2006: The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Milele(Lifetime) Achievement Award
2006: Legion D'Honneur, Government of France
2006: The IAIA Global Environment Award, International Association for Impact Assessment, Norway
2006: Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund Award, USA
2006: World Citizenship Award
2005: New York Women's Century Award, New York Women's Foundation, USA
2005: One of the 100 Most Influential People in the World: Time magazine, USA
2005: One of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World: Forbes magazine, USA
2004: Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Norway
2004: Sophie Prize, the Sophie Foundation, Norway
2004: Elder of the Golden Heart, Republic of Kenya
2004: Petra Kelly Environment Prize, Heinrich Boell Foundation, Germany
2004: J. Sterling Morton Award, Arbor Day Foundation, USA
2004: Conservation Scientist Award, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, USA
2003: Elder of the Burning Spear, Republic of Kenya
2003: WANGO Environment Award, World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations , USA
2002: Outstanding Vision and Commitment Award, Bridges to Community, USA
2001: Excellence Award, Kenyan Community Abroad, USA
2001: The Juliet Hollister Award, Temple of Understanding, USA
1997: One of 100 in the World Who've Made a Difference in the Environment: Earth Times, USA
1995: International Women's Hall of Fame, International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation, USA
1994: The Order of the Golden Ark Award, the Netherlands
1993: The Jane Addams Leadership Award, Jane Addams Conference, USA
1993: The Edinburgh Medal, Medical Research Council, Scotland
1991: The Hunger Project's Africa Prize for Leadership, United Nations, USA
1991: Global 500 Hall of Fame: United Nations Environment Programme, USA
1991: The Goldman Environmental Prize, the Goldman Foundation, USA
1990: The Offeramus Medal, Benedictine College, USA
1989: Women of the World Award, WomenAid, UK
1988: The Windstar Award for the Environment, Windstar Foundation, USA
1986: Better World Society Award, USA
1984: Right Livelihood Award, Sweden
1983: Woman of the Year Award

Wangari Maathai - May her soul rest in peace.