A Conversation with Wanjira Mathai
In this interview, Wanjira Mathai describes her mother’s multifaceted legacy and how it impacted her personally.
The Power of One & The Green Belt Movement
My mother’s legacy is multifaceted, but the one thing that unites the various elements and life and work is the power of one person to be such a potent agent of change. It doesn’t take a lot of people for real change to happen. At a time when so much seems to be going wrong, it is very easy to get overwhelmed. You don’t need an “army” of people. Each of us can be agents of change. On things environment, The Green Belt Movement is my mother’s legacy to the environment. The Movement is about communities mobilizing to restore landscapes, restore dignity and claim their rights. Planting trees is the entry point – a way of addressing issues of food, water, and energy security all at the same time. Many people remember her for her life’s work with the Green Belt Movement. What began as a small initiative became a massive movement for landscape restoration.
The Wangari Maathai Institute
A second element of her legacy is reflected in the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies. She started this institute in partnership with the University of Nairobi to find a way of addressing what she saw as the knowledge-practice gap. It was about making the connection between what we know (from books) and what we can practically do with that knowledge and how we apply that knowledge. So often, students, especially coming from institutions of higher learning like universities around the world, graduate but have very little experience. They haven’t had an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned. This is especially so with subjects like “community development” or “environmental studies”. There is a lot of theory, but do graduates actually know how to develop, mobilize and inspire communities? Do they know what it means for landscapes to be degraded? Have they experienced it? My mother wanted to ensure that graduates in environmental studies enter the work-place with an intimate connection to the environment, having spent time there. We have to change the way we train students so that if they are learning about environmental degradation, they experience it as well. They go out, and they see it, they feel it. So that they’re talking about things they know. There is a Masters and Ph.D. Program in Environmental Management at the University of Nairobi: Wangari Maathai Institute. That remains her legacy to higher education.
At the Live 8 Campaign with Bob Geldof and Bono. Credit: CNN
The Wangari Maathai Foundation
Another component of Wangari Maathai’s legacy is her legacy to the young people of the world. This is the work I am currently involved in at the Wangari Maathai Foundation. In Kenya, 80% of the population is under 35. This is not unusual for many African countries. We are a very youthful continent. So, what is the future for these young people? What sort of leaders will they become? I am often reminded that it takes one good leader to get a movement started – Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Wangari Maathai, Malala Yousafzai. As bad as things are, all you need is one spark to get a movement going. Our Youth can be agents of change in addressing the many issues Kenya and Africa are grappling with. Will they make the right choices? Will they pick the right leaders? Will they be leaders of integrity? It is essentially about leadership, personal leadership, courageous leadership and leadership that transforms.
To create a movement of young people of integrity, we are working with kids from 6 to 14 through a program called “WanaKesho” or “Children of Tomorrow”. We’ve developed a leadership curriculum that addresses 10 values, including gratitude, courage, integrity, honesty, and resilience. A friend recently shared that a study in the US indicated that one of the leading predictors of long-term success is resilience and self-control. We have got to begin teaching resilience to our children. That it’s ok to fail. When you face a rough patch, you get up, brush off and move on. Another value we will be teaching is Courage: courage to stand up for what you believe in.
For young people, 14 and above, we have The Youth Cafe: a forum that sparks conversations about issues of interest to young people – politics, health, wealth etc. We are also developing the Wangari Maathai Fellowship which will target young people, pre-university. The goal is to share the same values in a fun, engaging and provocative way. This is when we can influence them or at least inspire them to be different. To have the courage to lead personally, make choices, career choices that will be transformative. To have the sense of service to others.
At the 2009 NAACP Awards where she received the Chairman’s award
Ten years from now, we’d like to see all elements of the legacy growing and thriving. I would love to see our children’s program grow and expand to schools beyond Kenya. I see the fellowship program going global. Fellows who are change makers in whatever society they choose to impact. They’d be inspired by the Wangari Maathai legacy and would be proud to call themselves Wangari Maathai Fellows.
We had this campaign when the foundation started called “#MyLittleThing”. We invited the world to answer that question. Wangari Maathai said her little thing was planting trees and people from all over the world said “my little thing is this,” “my little thing is that.” It was fantastic to see a whole lot of people declaring what their little thing is.
I’d love to be remembered for inspiring young people to live their best lives, to aspire for courageous leadership, transformative leadership. I’d also love people to remember me for keeping my mother’s legacy alive. That’s part of, I feel, the calling for me.
Wanjira Mathai is the Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF) whose mission is to advance the legacy of 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai. Wanjira is leading the development of innovative training programs, for children and youth, to nurture courage, leadership, and integrity. Wanjira also serves as Senior Advisor at the World Resources Institute and for the Partnerships for Women Entrepreneurs in Renewables (wPOWER), and sits on the Board of the Green Belt Movement
Learn more about The Wangari Maathai Foundation
