The death of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, means we are all deprived; we have lost an extraordinary activist who showed the skills of leadership and great determination.
The death of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, means we are all deprived; we have lost an extraordinary activist who showed the skills of leadership and great determination. But two words sum her up for me; passion and energy – traits she showed in all she did.
I am fortunate to have many wonderful memories of Wangari but I will focus on just one, a meeting we both addressed in Germany some years ago. The venue was full of young people and I watched in awe as she conveyed to them her extraordinary passion about the environment in general and the need for climate fairness and justice in particular.
But then, at the end of the meeting, Wangari moved to a new level when she energised all present by leading them in a wonderful sing-a-long. Her charisma was remarkable and she literally held hundreds of young people in her hand, and I have no doubt but she was a formative influence on them.
The passing of Wangari Maathai will be an enormous loss to her family, her extended family including the Green Belt Movement and to the world she cared so much about.