Wangari Maathai grew a movement

Maathai heard women tell of problems where they lived.

Finding firewood took longer, and streams were drying in Kenya. When women told Wangari Maathai about these problems, she listened. She lived in Kenya, in eastern Africa. Families there needed steady food and money, too. What could help? First, people needed to learn what helped make the problems happen. Each problem could have more than one cause. Maathai explained this in her Nobel speech. She named land damage and changes in farming among the causes.

In 1977, a group began to plant trees and care for them.

In 1977, Maathai started the Green Belt Movement. She worked with the National Council of Women of Kenya. In this movement, people worked together for change. They planted trees and cared for the land. Their work went on after planting, because each young tree still needed care. It took materials and time, and people shared what they knew as they worked. Along with this work, Maathai spoke up for people’s rights and public places.

Many people did the work, not just Maathai.

In 2004, Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize. Her work linked land care, democracy, and peace. In a democracy, people choose their leaders, and Maathai worked for people’s rights. Her speech thanked many people and groups whose help made the work possible. Thousands of helpful acts came from people whose names we may never know. Tubman’s journeys were in the 1800s, while Maathai’s work is from the recent past. In different times and places, both acted with others when they saw unfair conditions.