Events

25 September 2014: Marked the third memorial anniversary of the late Nobel laureate and environmentalist, Prof Wangari Maathai, at Wangari Maathai Corner, Karura forest in the capital, Nairobi.

Honorable Njoki Ndung’u, EBS, CBS, dignitaries, the Green Belt Movement (GBM) Board Members, staff, members of GBM’s tree nursery groups GBM friends and the public, paid tribute to the late Prof Maathai at the commemorative event for her work in environmental sustainability, women empowerment and peace building.

"The fight for environmental protection and peace was a lifetime commitment for Prof Maathai and it was a great personal and professional cost," some of the remarks shared by most of the key speakers during the event.

"The Green Belt Movement that Prof Wangari started is one of the legacies she left us; we are the Green Belt Movement and we thrive to keep her legacy on," This was a song composed by  the Green Belt Movement Staff in honor of Prof. Wangari Maathai.

Prof Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to encourage women to plant trees in order to improve their lives through access to clean water by reversing the effects of deforestation.

The movement has so far planted over 51 million trees and assisted more than 4,000 women groups to plant trees.

"One of the best ways we can honor her, therefore, is by planting trees to mark this occasion, which will serve as a lasting memory." Hon. Njoki Ndung’u said.

In 2004, the Nobel Prize Committee recognised Prof Maathai for being “at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa.”

More Information: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktn/index.php/video/watch/2000083615/-the-world-celebrates-the-life-of-the-late-wangari-mathai-at-karura-forest