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Wangari Maathai was a scientist from Kenya, and she wanted to do one simple thing: plant trees. To understand why, you need to know what she saw in the 1970s.
Maathai studied biology in the United States and in Kenya. When she went back to the Kenyan countryside, she saw a big problem. Many forests were being cut down, and the rain was washing the soil away. Rural women had to walk long distances to find wood for their cooking fires, and the water in the rivers was dirty.
Maathai had an idea. She decided that the women themselves could plant trees, and that the trees would bring back shade, clean water, and firewood. In 1977, she started the Green Belt Movement. Women received small trees, planted them in their villages, and were paid a little money for every tree that survived.
At first, many people thought the idea was too simple. But the movement grew. Thousands of women learned new skills, such as beekeeping and growing food, and they earned their own money. Maathai also spoke for peace and for the rights of women, and sometimes this made powerful people angry.
In 2004, Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the first African woman to win it. Today, more than 51 million trees have been planted with the help of her movement. A tree is small at the beginning, but it grows, and that was her message.
