Wangari Maathai

"African women in general need to know it's OK for them to be the way they are, to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence," is a famous quote from my hero, Wangari Maathai. She is a very intelligent, caring, and generous woman. Wangari Maathai inspired me in two ways. Even though African women rarely go to college, she did, and when she returned to her homeland, Kenya, she found a way to help stop the dying environment and the poor citizens.

Wangari Maathai is intelligent because even though it is rare for an African woman to go to college, she did. She went to college in America and got her degrees. After she graduated from college, she decided to return to Kenya. Wangari went back to Africa to get her PhD.

She is a caring person because she saw the indigent children and the poor environment. She started The Green Belt Movement to help the needy people and the dying environment. Wangari Maathai had the courage to do something about what was bothering her.

Wangari Maathai is generous because when she started The Green Belt Movement she set out to help both the the environment and the citizens. She paid impoverished people to plant trees. In no time hundreds, even thousands of trees were planted in Kenya. Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She knew how to help the people, the environment, and make the country beautiful.

Wangari Maathai is an amazing person. She helped millions of people and gives her time to others. She is a strong women who fights for what is right and strives to do all that she can.