1 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Hey, this Sandy and Samantha. I do welcome to Stephane. 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: Never told you protection to I Heart Radio. So as 3 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: this comes out, it is April, and it's here in Atlanta. 4 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: Spring is in full swing. I mean we've got a 5 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: lot of like fluctuating weather though we've got it was 6 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: forty degrees when I woke up this morning, I was like, 7 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: eighty degree. This up and down has really gotten my 8 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: body like nope, yes, yes, Samantha's feeling the pressure the 9 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: weight of the weather change and this jet. Yeah, the 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: pollens out, um, but it is lovely outside and it's 11 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: very green. Um. I was lucky enough to get to 12 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: visit my mom who kind of lives in North Georgia 13 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: Reese at me Um and her yard is just beautiful, 14 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: like greenery and flowers in bloom and it made me 15 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: kind of like, oh, yes, the outdoors, I have missed you. 16 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: But we've been doing a lot of content around environmentalism 17 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: and Earth Day. If you haven't checked out, um the 18 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: book clubs we just did on Leah Thomas's book, Um, 19 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: Intersectional Environmentalism, go check that out. It's just so important 20 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: to keep in mind the intersectional aspect of of this issue, 21 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: and as part of that, we wanted to bring back 22 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: uh this female first that we did with Eves a 23 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: while back on Gengari Muta maattai Um and all of 24 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: the work that she did around um, the environment and 25 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: sustainability that unfortunately doesn't get highlighted enough. So please enjoy 26 00:01:53,680 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 1: this classic episode. Hey, this is Annie and welcome to 27 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: Stuff Mom Never Told your production of I Heart Radio's 28 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: House Step Parts. It is the first female first. We 29 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:20,799 Speaker 1: are joined once again by our good friend and co 30 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: worker eavese Hi. Thanks so much for being here, Thank 31 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: you for having me again. We just had a rousing 32 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: discussion about aliens and how they should look, resolutions, running 33 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: um and disliking running, and then a little bit of 34 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: our kind of disastrous mornings. Even I had a bit 35 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: of a mishaps. We made it through them, which is 36 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: an important part we did. We did. You're here to 37 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: tell the tale that actually is probably a very important 38 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,839 Speaker 1: part to a lot of these female first we talked about, Yeah, 39 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: you're right, because they do get pretty intense in some parts, 40 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: Like they went through a lot, they struggled a lot, 41 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: and they fought a lot, but you know, they did 42 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: a lot of good things too, Yes, and the one 43 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: the person you brought for us today. She did so 44 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: much and very important to the discussions we're having now 45 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: around the environment and sustainability, things that are on a 46 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: lot of people's minds, as it should be. Yeah, that's 47 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: exactly what I was thinking. I was like, I feel like, 48 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: it's really good to be able to talk about today. 49 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: We're going to be talking about man Gari Mutta Mattai 50 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: Um And she did a lot of stuff that had 51 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: to do with environmental activism and that is clearly something 52 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: that we're talking about right now today. And I didn't 53 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: choose say, oh, let me find somebody who's doing something 54 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: that has to do with the environment. It just kind 55 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: of came like, oh, she's someone who is, you know, 56 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: first of all from the African continent, which I feel 57 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: like maybe we've maybe we've discussed somebody from the African 58 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: continent so far, I can't remember, but yeah, like that 59 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,839 Speaker 1: was really important to me. And also the actual work 60 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: that she's doing is so relevant into what we're talking about, 61 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: and it's also very recent and also had a very 62 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: global impact. Um And she knows that she's talking about, 63 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: she knows what she's doing and She's also left a 64 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: great legacy behind her that just kind of touched people 65 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: of all different cultures and people of all different nationalities, 66 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: which I think is a really cool thing. Yeah, And 67 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: I was reading her her story. I we always stress 68 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: the importance of context in these stories that we um 69 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,919 Speaker 1: that you bring to us, um, and it's it is 70 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,599 Speaker 1: recent and it's kind of shocking how much she did 71 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 1: and how much things have changed just through the sixties 72 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: and seventies, kind of just this tumultuous cauldron of all 73 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: these things happening. And it's also just, you know, very 74 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: indicative of the actual issues that people were going through 75 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,720 Speaker 1: in Kenya and on the African continent at the time, 76 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 1: because obviously environmental issues are global issues, but they're also 77 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: very specific to the locales and the climates in which 78 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: all the activists separately reside. Um. They're all different but 79 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,479 Speaker 1: also related in some way. And I think her perspective 80 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: and how she kind of got into her activism and 81 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: her work is indicative of that. But I feel like 82 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,720 Speaker 1: I'm getting ahead of myself right now. Yeah, I'm just like, 83 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: oh my god, she's amazing, and I haven't who she 84 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: really is, so yeah, but I was the first African 85 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: woman to win the Nobel Prize, and she was the 86 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: first woman to become an assistant professor at the University 87 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: of Nairobi. She was the first woman to head a 88 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: university department in Kenya and the first woman in Eastern 89 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: and Central Africa to earn a PhD. So a lot 90 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: of first Yeah, that's what we're here for, right, that's right. 91 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: So she was born on April first, nineteen forty and Neary, Kenya, 92 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: and she was the daughter of kiku You subsistence farmers. 93 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: The kiku You are an ethnic group in Kenya. She 94 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: had five siblings and she was raised in an area 95 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: of Kenya that was known as the White Highlands, which 96 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: is so called because there was policy that certain agricultural 97 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: lands in Kenya should be reserved for Europeans. So her 98 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: older brother convinced their parents that she go to school 99 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: rather than focus on household responsibilities, which you could imagine 100 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: were plentiful because she had so many siblings, um rather 101 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 1: big family to take care of. She went to the 102 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 1: Ta Primary School, the St. Cecilia School and then the 103 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: Laredo Lemuro Girls School. So after completing school there, she 104 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: got a scholarship and that's because the Kennedy administration in 105 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: the U S at the time was funding initiatives for 106 00:06:54,480 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: people in Eastern Africa and then Kenya specifically to study 107 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: in the US, and so that's how she got a 108 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: scholarship to study at university in the US. So where 109 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: she ended up going was Mount Saint Scholastica College in Kansas, 110 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: and she stayed in US to study at university for 111 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: a bit. She graduated with her bachelor's in biology in 112 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, and then she stayed in the US 113 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: she got her masters from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. 114 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: And then so by this time when she returned to 115 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: Kenya after she graduated, the whole Eastern colonialism processes and 116 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: then Kenya had gained its independence and when she went 117 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 1: back there was she had a research assistant position that 118 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: had been promised to her. So she was recruited to 119 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: be a research assistant in zoology and that was at 120 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: the University of Nairobi, and she found out when she 121 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: got to the campus that she had been denied the 122 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: position and she thought that that was because of gender discrimination. 123 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: So after that she got another research assistant position and 124 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: this time it was in a department of veterinary anatomy, 125 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: so she started. She continued working. She was not discouraged 126 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: by that, so she started pursuing her doctoral studies in Germany. 127 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: She got her PhD from the University of Nairobing, so 128 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: she was the first woman to get a doctorate degree 129 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: in East and Central Africa. Wow, that's pretty I can't 130 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: even imagine writing the first person or a woman anything. Yeah, 131 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: that level of achievement, at that level of achievement. Yeah, yeah, 132 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 1: my first surb not not on that same plane. That's cool, 133 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: though he didn't lead a pathway for other women, not 134 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: that I know of such a thing, not that I 135 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: know of. I mean, just like I wonder the reporting 136 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: on it, or they're like, wow, look, this woman has 137 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: become the first to do this, and all the negativity 138 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: possibly probably, but as we know from I feel like 139 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: previous people and just in general how these things work, 140 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: a lot of those first aren't recognized in a contemporary manner. 141 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: It's just like the person is doing a thing, and 142 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: then we go back and look at them, sometimes posthumously, 143 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: you know, way back in the day. Um, but we 144 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: start to realize, okay, you know this, this happened, and 145 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: this is part of a long story and a long 146 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: lineage of people and things that they did, so we 147 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 1: kind of situate the first within that history after a 148 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: lot of tom Right, that's true. That's a good point. 149 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: As far as her personal life, she married an Robi 150 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: businessman who kind of had aspirations in politics, and she 151 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: married him in nineteen sixty nine. She met him a 152 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: few years before, and eventually they had three kids together, 153 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: and he ran for parliament in the early nineteen seventies. 154 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: His first campaign was unsuccessful, even though she helped him 155 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: with that, and then later in their story in the 156 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: early nineteen eighties, they went through this whole divorce suit 157 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: and he accused her of adultery, and it's also said 158 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: that he thought that she was too educated and too 159 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: strong willed and minded and too hard to control, and 160 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: that was part of the reason that they got a divorce. 161 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: But it was a pretty contentious situation. Um she ended 162 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: up going to court, she lost the case, they ended 163 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: up being divorced. She was even jailed for a short 164 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: time about three days afterward, because she accused the judge 165 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: of being incompetent whoa And this is also when his 166 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: last name was spelled with one A M A M 167 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: T H A I, and she changed her name to 168 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: have two a's because of the whole situation. You requested that, Yeah, 169 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: so it was that was you know, later in life 170 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: after years of them having been together, they separated before 171 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: they divorced, but yeah, that was part of their story. Yeah. 172 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: So in nineteen seventy three, and this is where we 173 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: get to all of the things. Obviously we're not going 174 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,199 Speaker 1: to have room to like talk about every single thing 175 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: that she did because she did so many different things. Um, 176 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: but in nineteen seventy three, she became the director of 177 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: Nairobi's branch of the National Red Cross. So we see 178 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: her already in the late sixties early seventies getting into 179 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: all of her activism, all of her environmental work, and 180 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:44,079 Speaker 1: realizing through her research and just her personal life like observation. 181 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: The thing I really love about her story is like 182 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,319 Speaker 1: how often we think of how we think of academics 183 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: in terms of the work that they do, Like they 184 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: did all this study at these universities, and this is 185 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: their education, is what influenced them and what made them 186 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: be able to address issues in a certain way. But 187 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: observation is also a very important thing in our lives 188 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: that can drive us to do better things because and 189 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,560 Speaker 1: I think her story is just a great example of that. 190 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: Like she talks about how much in her during her 191 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: childhood and during her life, how she was just noticing 192 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: what was happening around her, how she was listening to 193 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: village women tell her what they needed, and that observation 194 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:25,679 Speaker 1: is a big part of what drove her to do 195 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: her environmental work, realizing that she could connect the things 196 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: that are actually happening around her and the work that 197 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: she's interested in doing, and the skills that she does have, 198 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: and the education that she is getting and combining the two, well, 199 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: those several things together to really create a huge impact. 200 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: So I really like that about her story. Um. Yeah, 201 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: So she started moving up in her roles at the university. 202 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: She became a senior lecturer in the nineteen seventies, and 203 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: she became the chair of her department, and then she 204 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: became an assistant professor in nineteen seventy seven. And so 205 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: her postdoctoral research made her, as I was saying, aware 206 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: of all the things that was happening in her country, 207 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: especially in the rural areas, and all the issues that 208 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: people were facing, whether that had to do with the 209 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: environment or like personal issues, and we'll we'll get into 210 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 1: some of the things that specifically that drove her research 211 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: that was happening in Kenya at the time. So later 212 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: her husband campaign for a seat and in parliament again 213 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: in one of this is before they divorced. One thing 214 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: that he advocated for was finding jobs for the unemployed. 215 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: And so with that spirit, that energy that was happening, 216 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: Mattai connected that need to her environmental efforts and then 217 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: she started this business called envirol Care where she was 218 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: getting people to plant trees. That business wasn't that successful, 219 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: but those efforts did lead her to you know, more 220 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: successful efforts, and the connections that she already had with 221 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: all these people through the work that she was doing 222 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:57,959 Speaker 1: led to her getting the National Council of Women of 223 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: Kenya to help her launch a tree planting project called 224 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: Save the Land her on Bay and her on Bay 225 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 1: is the Swahili word that means all pull together, and 226 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 1: that eventually turned into the green belt movement, which is 227 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: one of her, you know, the most well known initiatives. 228 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: Even though she did a time right, yeah, time, but 229 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 1: that's that's a huge organization. She was active in the 230 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: National Council of Women of Kenya for a really long time. 231 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: From around night seven, while she was serving with them, 232 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: she started introducing this idea of community based tree planting 233 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: that she had already introduced through her other work. Much 234 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: of the population in Africa dependent on what for fuel, 235 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: but at the time there was a lot of deforestation happening. 236 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: So as their still is UM, but trees were depleting 237 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: because they were being raised and they weren't being replaced 238 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: at the same rate UM. So obviously that least two 239 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: a lot of different issues, including nutritional deficiencies, poverty because 240 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: there would be they had to walk a long way 241 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: to get water to be able to get the fuel UM. 242 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 1: There was desert where there once was trees. The deforestation 243 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: also caused soil runoff and water pollution, which is obviously 244 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: important to a person being able to sustain themselves in 245 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: terms of the food that they eat. And speaking of 246 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: sustaining themselves, a lot of the children also had to 247 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: start being fit with processed foods because of this, and 248 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: livestock didn't have vegetation to eat. And on top of 249 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: all that, under the colonial period, like British governors. They 250 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: were planting non native trees instead of indigenous trees. So 251 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: it just had all these effects on the way that 252 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: people lived, in their ability to live whole in fruitful lives. 253 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: So she started getting into all that and realizing how 254 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: that affected people and specifically women, and she opened an 255 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: agency that paid impoverished people to plant trees and shrubs. 256 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: And so she decided to campaign for a seat in 257 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: parliament that would become open and neary in nWo and 258 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: to do this, she had to resign from the University 259 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: of Narobi. That was one condition that she she couldn't 260 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: be there to be able to run, and so the 261 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: electoral authorities said that she couldn't run. She was just 262 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: qualified for running because she hadn't registered to vote. So 263 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: because of that registration in the last presidential election, because 264 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: that registration technicality, they kind of pulled her out of 265 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: that situation, and she obviously took issue with that decision, 266 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: but she needed up, you know, being disqualified anyway, and 267 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: wanted to go back to the university because obviously she 268 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: needs a job, and they refused to rehire her or 269 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: restore her benefits, and they evicted her from university housing 270 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:08,000 Speaker 1: since she was no longer there anymore. Oh man, m 271 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: that's time time. So that's definitely one thread in her story, 272 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 1: which is there were she had a lot of opposition. 273 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: So she did have a lot of supporters and also 274 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: supported a lot of people through employment and just like 275 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: you know, personal support, but she had a lot of 276 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: people who opposed the work that she was doing because 277 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: she was so pro democracy, the things that she was 278 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 1: talking about, the things that she was standing up against, 279 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: and was viewed as kind of anti government, and in 280 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: that respect, a lot of the press that she got 281 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: in that the Green Belt movement got in the media 282 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: that was negative and because of that, a lot of 283 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 1: people were discouraged for wanting to be associated with the 284 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: movement because of its you know, reputation, But it was 285 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: still a successful movement, which we'll get into too. So 286 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: she poured her energy into that Green Belt movement um 287 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:24,640 Speaker 1: and its main focus was poverty reduction and environmental conservation 288 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: and focusing on this singular, this goal of planting trees, 289 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 1: and its goal was to plant trees all across canyon 290 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: to fight erosion and to create firewood for the fuel 291 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: for people there, and to create jobs for women, because 292 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: women were really instrumental and being the people who planted 293 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: the trees. And so over the years they planted tens 294 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: of millions of trees in Africa. Yes, they did this 295 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: by establishing tons of nurseries that offered free seedlings to 296 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 1: people UM and then the communities would plant them and 297 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: very small a small payment was given for every tree 298 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: that was planted, but they had to make sure that 299 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: they took care of the tree for three months. That 300 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: was part of the deal. And even though it's a 301 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: small amount, that could make a big difference in someone's life. Um, 302 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:17,920 Speaker 1: for many of those women who were subsistence farmers that 303 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: didn't have extra food to give for our to sail, 304 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,120 Speaker 1: not give that money was some of their only income. 305 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:31,880 Speaker 1: Well Man ten millions was able to help that many 306 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 1: in different ways. That's amazing. Yeah, it is, Yeah, and 307 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 1: I think that would be really cool. I know we'll 308 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: probably get to this later, but there's an interview UM 309 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,359 Speaker 1: that when Gary did with um on on being and 310 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 1: she described the power of seeing a tree that you've 311 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: planted like years and years later, just knowing that you 312 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:56,879 Speaker 1: did that and it's outlast. Yeah, yeah, that this tree 313 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: kind of became the tree itself through all the work 314 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: that she did kind of became this movement of like democracy, 315 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: of like the legacy of so many things through the 316 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:07,960 Speaker 1: work that she did. Ye, So, yeah, that's a really 317 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: good point. And all the work through the green belt 318 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: movement also helped conserve the soil and the ecology of 319 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 1: the land and obviously gave thousands of people opportunities for employment. 320 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: And she worked over time, this became more than just 321 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: about trees. Obviously it was that from the beginning, but 322 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: they also started to provide other services besides tree planting. 323 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: So she worked with the National Council of Women of 324 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 1: Kenya to give services like family planning, like nutrition, food security, 325 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: HIV awareness, and leadership skills. So it became this environmental 326 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: and civic educational program for people, and that ended up 327 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: spreading its tendrils throughout a bunch of countries in Africa 328 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,640 Speaker 1: and throughout the world as well, and eventually it formerly 329 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 1: separated from the National Council of Women of king Him 330 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:07,440 Speaker 1: and she. Even though Mattai was already so involved in politics, 331 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: she became more involved in politics over time and protests 332 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: and activism, and in the nineteen eighty nine she protested 333 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,920 Speaker 1: the construction of a huge office tower in Uhuru Park 334 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: in Nairobi. So she started sending out a bunch of 335 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 1: letters to all of these people, different government officials, different 336 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: organizations and Kenya to protest, like just putting the pressure 337 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 1: on people to protest this office tower being built. It 338 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 1: was a whole complex thing, and she claimed that the 339 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: building was expensive and that money should instead be spent 340 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: on other things because this is going to be a 341 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: tens of millions of dollar project like poverty, hunger and education. 342 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: And obviously this project had a bunch of foreign investors. 343 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: And through all of the protesting that happened, even though 344 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: she was getting a lot of black impress once again 345 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: for her protest and for not being quiet, complacent and 346 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,360 Speaker 1: all those things that you know a woman's supposed to be, 347 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: she still managed to like that that whole protests managed 348 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: to be successful and investors ended up pulling out of 349 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: the whole situation not long after her protesting began, and 350 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 1: the skyscraper wasn't built, So that was one thing of 351 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: the many things that she protested against. And she also 352 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 1: opposed the one party state that there was in Kenya 353 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: at the time, so Matta was also involved in the 354 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 1: Forum for the Restoration of Democracy, which was a group 355 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: that opposed among other things. This group kind of branched 356 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 1: off had groups in different countries, but and Kenya, it 357 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: was opposed to the leadership of the President Daniel are 358 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: At Moy and her opposition earned her the ire of 359 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 1: the president not just through her work with the Forum, 360 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: but also all the other things that she was doing. 361 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: So going back to that project with the Office Tower, 362 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: he was really against her speaking up about that too 363 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:12,560 Speaker 1: and had a lot of nasty things to say about 364 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: her for her vocalizations on that issue, and she faced 365 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: many risks, beatings and dealings because of the work that 366 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,160 Speaker 1: she was doing. She advocated for the release of political 367 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: prisoners and in she wanted to hunger strike with the 368 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:37,159 Speaker 1: group of mothers of political prisoners and that ended up 369 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 1: being successful, even though she had a lot of other 370 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: people who were involved in the strike. We're beaten by 371 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 1: police during the protest, but at the end of that strike, 372 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: the government did released the majority of the political prisoners. 373 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 1: We have a lot more of our discussion with Ease, 374 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:58,640 Speaker 1: but first we have a quick break for a word 375 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, and we're back, Thank you, sponsor, Let's 376 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: get back into it. She was also arrested for more 377 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,360 Speaker 1: of her protest and later charged with spreading rumors that 378 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 1: the president was planning to turn government power over to 379 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,959 Speaker 1: the military. And so while she was in jail waiting 380 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: on her charge, she was refused medical treatment. So it's 381 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: just like it's there was a lot of like fighting 382 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: happening there. Like, there was a lot of conflict and 383 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:43,120 Speaker 1: a lot of this kind of fabrication of like issues 384 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: when it came to the work that she was doing 385 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: because she was so vocal and because she was so 386 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 1: active um in her environmental causes. She said that she 387 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,880 Speaker 1: was running for parliament and for the presidency as part 388 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,120 Speaker 1: of the Liberal Party of and Yeah, and as part 389 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 1: of her campaign, she was continuing to say the same 390 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,879 Speaker 1: things be about be about what she had always been about, 391 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: basically denouncing the corruption in the government and imagining a 392 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:20,679 Speaker 1: society where people really embraced their cultural with spiritual background 393 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: um as they participated in government. But her candidacy was 394 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: withdrawn by the party without notifying her until days before 395 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:37,000 Speaker 1: the election. That said, she didn't announce her campaign until 396 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: not long before the election itself, but she ended up 397 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 1: not getting that parliament seat. Wow, they didn't tell her. 398 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: It's just like people are afraid of strong women. This 399 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: is true of power and obviously the opposition they had 400 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 1: to do everything they could to try to undermine her. Yeah, 401 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: he was determined. Another thing that she did as part 402 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 1: of all her work was working on the Jubilee two 403 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: thousand campaign, which was this global campaign UM, but in 404 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: her case when she became the co chair of the 405 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: campaign in Kenya, which she did in n UM specifically 406 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: focusing on the countries in Africa, but the whole campaign 407 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,880 Speaker 1: was aiming to cancel foreign debt for poor countries by 408 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:29,719 Speaker 1: the year two thousand, which is where the number two 409 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: thousand comes from and the name of the campaign. Yeah, 410 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 1: so she wasn't There were a lot of people who 411 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: were against her, including you know moy and all a 412 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 1: bunch of other government officials and just people in general 413 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: UM who didn't like how she was challenging government and 414 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: how she was speaking up for all these pro democracy 415 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: positions and all these activities that she had going on 416 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 1: in relation to that. Just as some examples, she was 417 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 1: hospitalized in or a head wound and a concussion that 418 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:08,199 Speaker 1: she suffered during uh government arranged attacks. So she was 419 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,200 Speaker 1: working on this project where she and some supporters were 420 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: planting trees in the Corea forest which is in Nairobi, 421 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: and she was protesting against the clearing of the forest 422 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,800 Speaker 1: for a private development. Um. That's one thing that happened 423 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 1: to her. At another point, they forced the Great Belt 424 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: Movement to mood from its office um in a government 425 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: owned building to her home. Um. She when she formed 426 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: the Tribal Classes Resettlement Volunteer Service in nineteen to help 427 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: victims of state sectioned political violence in the Rif Valley, 428 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: the government accused her of inciting violence and tried to 429 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:54,159 Speaker 1: shut down her organizations meetings by sending and police to 430 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 1: disrupt things. Yeah. So those are just some of the 431 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,960 Speaker 1: things that she was up against. Um, the list could 432 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 1: go on, but we won't do that. Yeah, it sounds 433 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,119 Speaker 1: like quite a lot. And she definitely put her She 434 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 1: was somebody who put her body on the line. Say 435 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,919 Speaker 1: she was a powerhouse and everything her obviously in her 436 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: work and her ethic and and just in her beliefs. 437 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: She was unmovable. The plant like a tree, yes, oh, 438 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:28,440 Speaker 1: look at that. Actually don't work together. Civil war. There 439 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 1: we go. We got to America. Yeah, I'm actually surprised 440 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 1: there haven't been more tree puns, but I'm glad it's 441 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 1: not appropriate. You're saving them for the end, is what 442 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,160 Speaker 1: you're really doing. And they're all in my keeping them 443 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: to myself for once. You're writing it for later writing 444 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: them down. So one of her biggest opponents, boy left 445 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: office in two thousand two, and that same year she 446 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: ran for parliament and was elected with a large majority 447 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: of the vote. Um the president and ended up appointing 448 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:05,479 Speaker 1: her the Minister for Environment, Natural Resources in Wildlife and 449 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 1: she served in the government and in Parliament until two 450 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: thousand five. And this is um We're getting into the 451 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: later years of her life at this point, and she 452 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: was recognized for a lot of her work. She got 453 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: a lot of honorary degrees and awards, like too many 454 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: to mention here, um, but a ton of them. But 455 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: one of the big ones was the Nobel Peace Prize, 456 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 1: which she got into thousand four and she was the 457 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 1: first African woman to get the Nobel Peace Prize and 458 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: she got it for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy 459 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:45,840 Speaker 1: and peace. So that's that's one of the awards that 460 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: she got. And in her acceptance speech, which, um, it's 461 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: really interesting. She noted how she was influenced by the 462 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: things that you know, as we were talking about earlier, 463 00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: she observed when she was a child in Kenya. Um, 464 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 1: she saw for us being cleared and replaced by commercial plantations, 465 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 1: and she saw a local bio diversity being destroyed. And 466 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,400 Speaker 1: she also said that when she started the green Belt movement, 467 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 1: she was really responding to the needs that rural women 468 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: were saying that they had, which were specifically the lack 469 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: of firewood, clean drinking water, balanced diets, shelter, and income. 470 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: And she also called out to the fact which is 471 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: how integral women were in the development of the work 472 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: that she wanted to do with the green Belt movement 473 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: and the work that she ended up doing with the movement, 474 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 1: and that be saying that because they were primary caretakers 475 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 1: throughout Africa there was responsible for taking care of the 476 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: land and for taking care of the family, that they 477 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: were often the first ones to become aware of any 478 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: environmental damage that was happening, even if they didn't recognize 479 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 1: how one thing was necessarily affecting the other in their 480 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 1: personal experience, right, Yeah, And she got yeah, so some 481 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: of the other awards that she got were the Goldman 482 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 1: Environmental Prize, the French Legion of Honor, Japan's Grand Cordon 483 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 1: of the Order of the Rising Sun. Um like i 484 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,640 Speaker 1: said more honorary degrees. He also authored several books. One 485 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:21,959 Speaker 1: of them was a memoir that was called Unbowed and 486 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 1: another book called a Challenge for Africa and other writings. 487 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 1: She was named a un Messenger of Peace in two 488 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: thousand nine, and the next year, in partnership with the 489 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:37,480 Speaker 1: University of Narrobi, she found at the Wangari Matai Institute 490 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:42,479 Speaker 1: for Peace and Environmental Studies. And yeah, so she just 491 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: continued help not only doing her own work and her 492 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: organization when it came to environmental causes, but also participating 493 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:56,160 Speaker 1: in like teaching other people about those things and making 494 00:31:56,160 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: sure that other people learned about environmental issues when it 495 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 1: came to academics, but just general you know, environmental education 496 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: for people. Um so, you know, spreading all of that 497 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,920 Speaker 1: knowledge around the world. And in two thousand eleven she 498 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,040 Speaker 1: was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she ended up dying 499 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 1: that year from complications of the cancer. Yeah, but her 500 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,480 Speaker 1: legacy that was what you know, only so long ago. 501 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: But you know, her legacy is clearly still a parent 502 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 1: in the world and a parent in Kenya, and she's 503 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 1: well remembered and fortunately was able to be recognized during 504 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:42,760 Speaker 1: her lifetime. Yeah, And I think one of my favorite 505 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: things about her and the things that she did is 506 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 1: there is this awareness of taking care of the future, 507 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,000 Speaker 1: of looking out for future generations. That she started all 508 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: of these things and spread her knowledge to make sure 509 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:02,400 Speaker 1: that things would continue once she was no longer around. 510 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: And I actually think that's one of the biggest problems 511 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: with humanity is and when it comes to sustainability, is 512 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: we're really bad about doing that. We're really bad about 513 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: thinking about future generations because right now this is the 514 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: easy thing to do, to continue as we are. But 515 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:26,400 Speaker 1: she made sure that she's left behind these things so 516 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: that hopefully we could continue the work that she was doing. 517 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: Right it seems her whole ideas were an idea of 518 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: the big picture. She didn't see as a one little thing. 519 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,320 Speaker 1: It was we're planting trees. As we're planting trees, but 520 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 1: with these things in mind, whether it's to provide economic 521 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,000 Speaker 1: stability for a group of women, a group of people 522 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,400 Speaker 1: who need that assistance right now, but we'll do it 523 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: through this avenue. She had this very thoughtful consciousness of 524 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,640 Speaker 1: how to get things done in a multifacet way, which 525 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: is phenomenal, especially when you think of how little that 526 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 1: happens today. There's no real conversation of what can we 527 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 1: do and put it together as a blanket, not necessarily 528 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,800 Speaker 1: a blanket, but at least an overhaul of the whole system. 529 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:15,560 Speaker 1: And that's what she did, which all on her own, 530 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: which is phenomenal, especially with all of the pushback and seeing, okay, 531 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,759 Speaker 1: you go, you aren't seeing the bigger picture. You're just 532 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: angry because I'm making a difference and it could be 533 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:27,479 Speaker 1: taken away from you, whether it's money or your fame 534 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,040 Speaker 1: or your credibility. But this is what it has to 535 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: be done. That's phenomenal. It's a whole different level of 536 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: thoughtfulness and a whole different level of understanding the need 537 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,279 Speaker 1: for sustainability and the needs to for growth and the 538 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,719 Speaker 1: need to continue beyond. Yeah. And I think that to 539 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,399 Speaker 1: the interesting point about what she said of her being 540 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:47,919 Speaker 1: having this kind of multifascinating way in which she worked, 541 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,720 Speaker 1: is that her vision was also very singular um and 542 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:57,399 Speaker 1: focused and like she was like, I have a goal, Um, 543 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:58,840 Speaker 1: I know how I can get the thing done, and 544 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 1: we're going to get it done end. We're going to 545 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: get it done together. And just the way in which 546 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: she empowered so many people, not in not from a 547 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,799 Speaker 1: position of like I have the things, and I have 548 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,360 Speaker 1: the knowledge, and I have the education. I was fortunate 549 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:14,920 Speaker 1: enough to go to you know, us to study, you know, 550 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,920 Speaker 1: under this scholarship that was funded by the government or 551 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: anything like that. It was just kind of like, I'm 552 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,120 Speaker 1: not giving these people these things, these opportunities because I'm 553 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:27,399 Speaker 1: able to do that because she isn't. She is using 554 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 1: her position of power, obviously, But it was in such 555 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: a way that was community lad you know, it was 556 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: in such a way that was about the way that 557 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:40,400 Speaker 1: people were together and just it being so inspiring the 558 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:43,239 Speaker 1: fact that she realized how important it was to incorporate 559 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,360 Speaker 1: all these other things when it came to the leadership 560 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: development and stuff like that, where this wasn't just about 561 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: a person here, They're getting this many Kenyan Sinse too. 562 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,960 Speaker 1: You know, grow a tree. It was about growing tree 563 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,760 Speaker 1: these and creating a better environment and creating a better world, 564 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,440 Speaker 1: and within that, creating better communities that were able to 565 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:10,920 Speaker 1: thrive and not just survive, and that were connected and 566 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:17,040 Speaker 1: that were you know, uh, future focus, but also present focus, 567 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:18,920 Speaker 1: where in a way they were like, this is my 568 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,640 Speaker 1: community that I have now, and I'm working together with 569 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 1: them to really in this embodied way where my hands 570 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 1: are on the soil and I'm really contributing to the 571 00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: future of my community. But also I'm thinking about our 572 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,239 Speaker 1: children that are here right now. What kind of food 573 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 1: am I feeding them? What do our traditional diets look like? 574 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 1: But also their future, like what will the land look 575 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 1: like to them? Will they be able to respect their land? 576 00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:44,640 Speaker 1: The children are learning to respect the land at the 577 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:49,840 Speaker 1: same time. Um, it's I just think, Yeah, everything that 578 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:54,520 Speaker 1: she was doing was so important, but I'm just still 579 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:59,240 Speaker 1: struck by how many different things but still how tight 580 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: like her vision was right and that's it was very coesive, 581 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: we very coesive. Yeah, And that's an amazing balancing act 582 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,359 Speaker 1: to pull up of. Yeah, we need to think about 583 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,279 Speaker 1: the future generations, but we also have to think about 584 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:17,360 Speaker 1: the president. Like to be able to do both, I 585 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:24,680 Speaker 1: mean that's amazing. Yeah, And I also really find so 586 00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:26,840 Speaker 1: many of these women need bring to us ease. I 587 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 1: find it so impressive that we know as women, at 588 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,000 Speaker 1: least I can speak from my own I always have 589 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,440 Speaker 1: all these doubts. I have all these doubts, and a 590 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 1: lot of times it keeps me from even putting myself 591 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:42,880 Speaker 1: forward for things. And that's we know, that's why a 592 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,160 Speaker 1: lot of women don't run for office. And it's not 593 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 1: to say that the women you've brought to us don't 594 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 1: have doubts, but they just were like, somebody needs to 595 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:55,239 Speaker 1: do this. I can do it. I'm going to step up. Well. 596 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: I mean, you and I have talked about the times 597 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,200 Speaker 1: that we get criticisms and that kind of sometimes shots 598 00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: me down. I can't imagine the level of lies and 599 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:05,759 Speaker 1: criticisms that were thrown at her purposely by the most 600 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,760 Speaker 1: powerful man in that country, in that nation, at that point. 601 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:11,480 Speaker 1: I mean I could not. I don't know. I don't 602 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: know how it would fathom or even feel under pressure, 603 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,600 Speaker 1: but to continue forth and still keep fighting, and still 604 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,840 Speaker 1: keep fighting, still being told you know, you are whatever 605 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,160 Speaker 1: damaging by those who have the loudest voices, But knowing 606 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:24,640 Speaker 1: that she can make a difference than what she's doing 607 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:29,480 Speaker 1: is like, right, it's amazing, and it's to look back 608 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:31,319 Speaker 1: on it now you're like, oh, wow, that's encouraging. But 609 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 1: to be in the middle of that, I don't know, 610 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:36,640 Speaker 1: you know, it's like, oh, the fear of failing is 611 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:40,160 Speaker 1: already there. But being told you're ruining something or you're 612 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,440 Speaker 1: being your disaster to something. What a way to have 613 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,640 Speaker 1: to fight against that? How do you do that? And 614 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 1: how was she able to do that? And she did though, 615 00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 1: and finally got what she deserved all the accolades as 616 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:57,680 Speaker 1: she did earn. But man, that road to get there, right, 617 00:38:57,719 --> 00:39:04,359 Speaker 1: it had to be a long, long, very loud. Yeah. Um, 618 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,280 Speaker 1: it's impressive and inspiring in a good way to start 619 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,839 Speaker 1: the year. The female first, Um, is there anything else 620 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:13,719 Speaker 1: you want to have you? I don't think so. I 621 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:20,000 Speaker 1: would highly recommend The interview on on being is very beautiful. Yeah, 622 00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:26,560 Speaker 1: and just anything where she's speaking, Yes, highly recommend if 623 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,560 Speaker 1: you're looking for some some inspiration and like a newfound 624 00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:35,000 Speaker 1: appreciation of trees. Oh my gosh. Right, we are also 625 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 1: in a city of trees, so we are. It's a 626 00:39:37,719 --> 00:39:41,440 Speaker 1: big if. Speaking of things being topical. Uh, that is 627 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 1: a topic of conversation in Atlanta where we are right now, 628 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,440 Speaker 1: which is that we've historically been called the city of 629 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,359 Speaker 1: like the city in the forest, and we are known 630 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:53,680 Speaker 1: for having a ton of trees, which we're not the 631 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,759 Speaker 1: biggest metropolis like in the United States and definitely not 632 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,680 Speaker 1: in the world, but for being a city of our 633 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,719 Speaker 1: hallis in the stature. We like have a lot of 634 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:06,440 Speaker 1: forest and a lot of tree canopy here, but a 635 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:10,600 Speaker 1: lot of that is also being raised for private development 636 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,799 Speaker 1: and gentrification, which are huge things that are happening right 637 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,719 Speaker 1: now in Atlanta. So on a micro level, from this 638 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:22,319 Speaker 1: macro conversation we're having, all of her work is very 639 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:26,640 Speaker 1: relevant to things that are happening here in metro Atlanta. Absolutely. Uh, 640 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:32,360 Speaker 1: that's one of my favorite parts about Atlanta. So we 641 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:37,480 Speaker 1: will continue to see where that goes. We have some 642 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:40,160 Speaker 1: more to talk about, but first we have one more 643 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:56,480 Speaker 1: quick break for word from our sponsor and we're back. 644 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:00,960 Speaker 1: Thank you sponsor. But in the meantime, thank you so 645 00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:03,799 Speaker 1: much Eaves for for coming on as always, thank you 646 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:07,400 Speaker 1: for having me. Where can the listeners find you on 647 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:12,560 Speaker 1: social media? On that is on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. UM, 648 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,480 Speaker 1: I'm on this sand History Class, which is a different 649 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:20,799 Speaker 1: podcast that was about days and history. UM. You can 650 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:24,200 Speaker 1: also find me at Unpopular on all those same social 651 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:28,719 Speaker 1: media platforms. Yeah, our eaves, Jeff Goo is my name, 652 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: and do whatever you want to do with that information 653 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:41,880 Speaker 1: kind of things. Good point, but yeah, listeners should definitely 654 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:45,759 Speaker 1: go check both of those out there. Amazing and if 655 00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:50,080 Speaker 1: you would like to contact us you can. Yes. Um 656 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:52,959 Speaker 1: Our email is Stuff Media mom Stuff at iHeart media 657 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,920 Speaker 1: dot com. You can find us on Twitter at mom 658 00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:57,799 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast or on Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You. 659 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:01,320 Speaker 1: Thanks as always to our super produced Sir Andrew Howard, 660 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:04,960 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening Stuff I've Never Told You, 661 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,200 Speaker 1: the production of I High Radios. How Stuff works. For 662 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:09,080 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my higer Radio, vis a Dot high 663 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:11,319 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your 664 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:11,960 Speaker 1: favorite shows,