I don't know if you've heard of Wangari Maathai? She is a Kenyan environmentalist and all round bad-ass change-maker. Well, you'd say bad-ass if you were in Government in Kenya in the 90's, but we're using it in a positive sense here. As in, the kind of person you want on your team when you set out to change the world.
What has Wangari Maathai done?
- She set up an organsation that has planted over 4 million trees across Kenya
- She prevented monstrosity skyscrapers from being built in Nairobi's equivalent of Hyde or Central Park
- She helped get political prisoners released
- She helped establish true democracy in Kenya
- She made corrupt leaders listen to Kenyan women
- She wrote an autobiography for which former President, Clinton, gave a front-cover endorsement.
Since our internet connection is something like 100 BYTES per second (yes, sad little bytes from a time-traveling parallel universe circa 1993 I think) I cannot upload any photos with this post.
This is not from a traveling parallel universe, however. I submitted a guest post for a truly wonderful blog called A Traveler's Library.
At A Traveler's Library writers are invited to share books that inspired them to travel to a place. I came up with a short-list. I even submitted my two book titles. And then I changed my mind (erm, what's new?) and chose Maathai's biography, Unbowed.
It's not that I've been inspired to visit Kenya. It is, however, that her story inspired me to another kind of travel. Some travelers are inspired to seek greener pastures after reading a travel-themed book: check out the blog for some ideas. Reading Unbowed inspired me to help make the "grass" a little greener right here in Ghana.
Read why here.