A visionary environmentalist, Wangari Maathai (born 1940) created a successful reforestation program that began in Kenya and was adopted in other African nations and the United States. Maathai continues to be recognized worldwide for her achievements, although she is denounced as a traitor and a rebel in her home country.

Wangari Maathai is perhaps best known for creating the Green Belt Movement of Kenya, a program recognized all over the world for combining community development and reforestation to combat environmental and poverty issues. Maathai excelled at mobilizing people for a very simple goal--reforestation--which also impacted poverty and community development in Kenya. Maathai believed that people needed to help with environmental issues and should not rely upon the government. Maathai clashed with the Kenyan government, often at risk to her own life, when she opposed destructive governmental initiatives and when she forayed into politics personally.

Turmoil Early On

Maathai was...