1st African Woman Wins Nobel Peace Prize

[nofurylike]

1st African Woman Wins Nobel Peace Prize ("Tree Woman")
10/8/2004

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/100804_nw_nobel_peace_prize.html

OSLO, Norway — The winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize is an African woman. That is a first for the Nobel. After considering a record 194 nominations, the Chairman of the Nobel Committee announced the decision in Oslo, Norway.

Ole Danbolt Mjoes said, "The Norwegian Nobel committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace prize for2004 to Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace."

Professor Wangari Maathai, who is 64-year-old, is a Kenyan environmentalist, member of the Kenyan government and human rights campaigner.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai had this to say about her win, "This is an overwhelming experience. It is elating. It is unbelievable; it's the kind of thing you never hear in your life. I am very flattered,"

She is also the first African woman to win the highly acclaimed Peace Prize award since it was created in 1901.

Her environmental efforts begain after she started planting trees in her back garden. In 1977, she formed a campaign called the Green Belt Movement, which consisted of mainly women.

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wonderful news!!

Wangari Maathai is one of the Earth's, our world's greatest of heroines!!



peace!

[calimary]

1. YOWZA! This is impressive!

Thanks for posting. YAY for her! YAY for us having people like her at work in this world. Helps offset a little bit of the damage pResident schmuck has done...

[nofurylike]

3. my pleasure to post this. thank you, calimary! yes, YAY for us all!

Wangari Maathai has been offsetting 'our' presidents' damage for three decades now. i think we still have any oxygen much thanks to her and her amazing movement!


peace!

[smirkymonkey]

2. This is great!

Just when you think you have lost all faith in humanity, along comes a woman like Wangari Maathai to bring your hopes up again. I am really happy for her.

[nofurylike]

4. that's exactly how i felt learning this news, smirkymonkey! n/t

[nofurylike]

5. a great article about Maathai

http://allafrica.com/stories/200410080898.html

she went to the University of Pittsburgh, then the University of Nairobi. :)



peace!

[DinahMoeHum]

6. You can learn more about her from the book "Hope's Edge"

by Frances Moore Lappe and her daughter Anna Lappe. There's a whole chapter about her and the Green Belt Movement.

Link:
http://www.smallplanetinstitute.org/


And here's another story about her from Guerilla News Network:
http://www.guerrillanews.com/human_rights/doc949.html


Real good reading.


:smoke:

[nofurylike]

7. thank you so much, frankzappa. that GNN piece is excellent!

i'm off to see Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe's book.

so heartening

especially at times like this.


peace!

[Moderator]

8. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=891478