It fills me with great sadness to have to write this, but it would be criminal not to pay tribute to one of the greatest Kenyan heroines. Yesterday we lost a piece of ourselves as a country. Today Kenya bleeds because our beloved Wangari Maathai, the heroine of the Greenbelt Movement, tree planting, saving the environment and all other things green, is gone. In our hearts and our nation she has left a void we can’t help but feel, and we pray that we will all rise up to fill that void.
Our forests, the wild, nature, will feel her loss. As much as we hope another leader like Wangari will arise and take on her mantle, I pray rather that in each of us her spirit will live and we will continue the work, taking care of our environment, bleeding and raising our voices when the environment is threatened; one at a time, everywhere, greening Kenya in each and every way possible, tending our natural resources like a delicate infant that must be allowed to mature and thrive so it can fulfill its destiny. It’s the least we can do in memory of such a beloved, hard working, tireless, sacrificial national heroine.
For most of us her demise was so sudden, so unexpected, and therefore that much harder to take. But our Nobel Laureate has done her work thoroughly and exhaustively. She surpassed all and went thousands of extra miles because she did it as a passion, was ahead of her time and labored to take us all along with her in the cause to save the environment. She has fought the good fight, kept the faith and finished the race. It is now our turn, if for no other reason, at least to honour her toil, her love for our nation, her devotion.
Rest in peace, our dearest lady.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment