Story Circle Network

Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide

June 2007

Unbowed
Wangari Maathai

Maathai, a 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, presents a matter-of-fact account of her rather exceptional life in Kenya. Born in 1940, Matthai attended primary school at a time when Kenyan girls were not educated; went on to earn a Ph.D. and became head of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Nairobi before founding Kenya's Green Belt Movement in 1977, which mobilized thousands of women to plant trees in an effort to restore the country's indigenous forests...

  1. Wangari had revererence for the land from a very young age. What are some examples of that? Do you find this usual for a young child?

  2. What are some examples of Kenyan mythology and cultural beliefs that promote reverence for the natural world?

  3. What was Wangari's attitude toward the British in the early years of their colonization in Kenya? How did this attitude help her in her endeavors?

  4. Wangari begins her story and ends her story with accounts of her relationship with her mother. How did this relationship influence the way she worked?

  5. How did the Kenyan attitude toward women play out in both the way Wangari worked and the way the culture responded?

  6. What did the U.S. teach Wangari and what was the lasting influence?

  7. How was the battle for equal benefits for women in Kenya similar (or different) to that in the U.S.?

  8. Give examples of Wangari's keen respect for every person she interacted with and how that enabled her to accomplish her goals? What were some of the ways she disarmed her opponents?

  9. Of her many accomplishments—establishing the Green Belt Movement, thwarting the construction of the Times complex in Uhura Park, helping get the release of political prisoners, and fighting corruption in the Kenyan government—which one stands out for you? Why?

  10. If there was one quality of Wangari's that you would instill in yourself or your daughters, what would it be?

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