155 Quotes by Wangari Maathai

We do the right thing not to please people but because it’s the only logically reasonable thing to do, as long as we are being honest with ourselves – even if we are the only ones.

It was easy for me to be ridiculed and for both men and women to perceive that maybe I’m a bit crazy because I’m educated in the West and I have lost some of my basic decency as an African woman.

The living conditions of the poor must be improved if we really want to save our environment.

There’s a general culture in this country to cut all the trees. It makes me so angry because everyone is cutting and no one is planting.

Hallowed landscapes lost their sacredness and were exploited as the local people became insensitive to the destruction, accepting it as a sign of progress.

As long as there is no trust and confidence that there will be justice and fairness in resource distribution, political positioning will remain more important than service.

What people see as fearlessness is really persistence. Because I am focused on the solution, I don’t see the danger.

As I swept the last bit of dust, I made a covenant with myself: I will accept. Whatever will be, will be. I have a life to lead. I recalled words a friend had told me, the philosophy of her faith. “Life is a journey and a struggle,” she had said. “We cannot control it, but we can make the best of any situation.” I was indeed in quite a situation. It was up to me to make the best of it.

We tend to put the environment last because we think the first thing we have to do is eliminate poverty. But you can’t reduce poverty in a vacuum. You are doing it in an environment.