the world’s interactions with Africa are not necessarily motivated by altruism, but by the self-interest of states seeking to maximize their opportun… - Wangari Muta Maathai

I kept stumbling and falling and stumbling and falling as I searched for the good. 'Why?' I asked myself. Now I believe that I was on the right path all along, particularly with the Green Belt Movement, but then others told me that I shouldn't have a career, that I shouldn't raise my voice, that women are supposed to have a master. That I needed to be someone else. Finally I was able to see that if I had a contribution I wanted to make, I must do it, despite what others said. That I was OK the way I was. That it was all right to be strong.

Throughout my life, I have never stopped to strategize about my next steps. I often just keep walking along, through whichever door opens. I have been on a journey and this journey has never stopped. When the journey is acknowledged and sustained by those I work with, they are a source of inspiration, energy and encouragement. They are the reasons I kept walking, and will keep walking, as long as my knees hold out.

Non siate timorosi di parlare, quando sapete di essere nel giusto. La paura non è mai stata fonte di sicurezza. Parlate chiaramente e lottate per i vostri diritti, finchè potete.