Uhuru Park, the well-landscaped gardens in the heart of Nairobi City is a favorite hang-out spot and weekend destination area for thousands of the Kenyan Capital residents.
The gardens are lush-green with assortments of indigenous and modern tree species as well as gushing water springs. In the early nineties during the reign of the country’s second president Mr Daniel Arap Moi however, Uhuru Park fate was almost doomed.
A proposed real estate development project which was to see the construction of a 60 storied commercial building was earmarked for the area and with the backing of the then government under the single ruling party (KANU) nothing could stop such venture, right?
Well wrong, enters Prof. Waangari Maathai an iron lady who founded the tree-hugging Green Belt Movement in Kenya. Essentially that was when the GBM commanded great worldwide respect which later earned Prof Maathat a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
She single handedly fought to stop the project even at the times when few would dare oppose the Kenyan President. Since winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari Maathai has become a spokesperson for a number of important issues and initiatives.
The Green Belt Movement, an environmental initiative has also gone international while the founder who at one time got to serve as member of parliament remains a respected civil society and women's rights activist.
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