Green Belt

by Brittany Burcham

"Karibu!" The women of Mugoiri Parish excitedly welcomed strangers from the other side of the world with singing and dancing. As the Baylor women's leadership team stepped off the bus, they were hugged and kissed as if old friends returning home from a long journey. Although the women from the separate cultures had never met, a common bond was found through the global idea that a strong female community can change the world for the better.

For one day, 15 women from America learned about women's empowerment in a new way. Leaving their books behind, the students learned what no book could teach them: how to build a community of women who can create a legacy that draws international attention.

The gracious hosts of Murang'a invited their visitors in for some hot tea and feast of steamed sweet potatoes and other various indigenous roots. After the rest, the village women led their visitors to various tasks to show them what life is like in their community.

Introducing themselves, the village women shared how their group began. The Baylor students listened intently to the story of women who learned that working together could accomplish more than working alone. The women's group initially formed to roof local homes, using the profits they made to pay for members' school fees and for stationery and office supplies for their new enterprise. Quickly the roofing business became much more.

Soon after the formation of their group, the village women began to hear about a program called the Green Belt Movement, a a grassroots non-governmental organization based in Kenya that focuses on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. During their visit, the Murang'a women's group introduced the Baylor women to the program and invited them along on a tree-planting. The women led the students to a public area where their trees were to be planted. Each member of the Baylor team carefully placed her small tree in the newly dug hole, adding manure and soil on top of the fragile plant. The students stood with newfound pride, knowing that their visit would not be possible if Kenyan women had not joined together to make a difference. The village women looked on, satisfied that they had shared their knowledge and happy that the students saw what community really means. "I felt like I was very in touch with God and nature when I was planting my tree," said Bernadine Davis, a graduate student with the Baylor team.

The students soon learned about the physical labor that bonded these women. One group was introduced to the process of harvesting seedlings to grow and transplant and replenish the diminishing forest. Taking the seedlings from nearby indigenous trees, the village women taught the group from America how to mix manure with soil and dig trenches to prevent soil erosion. The students kneeled down and put their hands in the manure and began to mix the soil. All of a sudden, cheers rang out from the village women, so proud to see the visitors engaging in the hard labor.

The vain concerns that occupy the students in America were soon lost as they put sacks of heavy manure on their backs and hauled them down the mountain to spread on the banana trees as fertilizer. Dirty and tired, the students continued to laboriously do the work that the elderly women of the village did every day.

"Their endurance is amazing; I admire their hard work,"said senior Anna Vestal.

Another group of students learned how important the goats were to the community. When the village group received a 40,000 shilling reward for their work in replenishing the forests, instead of dividing the money among themselves, the women decided to use the prize to benefit the community as a whole. The women bought indigenous female goats and Alpine male goats to breed and create a generation that would be able to supply the village with enough milk.

The village women were very proud of their goat-breeding project and enthusiastically showed the visitors how they label each new generation of goats, working toward the ideal breed that will give enough milk to supply the village. The Baylor women engaged in the goat work by cleaning out stalls, shoveling manure into bags, and using the fertilizer on the garden plants.

"For me, I come from people who have farms but it's something that I've never personally done," said Lisa Williams, a seminary student. "I really realized how hard it is and how strong the women are."

The village now sells the young goats for 2,000 shillings each to save enough to buy much-needed cows.

The work of the Marang'a women extends far beyond their village. Along with the Green Belt Movement, the village has helped to empower local women to change the African view of women's roles. When asked how their husbands felt about their work outside of the home, the women said that although their husbands were apprehensive at first, they admired the results of the group's work and began to support their wives' endeavors.

In America, the Baylor women were raised to get an education and accomplish their dreams. In Kenya, the Marang'a village women were accomplishing their dreams while working in their traditional roles. The Baylor women were able to see firsthand how a woman in Kenya can change her society without upsetting the traditional structure.

"It was life-changing for the women on this trip to see that women really have power to make changes," said Becky Kennedy, a leader with the Baylor team. "I think they'll take it back with them and make a difference in the world."

In 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the Green Belt Movement. In three decades, the Green Belt Movement has planted more than 30 million trees and provided jobs for over 100,000 African women, including the women of Marang'a. Maathai began a political movement by opposing then-leader Daniel arap Moi and putting environmental issues on the political front.

Today, the women in the Green Belt Movement continue to show the importance of conserving the environment by example.

"It takes a while for women to feel empowered; I think these women felt empowered," said Williams.

Besides providing jobs, the Green Belt Movement and the work of the Marang'a women has supplied animals, food and education funds to the communities.

"These activities were meant to empower women communities," said Muriithi Kaburi, the guide for the Green Belt safari.

The students learned that regardless of geographical location, women from different cultures are similar in that they can change their communities as well as the world.

"It was great to fellowship with women, knowing that they aren't selfish, but giving," said Phyllis Johnson, a theology student on the Baylor women's team. "I will forever remember this day. The trees we planted will grow as strong as our love for God."

The Author

Brittany Burcham is a journalism/public relations major at Baylor University.