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A girl and a woman in a field and a zebra and a giraffe nearby.

Okambuto kanininini: Ehokololo laWangari Maathai A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai

Written by Nicola Rijsdijk

Illustrated by Maya Marshak

Translated by Fritz David

Language Oshikwanyama

Level Level 3

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A girl and a woman in a field and a zebra and a giraffe nearby.

Momukunda u li moikulundudu i li popepi nondudu Mount Kenya moushilo waAfrica, omwa li mu na okakadona kanini oko ka li haka longo naina momapya. Edina lako Wangari.

In a village on the slopes of Mount Kenya in East Africa, a little girl worked in the fields with her mother. Her name was Wangari.


A girl scattering seeds in a food garden.

Wangari okwa li e hole okukala pondje. Okwa li ha papula okakunino kavo netemo, ndele ta kunu oumbuto vaninini medu la pupyala.

Wangari loved being outside. In her family’s food garden she broke up the soil with her machete. She pressed tiny seeds into the warm earth.


A girl standing in a field at sunset.

Efimbo olo kwa li e hole, openingino letango, hano eshi taku wiwile. Ngeenge okwa laula noimeno ke i wete vali, ye opo ta dimbulukwa oku ya keumbo. Oha lambalala okandjila kokeemhadi oko kafinana ka tavakana momapya ye ta ka tauluka okamomholonga ndele tai keumbo.

Her favourite time of day was just after sunset. When it got too dark to see the plants, Wangari knew it was time to go home. She would follow the narrow paths through the fields, crossing rivers as she went.


A girl and a boy holding hands in a field.

Wangari okwa li okaana okanandunge noka li ka hala nokuhalelela okuya kofikola. Ashike ina naxe okwa li va hala a kale peumbo te va yakula. Eshi a wanifa eedula heyali, omovamwainamati ou womukulunhu okwa indila ovakulunhu vavo va pitike Wangari a ka hovele ofikola.

Wangari was a clever child and couldn’t wait to go to school. But her mother and father wanted her to stay and help them at home. When she was seven years old, her big brother persuaded her parents to let her go to school.


A book open to a map of the world and a pencil.

Okwa li e hole okulihonga! Wangari okwe lihonga oinima i lili noku lili membo keshe ta lesha. Okwa li ha piti nawa mofikola naashi oshe mu pefa omhito opo a ye e ke lihonge koshilongo koAmerica. Wangari okwa li a hafa neenghono! Okwa li a hala okushiiva shihapu kombinga younyuni.

She liked to learn! Wangari learnt more and more with every book she read. She did so well at school that she was invited to study in the United States of America. Wangari was excited! She wanted to know more about the world.


A magnifying glass and a flower.

MoUniversiti yokoAmerica Wangari okwe lihonga ko oinima ihapu. Okwe lihonga oimeno nonhumbi hai kulu. Okwa dimbuluka yo nghee a putuka okudja kounona waye: ha danauka pamwe novamwainamati momidile diwa domiti momifitu daKenya.

At the American university Wangari learnt many new things. She studied plants and how they grow. And she remembered how she grew: playing games with her brothers in the shade of the trees in the beautiful Kenyan forests.


A girl sitting reading thinking of home.

Opo pe fike eshi te lihonga shihapu, opo yo pe fike okuxwama mohole yokuhola ovanhu vomoshilongo shaye Kenya. Okwa hala va kale va hafa nova manguluka. Eshi tuu te lihongo sha shihapu ye ota kwatwa kodjuulufi yokeumbo lavo koAfrica.

The more she learnt, the more she realised that she loved the people of Kenya. She wanted them to be happy and free. The more she learnt, the more she remembered her African home.


A gazelle.

Eshi a mana elihongo laye okwa shuna koKenya. Ashike okwa hanga oshilongo sha lunduluka. Mwa ningwa eefaalama da kamba ko oitukulwa inene. Ovakulukadi kave na vali apa tava tyava oikuni yokuteleka. Ovanhu okwa li va nyika oluhepo nounona okwa li tava fi ondjala.

When she had finished her studies, she returned to Kenya. But her country had changed. Huge farms stretched across the land. Women had no wood to make cooking fires. The people were poor and the children were hungry.


Two women planting trees.

Wangari okwa li e na po ondungefaneko kutya ota ningi ngahelipi. Okwa longa ovakulukadi nghee ve na okukuna omiti. Ovakulukadi ova tameka okulandifa omiti nokulimonena oshimaliwa nokufila nasho oshisho omaumbo avo. Ovakulukadi okwa li va hafa neenghono. Wangari e va kwafa va kale ovapondoli novanaenghono.

Wangari knew what to do. She taught the women how to plant trees from seeds. The women sold the trees and used the money to look after their families. The women were very happy. Wangari had helped them to feel powerful and strong.


A variety of trees.

Konima yefimbo, omiti odo da kunwa oda kula ndele tadi ningi eefuka, nomilonga oda tameka vali okukunguluka. Etumwalaka laWangari ola tandavela noAfrica aishe. Monena eemiliyona domiti oda mena da dja moumbuto vaWangari.

As time passed, the new trees grew into forests, and the rivers started flowing again. Wangari’s message spread across Africa. Today, millions of trees have grown from Wangari’s seeds.


A woman surrounded by trees.

Wangari okwa longo noudiinini. Ovanhu aveshe mounyuni ova didilika oilonga yaye nokwa pewa epapa lefimaneko. Epapa hali ifanwa “Nobel Peace Prize,” oye a li omukainhu wotete wOmuafrika te li pewa.

Wangari had worked hard. People all over the world took notice, and gave her a famous prize. It is called the Nobel Peace Prize, and she was the first African woman ever to receive it.


A butterfly flying near a beautiful tree.

Wangari okwa fya momudo 2011. Ashike ohatu kala alushe noku mu dimbulukwa alushe ngeenge hatu tale ewapalo lomiti.

Wangari died in 2011, but we can think of her every time we see a beautiful tree.


Written by: Nicola Rijsdijk
Illustrated by: Maya Marshak
Translated by: Fritz David
Language: Oshikwanyama
Level: Level 3
Source: A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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