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

Okamuma kombuto: Ehokololo la Wangari 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 uli woikulundudu ili popepi nondudu Mount Kenya mo Africa, omwali muna okaana kokakadona kali haka longo mepya nameme wako. Edina lako olali 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 okwali ehole okukala pondje. Mepya lambulavo okwali hapapula edu netemo laye. Oha fudike nee eembuto yee tedi fufile medu olo lalongwa nawa.

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.

Okwali ehole efimbo letango laningina. Ngeenge omulaulu weya Wangari okwali ashiiva nawa kutya oshaninga efimbo lokuya keumbo. Oha lambe okandjila oko kali kafinana kapita momapya yee taka tauluka omulonga.

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 okwali okaana okanandunge nokwali ahala okuya kofikola. Ashike meme waye na tate waye okwali vahala akale peumbo akale teva yakula. Eshi awanifa eedula heyali, umwe womo vamwainamati okwa indila ovakulunhu vavo vapitike okamwainakadona katameke 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.

Okwali ehole oku lihonga! Wangari okwe lihonga oinima ilili nakulili momambo aa alesha. Okwali hapiti nawa mofikola naashi oshemu pefa omhito opo aye ekelihonge koshilongo “United State of Amemerica”. Wangari okwali ahafa unene! Okwali ahala oku shiiva shihapu kombings 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.

Ko University yoko America Wangari okwe lihongako oinima i hapu. Okwe lihonga yoo numbi oimeno hai kunwa nopo nee okwa dimbuluka nghee akula okudja kounona waye: hadanauka pamwe novamwainamati momidile domiti momufitu wa Kenya.

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.

Eshi tuu telihongosha yee tashiiva oinima ihapu yee ohole yoshilongo shaye Kenya nayo otai kulu. Okwali ahala oku kala ena ehafo yee okwa manguluka. Eshi tuu teli hongosha shihapu yee ota kwatwa kodjuulufi yokeumbo lavo ko Africa.

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 amana elihongo laye okwa shuna ko Kenya. Ashike okwali ahanga oshilongo shalunduluka. Mwaningwa eefaalama dakambako oitukulwa inene. Ovakulukadi kavali vena apa tava hange oikuni yoku teleka. Ovanhu okwali vanyika oluhepo nounona okwali tavafi 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 okwali enapo ondunge faneko kutya naninge ngahelipi. Okwa longa ovakulukadi nghee vena oku kuna omiti tava longifa eembuto. Ovakulukadi ova tameka okulandifa omiti noku limonena sha vafile nasho oshisho omaumbo avo. Ovakulukadi okwali vahafa neenghono.

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 odakula ndele tadi ningi omifitu, nomilonga oda tameka vali tadi kunguluka. Etumwaaka la Wangari ola tandavela noAfrica aishe. Konena ngaha, omwaalu muhapu weemiliyona domiti odamena dadja mombuto ya Wangari.

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 okwali halongo noudiinini. Ovanhu aveshe mounyuni okwali veshii oilonga yaye ove ididilika ndele tave mupe epapa lefimakeno. Epapa hali ifanwa “Nobel Peace Prize,” oye ali omukainhu wotete womu Africa telipewa.

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.

Wngari okwa xulako momudo 2011. Ashike ohatu kala alushe noku mudimbuluka 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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