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

Kananda kokambiru: Thithimwa tha Wangari Maathai A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai

Written by Nicola Rijsdijk

Illustrated by Maya Marshak

Translated by Ruthgela Shawanga

Language Thimbukushu

Level Level 3

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

Mumukunda gho mudidhamena dyo dirundu dyaKenya muDiva dyaAfrika, mukamadighana nga rughananga mu mapya nanyina. Dina dyendi ne 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 gha hakire kukara panunda. Muthinyamo thawo thoyidya yo padimbo nga payuranga muve no dikatana dyendi. Gha vumbekire tunanda totumbiru mumuve gho ghughenyu.

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.

Ruvedhe rwendi oru gha hakire ne munyima dho kutokera diyuwa. Oku ne makokore mukumona yimenwa, Wangari gha dimukire eshi ruvedhe ro kuyenda kudimbo. Aye nga yendanga mukandhira kokathorokoto ghupita mumapya, kureya marware gha ka yende.

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 gha karire mwanuke gho munyanyami no gha karire no dirura dyokuyenda kushure. Ene hanyina nawihe hashanine eshi gha kare gha wa ghamwene mudimbo. Apa gha karire no myaka kwokowadi, mukurwendi gho mungaghu gha ghambithire hakuru wendi mu kumutawedhera Wangari gha yende kushure.

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.

Aye gha hakire kukuhonga! Wangari gha kuhongire yoyingi mu kehe mbapira gha toyire. Aye nga rughananga thiwana mushure no kate ha munoyire gha kakuhongere mumatunga ghokukupakerera ghaAmerika. Wangari gha hafire! Gha shanine kudimuka yoyingi yo kuhatera kukaye.

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.

Pashure dho kuyeyuka dhaAmerika Wangari gha kuhongire yinu yoyipya yoyingi. Gha kuhongire yoyimenwa no di ya kuranga. No ghavurukire edi gha kurire: kupepa yipepa nohakurwendi hohangaghu mumumvure gho yitondo mumuthitu ghoghuwa waKenya.

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.

Dyodi gha kuhongire thikuma, dyo gha nongononine eshi gha haka hanu ho muKenya. Aye gha shanine eshi hahafe no kushutuka. Dyodi gha kuhongire thikuma, dyo gha vurukire dimbo dyendi muAfrika.

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.

Apa gha manine shure dhendi, gha hukire kuKenya. Ene ditunga dyendi ne dya kutjindja. Ma farama gho makuru gha shimbire muve gho wingi. Hambuyama mbadi ha karire noyikunyi yo kukonyeritha mudiro. Hanu hakarire hahepwe no hanuke ne ndhara.

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 gha dimukire yo kutenda. Gha hongire hambuyama eshingepi gho kukuna yitondo kutunda kunanda. Hambuyama ha ghurithire yitondo no ha rughanithire masherenyi gha mukurera madhiko ghawo. Hambuyama hashambererire thikuma. Wangari gha wa ghamwene hakuyuve kutanara nongcamu.

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.

Ruvedhe rwa pitire, yitondo yi yoyipya yakurire mumithitu, no marware gha tangire karo ku pupana. Mbudhi dhaWangari dha yukire mumatunga gho muAfrika. Dyarero, mamiriyuni gho yitondo kwa yitapekitha kumbuto dha 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 gha rughanine thikuma. Hanu kaye kokahe hamunongonine, no kumupa ndjambi edhi dha yuveka. Ndjambi dhi kudhitoya eshi Nobel Peace Prize, no gha karire mbuyama gho kutangera muAfrika kuwana ndjambi dhi.

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 gha pwire mu 2011, ene kumughayara kehe pano gho kumona thitondo thothiwa.

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: Ruthgela Shawanga
Language: Thimbukushu
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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