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

Peo E Nnye: Tlhamane ya ga Wangari Maathai A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai

Written by Nicola Rijsdijk

Illustrated by Maya Marshak

Translated by Domitilla Naledi Madi

Language Setswana

Level Level 3

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

Mo motseng o o mo mokgokolosa wa Thaba ya Kenya mo Aferika Botlhaba, mosetsana yo monnye o ne a dira mo tshimong le mmagwe. Leina la gagwe e ne e le 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 o ne a rata go nna kwa ntle. Mo tshimong ya dijo ya losika lwa bone o ne a thuba mmu ka mogoma wa gagwe. O ne a tlhoma dipeo tse di nnye moteng ga lefatshe le le mothito.

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.

Nako ya gagwe ya letsatsi e o neng a e rata e ne e le mongobelo. Fa gonna lefifi thata go bona dimela, Wangari o ne a itse gore ke nako ya go ya lwapeng. O ne a rata go tsamaya mo ditseleng tse di tshesane tse di mogare ga tshimo, a tsamaya a tla a kgabaganya noka.

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 e ne e le ngwana yo o botlhale a sa kgone go leta go ya sekolong. Mme rragwe le mmagwe ba ne ba batla gore a nne mo lwapeng mme a ba thuse. E rile fa a le dingwaga tse supa, mogolowe a tlhotlheletsa batsadi ba gagwe gore ba mo letlelele gore a ye sekolong.

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.

O ne a rata go ithuta! Wangari o ne a ithuta thata thata mo lokwalong longwe le longwe lo o neng a lo bala. O ne a dira ka natla thata mo sekolong gore a lalediwe go ya go ithuta kwa Dinageng tse di Kopaneng tsa Amerika. Wangari o ne a itumetse! O ne a rata go itse thata ka ga lefatse ka bophara.

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.

Kwa unibesiting ya Amerika Wangari o ne a ithuta dilo tse dintsi tse disha. O ne a ithuta ka ga dimela le gore di gola jang. Mme a gopola gore o godile jang: a tshameka dikgaisano le bo kgaitsadie mo seriting sa ditlhare mo nageng e ntle ya 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.

Fa a ithuta thata, a lemoga gore o na le lorato mo bathong ba Kenya. O ne a batla gore ba nne ba itumetse ba gololesegile . Fa a ithuta thata, o gopola thata legae la gagwe la Aferika.

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.

Erile fa a sena go fetsa dithuto tsa gagwe, a boela kwa Kenya. Mme naga ya gagwe e ne e fetogile. Dipolasi tse ditonna di ne di katologile mo nageng ka bophara. Bomme ba ne ba sena dikgong tsa go gotsa le go apaya. Batho ba ne ba humanegile le bana ba ne ba tshwerwe ke tlala.

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 o ne a itse gore a dire eng. O ne a ruta bomme gore ba tla tlhoma jang ditlhare ka peo. Bomme ba ne ba rekisa ditlhare mme ba dirisa madi go tlhokomela masika a bona. Bomme ba ne ba itumetse thata. Wangari o ba thusitse gore ba ikutlwe ba na le maatla e bile ba nonofile.

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.

Jaaka nako e feta, ditlhare tse ditlhomilweng di ne tsa gola ganna naga, mme dinoka tsa simolola go elela gape. Molaetsa wa ga Wangari wa anama mo Aferika yotlhe. Gompieno, ditlhare di le dikete -kete di godile ka ntlha ya dipeo tsa ga 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 o dirile ka natla. Batho mo lefatseng ka bophara ba ile ba lemoga, mme ba mo neela sekgele se se itsegeng. Se bidiwa sekgele sa Nobel sa Kagiso, mme e ne e le mme wa ntlha wa moAferika go amogela sekgele se.

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 o tlhokafetse ka ngwaga wa 2011, mme re kgona go mogopola nako le nako fa re bona setlhare se sentle.

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: Domitilla Naledi Madi
Language: Setswana
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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