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Mu mushi waba ku mutentemuko wa lupili ulwa ku Kenya ku kabanga ka Africa, umukashana umwaice aalebomba na banyina mwibala. Ishina lyakwe aali ni 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.
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.
Inshita ya kasuba aatemenwe saana lilyafye akasuba kashilawa. Wangari aaleinuka fye nga cakuti kwafita saana icakuti umuntu tekuti amone ifimenwa. Pakuya aalepita mukashila katondo mu mabala no kuciluka imimana.
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.
Wangari aali mwana uwa cenjela kabili aalefwaisha ukuya ku sukulu. Lelo bawishi na banyina balefwaya ukuti aleikala pang’anda no kubafwa imilimo. Ilyo aafikile pa myaka yakufyalwa cine-lubali, ndume yakwe umukalamba aashiniine abafyashi bakwe ukusuminisha Wangari ukuya ku sukulu.
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.
Aalitemenwe ukusambilila! Wangari asambilile ifyafulilako muli cila citabo abelengele. Aalibombele bwino saana pa sukulu icakuti balimwitile ku United States of America. Wangari aalitemenwe cibi! Aalefwaya ukwishibilapo infingi pa lwe sonde.
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.
Pa Univesiti (isukulu likalamba) ya ku America, Wangari aalisambilile ifintu ifingi ifipya. Aasambilile palwa fimenwa nefyo fikula. Nakabili aibukishe ifyo aakulile: ukuteya ifyangalo na bandume yakwe mu cintelelwe ca miti ya mu mpanga shaemba isha ku 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.
Ilyo aaletwalilila amasambililo, aibukile ifyo atemenwe abena Kenya ngashi. Aalefwaya ukuti babe ne nsansa na ubuntungwa. Ukusambilila ifyafulilako kwalengele ebukishe kumwabo ku 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.
Panuma yakupwisha amasambililo, aabweleele ku Kenya. Lelo icalo cakwe ninshi calicinja. Kwali amafamu ayakalamba mpanga yonse. Ba namayo tabaakweete inkuni shakukosesha umulilo wakwipikilapo. Abantu baali baapina na bana ne nsala.
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.
Wangari aalishibe ifyakucita. Aafundile ba namayo ifya kulimba imiti ukufuma ku mbuto. Ba namayo baalishitishe imiti na ukubomfya ulupiya ku kusakamana indupwa shabo. Ba namayo balitemenwe nganshi. Wangari aali nabaafwa ukuyumfwa abamaka kabili abakosa.
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.
Mukupita kwanshita, imiti ipya yalikulile na ukusanguka imishitu, na imimana yatampile ukukomkoloka nakabili. Imbila ya kwa Wangari yalisalangene mu Africa yonse. Ilelo, iminshipendwa ya miti yaalikula ukufuma kumbuto sha kwa 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.
Wangari aali na bombesha. Abantu isonde lyonse baishile ishiba palwa kwa Wangari, kabili bamupeele icilambu icaya ululumbi. Citwa ukuti “Nobel Peace Prize”, kabili aali namayo uwantanshi mu Africa ukupokelela ici cilambu.
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.
Wangari afwile mu 2011, lelo kuti twatontonkanya pali ena ilyo lyonse twamona umuti uwayemba.
Wangari died in 2011, but we can think of her every time we see a beautiful tree.
