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Ní abúlé kan lórí Òkè Kenya ní Ìlà-oòrùn Afrika, ọmọ kékeré kan ṣiṣẹ́ nínú oko pẹ̀lú
màmá rẹ̀. Orúkọ rẹ̀ 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 fẹ́ràn láti wà ní ìta. Ní ọgbà ilé oúnjẹ ẹbí rẹ̀, ó tu ilẹ̀ pẹ̀lú àdá rẹ̀. Ó fi
àwọn èso kékeré sínú ilẹ̀.
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.
Àkókò tí ó fẹ́ràn ni ìrọ̀lẹ́. Nígbà tí alẹ́ bá ti lẹ́ jù, Wangari mọ̀ pé àkókò ti tó láti lọlé.
Ó máa gba ọ̀nà tínínrín inú oko tí ó wà ní ẹ̀gbẹ́ odò tí ó bá tí ń padà lọlé.
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 jẹ́ ọlọ́gbọ́n ọmọ, kò lè dúró títí tí ó máa fi lọ sí ilé-ìwé. Ṣùgbọ́n màmá àti
bàbá rẹ̀ fẹ́ jẹ́kí ó dúró sílé láti ràn wọ́n lọ́wọ́. Nígbà tí ó jẹ́ ọmọ ọ̀dún méje, ẹ̀gbọ́n
rẹ̀ ọkùnrin sọ fún àwọn òbí wọn kí wọ́n jẹ́ kí ó lọ sí ilé-ìwé.
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.
Ó fẹ́ràn láti kàwé!
Wangari kọ́ oríṣiríṣi nǹkan nínú ìwé tí ó kà.
Ó ṣe dáradára ní ilé-ìwé débi pé wọ́n pè wá sí ìlú Amerika láti kàwé.
Inú Wangari dùn gán an ni! Ó fẹ́ mọ̀ si nípa gbogbo ayé.
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.
Ní Yunifásítì kan ní ìlú Amerika, Wangari kọ́ ọ̀pọ̀lọpọ̀ nǹkan tuntun. Ó kọ́ nípa bí
àwọn ewé ṣe ń dàgbà. Ó rántí bí òun ṣe dàgbà: bí òun ṣe ń ṣeré pẹ̀lú àwọn ẹbí rẹ̀
lábẹ́ àwọn igi inú igbó 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.
Bí ó ṣe ń kàwé si ni ó ń ri bí òun ṣe fẹ́ràn àwọn ènìyàn Kenya. Ó fẹ́ jẹ́ kí wọ́n ní
ayọ̀ àtí òmìnira. Bí ó ṣe ń kàwé si ni ó ń rántí ilé rẹ̀ ní Afrika.
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.
Nígbá tí ó parí ẹ̀kọ́ rẹ̀, ó padà sí Kenya.
Ṣùgbọ́n orílẹ̀-èdè rẹ̀ ti yípadà. Àwọn oko ńlá ti pọ̀si nílẹ̀.
Àwọn obìnrin kò ní igi láti fi dáná.
Àwọn ènìyàn tòṣì. Ebi sì ń pa àwọn ọmọdé.
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 mọ nǹkan tí óun lè ṣe. Ó kọ́ àwọn obìnrin láti gbin igi pẹ̀lú èso.
Àwọn obìnrin náà ta àwọn igi náà,wọ́n sì lo owó tí wọ́n rí láti fi tọ́jú ẹbí wọn.
Inú àwọn obìnrin náà dùn púpọ̀. Wangari ràn wọ́n lọ́wọ́ láti lè borí wàhálà wọn.
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.
Lẹ́hìn àkókò púpọ̀, àwọn igi tuntun náà dàgbà sí igbó, àwọn odò náà sì padà.
Gbogbo ènìyàn ní Afrika ni ó gbọ́ nǹkan tí Wangari ṣe.
Lónìí, ọ̀pọ̀lọpọ̀ àwọn igi ni ó ti dàgbà nípasẹ èso ti 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 tí ṣiṣẹ́ gan an. Gbogbo
ènìyàn káàkiri àgbáyé ni ó mọ̀,
wọ́n sì fun ní ẹ̀bùn ńlá kan. Wọ́n
ń pè é ní ẹ̀bùn ti Nobel Peace,
òun sì ni obìnrin àkọ́kọ́ tí ó kọ́kọ́
gbà á.
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 kú ní ọ̀dún 2011, ṣùgbọ́n a lè ronú nípa rẹ̀ nígbàkígbà tí a bá rí igi arẹwà
kan.
Wangari died in 2011, but we can think of her every time we see a beautiful tree.
