Posted: 27 June 2008 by Kristi

Last month, I watched myself be swept up in a serendipitous wind and when the wind stopped blowing I found myself sitting at a table for dinner with 2004 Noble Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and her daughter, Wanjira.  Wanjira is one of us.  My age.  Funny, charming, down-to-earth we talked about our husbands. Hers doesn't like travelling around to all these things, out meeting people and pushing the message forward.  He can't think of anything worse and while he's happy for her to do it, doesn't want to himself thanks very much.  I picture my beautiful husband, and really it's quite uncanny.  Phew, a kindred spirit.

I didn't have a lot of time talking with her because she was busy attending to the President of the Ford Foundation on one arm and another major family foundation who funds human rights on another.  Her mother is ever-beaming, polite, patient, strong - a loving queen.  The Green Belt Movement has planted more than 1 billion trees in Kenya since the 1970s. Her results are astounding, her genius and intelligence inspiring, her humility humbling. A role model. She's also known as the 'tree woman' - anyone who knows me will recognise how much I'd be loving everything about her!

Wangari addressed the dinner of about 180 people with her story, and painted a picture of a truth of the degrading environment and its impact - it will push more and more people into poverty globally, as if we don't have enough already. She was very clever at how she connected with this group of people in the room, all funders from around the world (every big name foundation was there). Multi-bulti wealth. In fact, it felt like I was in a room of diplomats - it was really unusual.  They were all so incredibly polished conversationalists, witty, charming, intelligent. The ultimate connectors.  I was still trying to figure out how to pronounce everyone's names let alone trying to comment on political situations in Africa. Thank goodness they were polite and when they realised I was a dead end on Africa they asked me about the Aboriginal Apology - an inspiring moment for these people too. I felt we as Australians have a story to contribute.

Wangari's address finished with this story...

There was a huge fire raging in the forest.  All the animals had to flee, there was so much smoke and fire.  Having escaped, they all watched the forest burning from the sidelines.  One bird, a little hummingbird, decided she couldn't just sit back and watch the forest burning any longer.  So, she began to fly to and fro from the ocean with drops of water in her beak to drop water on the fire.  Back and forth, back and forth she flew with one drop of water at a time.  All the animals thought she was crazy - what are you doing?, they asked... 'You are not going to make any difference, it's still burning, you are going to hurt yourself!  You might catch on fire yourself!  What are you doing?'..still she persisted with determination and with patience.  But still they asked.. what are you doing?  She turned to them and said:
I Am Doing the Best I Can.

Today, I'm working through items for the Social Investment Guide and getting ready for Sunday's performance of V-Day. I'm gathering energy for the weeks ahead.