One Woman’s Struggle: A Reflection of Servant-Leadership

Authors

Margaret Muchiri, NairobiFollow

Abstract

Kenya is a free democracy now. The British colonizers left Kenya in 1963 but they left a land devastated both in terms of a ruined ecosystem and an uprooted culture (Kemble, 2003, p. 206). In terms of an ecosystem, Kenya was reduced to a mere shell of its former self. Kenyan land had been deforested and its fertility exhausted by the colonial masters (Kenyatta, 1989; Maathai, 2006, pp. 3-8). Wangari Maathai, upon seeing the devastation, decided to do what she could to combat environmental and poverty issues arising from deforestation ("Wangari Muta Maathai," n.d., para. 2). Because of her, some thirty million trees have been planted and much of Kenya's ruined land has been reclaimed. In recognition of her efforts she received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize (Maathai, 2004, pp. ix-x). How was it possible for an individual, and for that matter a woman, to bring forth such a level of leadership against such formidable odds? I attempt to answer this question herein, reflecting on Maathai's living servant leadership attributes and the theoretical statements those attributes represent. Before answering the question raised above, it is important that I place my reader into the perspective of what the terms leadership and servant-leadership mean in the context of this paper. Next, I will present a historical background of the environmental problems in Kenya. Finally, I will provide an account of how Maathai implicitly used her servant-leadership qualities to resolve the problem.

Recommended Citation

Muchiri, Margaret (2011) "One Woman’s Struggle: A Reflection of Servant-Leadership," International Journal of Servant-Leadership: Vol. 7, Article 9.
DOI: 10.33972/ijsl.167
Available at: https://repository.gonzaga.edu/ijsl/vol7/iss1/9

Copyright Information

Copyright 2011 The Author(s). All rights reserved