After Office Hours // with Wanjira Mathai – 22 June 2017

The effects of deforestation and environmental degradation have become more pressing than ever before.   The impacts of climate change remain the greatest challenge facing humanity today.  

This month at the Nairobi Garage we would like to celebrate the heros who make everyday about making tomorrow a better place. Thank goodness, we have Wanjira Mathai right here at the Nairobi Garage!  Join us for our next AOH on the 22nd of June where she will share the reasons why she believes she’s in the right place at the right time and why we must all take action against climate change.

Who is  Wanjira Mathai do you ask? She is unbelievable! 

Wanjira Mathai is the Senior Advisor for the Partnerships for Women Entrepreneurs in Renewables (wPOWER) where she leads global advocacy and strategy.  The wPOWER Hub promotes the prominence of women’s leadership in addressing energy poverty and climate change by bringing renewable energy to 3.5 million women in East Africa, Nigeria and India.  wPOWER is the secretariat for the larger partnership.

Wanjira is also passionately involved in the movement that empowers women to restore and replenish their landscapes, the Green Belt Movement (GBM) which was founded by her mother, the late 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai.   The GBM aims to engage women’s group in restoring their environments and gaining a stipend in the process. Tree planting remains the entry point for this community engagement that aims to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood and generate income. The Movement has so far planted over 51 million trees and the restoration of rivers, watersheds, and landscapes across Kenya, but also the transformation of  nearly 1 million women lives, their families and their communities. 

Wanjira currently chairs the GBM, and is a board member of the Wangari Maathai Institute, Wangari Maathai Foundation and Resonate. If that is not enough, she is also a World Future Councillor, Advisory Council Member at Global Cookstoves Alliance, member of the Global Restoration Council and member of the Earth Charter International Council. 

Don’t miss out on her compelling AOH talk on 22nd June 2017 at the Nairobi Garage Westlands from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. RSVP your attendance here. Limited seating is available!