Nan yon ti vilaj ki sou pant mòn Kenya nan Lès Afrik, yon ti fi tap travay nan jaden an ak manman’l. Yo te rele li 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 te renmen rete deyò anpil. Nan jaden fanmi li, li te fè twou ak manchèt pou’l plante ti grenn nan tè a.
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.
Lè li pipito a se pandan lajounen lè solèy la fin kouche. Wangari konnen fòke li tounen lakay anvan fè twò nwa. Enpi li pa te kapab wè plant yo nan fè nwa a. Pou’l tounen lakay li, fòke li te pase nan yon ti santye, nan yon jaden ak akote yon rivyè.
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 te yon timoun entèlijan ki te anvi ale lekòl. Men, manman’l ak papa li te vle ke li rete nan lakay la pou’l ede yo. Lè Wangari gen sètan, pi gran frè li mande manman ak papa’l pou yo voye Wangari lekòl.
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.
Li te renmen aprann! Wangari te aprann piplis chak jou, chak fwa li louvri yon liv. Li te travay tèlman byen lekòl la ke li te resevwa yon envitasyon pou’l al etidye nan Etazini. Wangari te kontan anpil! Li te vle aprann anpil bagay lòt bò dlo an.
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.
Nan inivèsite Ameriken an, Wangari aprann anpil lòt bagay. Li etidye sou tout kalite plant ak kijan yo grandi. Enpi, li vin sonje kote li sòti, kijan li grandi, lè li te konn jwe ak frè li nan lonbraj anba pyebwa nan bèl rakbwa 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.
Plis li aprann plis li santi ke li renmen moun Kenya yo. Li te vle wè pèp li lib ak kontan. Plis li aprann, plis li sonje lakay li nan peyi Lafrik.
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.
Lè li fini lekòl la, li tounen Kenya. Men, peyi’l te chanje. Peyi a te kouvri ak gwo plantasyon. Fanm yo pa te jwenn bwa pou yo fè manje. Moun yo te pòv, timoun yo te grangou toutan.
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 te konnen sa pou’l fè. Li aprann medam yo kijan pou yo simen grenn atè pou yo plante pyebwa. Medam yo vann pyebwa yo enpi yo ede fanmi yo ak lajan an yo fè. Medam yo te kontan anpil. Wangari te fè yo santi yo endepandan ak pifò.
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.
Piti piti pyebwa yo grandi yo tounen rakbwa enpi dlo rivyè an kòmanse koule ankò. Mesaj Wangari travèse tout Lafrik. Jounen jodya, anpi anpil pyebwa pouse akòz ti grenn Wangari yo.
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 te travay di. Tout moun lòt bò dlo tande pale de Wangari. Li resevwa yon pri entènasyonal ke yo rele pri Nobèl pou lapè. Wangari se pwemye fanm Afriken ki te resevwa yon pri konsa.
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 mouri nan lane 2011 men nou sonje li chak fwa nou wè yon bèl pyebwa.
Wangari died in 2011, but we can think of her every time we see a beautiful tree.
Written by: Nicola Rijsdijk
Illustrated by: Maya Marshak
Translated by: ACE Haiti-University of Notre Dame USA
