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ka mbutu kakandende: mujimbu wa Wangari maathai A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai

Written by Nicola Rijsdijk

Illustrated by Maya Marshak

Translated by masho kaloza

Language Luvale

Level Level 3

Narrate full story The audio for this story is currently not available.


mwimbo hakawumbu ka kenya kumulawuko wa afilika, mwana pwevo azachile na mama yenyi mu wande. lijina lyenyi ikiye 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 azangile kupwa haweluka. muwande wa vyakulya wa chisaka chenyi apazwile mavu na mukwanga wenyi. engishile tujimbuto twatundende mumavu azuma.

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.


lola lwenyi azangile chikuma lwapwile chingoloshi. omu kwalavile chikuma kutala mbutu, wangari atachikijile ngwenyi hi lola lwa kuya kuzuvo. akavangijile kajila muwande kuvatula kalwiji omu ayilenga.

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 apwilenga mwana wa kuzangama kaha cheka kahandamine kuya kushikolako. Wunonyi tata yenyi na mama yenyi vatondele atwame nakuvakafwa hembo. omu apwilenga myaka yitanu nayivali, yayenyi walunga avalwekele visemi jenyi mangana vamwechi ayenga kushikola.

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.


Azangile kutanga! Wangari alilongesele vyavivulu kaha cheka vyavivulu namukanda atangilenga. alingilenga kanawa hashikola shikaho vamusanyikile kuya nakutangila kuma fuchi avindele ku united states of america. Wangari awahililile chikuma! atondele kwijiva vyavivulu vya kaye.

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.


Hashikola yayinene ya amelika wangari alilongesele vyuma vyaviha vyavivulu. atangile mihako nomu vyechi kukolanga. shikaho anukile omu apwilenga nakukola. kuhema ngunja nava yayajenyi mumu vule wamitondo mungalila yamitondo yamwaza mu 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.


Omu atangilenga chikuma, mukiko atachikijile ngwenyi azanga lifuchi lya kenya. atondelenga vakiko vapwenga vakuwahilila na kukasunuka. omu atangilenga chikuma, mukiko anukilenga limbo lyenyi lya mu afulika.

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.


omu amanyishile kutanga chenyi, ahilukile ku kenya. wunonyi lifuchi lyenyi lyachinjile. mawande amanene atohwele mungalila. mapwevo kavapwile najikunyi jakutelekelahoko. vatu vapwilenga vakuyanda navana vapwilenga nazala.

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 ejivile vyakulinga. alwekele mapwevo mwakutumbila mihako kufuma kujimbuto. mapwevo valanjishilenga mitondo nakukafwa visaka javo. mapwevo vahwahililile chikuma. Wangari avakafwile kwivwa vakulema.

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.


omu lola lwahichile, mitondo yakolele mumisenge, tulwiji twaputukile kulimwanga cheka. mujimbu wa Wangari watandile mu afulika yosena.lelo, makumbakaji yamitondo yasoko kufuma kuli mbuto ya 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 azachile na ngolo. vatu vosena mukaye vamwene, vamuhanyine wufweto wamwaza. vechi kuyisanyika ngwavo nobel peace prize, shikaho apwilenga watete kutambula owu wufweto kana.

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 afwile mu mwaka wa 2011, wunonyi twechi kumushinganyeka lola lose twechi kumonanga mutondo.

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: masho kaloza
Language: Luvale
Level: Level 3
Source: A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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