Mu igiturage mu imberama z’umusozi wa Kenya muri Afrika y’iburengerazuba, agakobwa gato kakoraga mu mirima na nyina we. Izina rye ryari 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 yakundaga kuba hanze. Mu umurima w’umuryango we yarimaga ubutaka n’umuhoro we. Yasunikaga imbuto ntoya mu ubutaka.
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.
Igihe cy’umunsi yishimira cyane ni nyuma y’izuba rirenze. Iyo bwiraga bigoye kubona ibihingwa, Wangari yamenyaga ko ari igihe cyo kujya murugo. Yakurikiraga inzira zifunganye mu mirima, akambukiranya imigenzi agenda.
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 yari umwana w’umuhanga kandi niyari gutegereza kujya ku ishuli. Ariko ninya na se we bashakaga ko aguma aho akabafasha murugo. Ubwo yarafite imyaka irindwi, musaza we mukuru yatoteje ababyeyi be ngo bamureke ajye kw’ishuli.
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.
Yakundaga kwiga! Wangari yarize byinshi na byinshi muri buri gitabo yasomaga. Yakoze neza kw’ishuli bamutumira kwiga muri Leta zunzububwe z’America. Wangari yari yishimye! Yashakaga kumanya byinshi na byinshi ku isi.
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.
Kuri kaminuza y’America Wangari yamenye ibintu byinshi bishya. Yize ibihingwa nuko bikura. Kandi yibutse uko yakuze: akina imikino na basaza be mu gicucu k’ibiti mu mashyamba meza yamanyakenya.
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.
Uko yamenyaga byinshi, niko yarushagaho kumenya uko akunda abantu ba Kenya. Yashaka ko bishima bakanigenga.
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.
Ubwo yarangizaga amasomo ye, yagarutse muri Kenya. Ariko igihugu cye cyari cyarahindutse. Imirima minini yari ihurutuye k’ubutaka. Abagore ntibari bafite inkwi zo gutekesha. Abantu bari abakene n’abana bari bashonje /inzara.
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 yarazi icyo gukora. Yigishije abagore uko batera ibiti kuva mu imbuto. Abagore bagurishaga ibiti bagakoresha amafara mukwita ku imiryango yabo. Abagore barishimye cyane. Wangari yari yabafashije kwiyunvamo imbaraga no gukomera.
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.
Uko igihe cyagiye, ibiti bishya byakuzemo ishyamba,n’imigezi itangira gutemba nanone. Ubutumwa bwa Wangari bwamenyekanye muri Afrika. Uyumunsi, amamiriyoni y’ibiti bimaze gukura kuva mu imbuto za 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 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.
Nicola Rijsdijk
Maya Marshak
Patrick Munyurangabo
Kinyarwanda
Level 3
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