We tend to put the environment last because we think the first thing we have to do is eliminate poverty. But you can't reduce poverty in a vacuum. You are doing it in an environment.

It's a matter of life and death for this country. The Kenyan forests are facing extinction and it is a man-made problem.

No matter who or where we are, or what our capabilities, we are called to do the best we can.

There will always be people who think that you have ambitions.

It was easy for me to be ridiculed and for both men and women to perceive that maybe I'm a bit crazy because I'm educated in the West and I have lost some of my basic decency as an African woman.

Using trees as a symbol of peace is in keeping with a widespread African tradition. For example, the elders of the Kikuyu carried a staff from the thigi tree that, when placed between two disputing sides, caused them to stop fighting and seek reconciliation. Many communities in Africa have these traditions.

Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then you protect.