Women Scientists From Kenya

"What does it do for the environment to have fish there, what does it do for the people there, why should we conserve it."

"The importance of this book is to show people that when you conserve water sources and wetlands you are also conserving the fishes there, with the livelihoods of those who depend on it."

"There is a great need to ensure that before everyone has access to these vaccines, for those who do get sick, we are able to assist them in curing the disease or preventing its progression into a more severe disease."

"It paints a bleak picture of when the continent will achieve herd immunity."

"We want to prevent that progression to severe disease so that we don’t overwhelm our health care facilities."

"So, you just trust your judgment and hope for the best, which at times is like stepping on a minefield where anything can happen."

"I feel really proud being the first female in the field. It shows that if given a chance, women can equally shine in any field."

"The beauty with life is that everyone has something unique they know; something you can always learn."

"Indeed, new technologies could be considered as a bilateral way for local governments to engage with citizens, especially at the locality level."

"Finally, I cannot talk about key factors of success without mentioning our economic model which is a mix between funding, mainly from international foundations and digital companies, and a business and development scheme."

"Whatever the software, the ultimate objective is to change the ways information flows, empowers people and helps them raise their voice."

"I THINK THAT THERE IS AN IMMENSE"

"There is no doubt that Juliana Rotich has blazed a trail for other women techpreneurs to follow, not just in Africa, but around the world. She is an inspiration, creating a powerful platform that is capable of changing the way information flows in the world. Because of her vision, and the collaborative platform that is Ushahidi, Juliana is actively providing the tools that encourage citizens to fully participate in their economies, have their voices heard, and make the right decisions during disaster situations."

"These revolutions have not been evenly distributed across continents and nations… Never have been.” — Discussing the digital revolution and Africa’s place in it"

"And remember, your customers are an essential part of the equation. After all, they’re crucial to your success as an entrepreneur and the very reason you build."

"Ask yourself important questions about your business. Know the problem you’re trying to fix and its place in the African context. Also, understand what you’re doing and be intentional about your solution."

"“I remember reading about Mae Jemison, that astronaut. That was immensely fantastic to me. This woman went to the moon!”"

"“i am guided each day by these three questions: ‘What are you fixing?’ ‘What are you making?’ and ‘Who are you helping?”"

"Passion makes you approach a task with childlike pleasure and zeal - it ensures that you give it your all."

"When I was growing up, there was still that narrative of 'you finish school, you go and get married, you become somebody's wife and you get kids and tend to them."

"I think for girls it’s really important to show them that it is possible to dream big, and if your dreams include some nerdy creation, that’s fine."

"Indigenous and local communities are custodians of natural resources and their conservation practices are key to sustainable future.""

"Conservation is by the people."

"Our scientists, I think the primary thing they need to do is provide them information about what's changing and why, and together with them form solutions because they know what they need to do. So working together is always the best tip."

"You have to really love the work, you may hate the job but you really have to love what you are doing to stay."

"We cannot compare our health capacity with that in Europe or America. What might be considered a small number of severe diseases in the global north might have devastating consequences in Africa."

"We need research here in Africa that will inform policies and test-and-treat strategies, so that as clinicians we can give the best options to people with COVID19."

"We need to strengthen our preparedness to ensure we do not overwhelm our healthcare facilities with patients with severe illness."

"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."

"Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women's rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally."

"The people are starving. They need food; they need medicine; they need education. They do not need a skyscraper to house the ruling party and a 24-hour TV station."

"I kept stumbling and falling and stumbling and falling as I searched for the good. 'Why?' I asked myself. Now I believe that I was on the right path all along, particularly with the Green Belt Movement, but then others told me that I shouldn't have a career, that I shouldn't raise my voice, that women are supposed to have a master. That I needed to be someone else. Finally I was able to see that if I had a contribution I wanted to make, I must do it, despite what others said. That I was OK the way I was. That it was all right to be strong."

"I don't really know why I care so much. I just have something inside me that tells me that there is a problem, and I have got to do something about it. I think that is what I would call the God in me. All of us have a God in us, and that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet. It must be this voice that is telling me to do something, and I am sure it's the same voice that is speaking to everybody on this planet — at least everybody who seems to be concerned about the fate of the world, the fate of this planet."

"Trees are living symbols of peace and hope. A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. It is a reminder to all of us who have had success that we cannot forget where we came from. It signifies that no matter how powerful we become in government or how many awards we receive, our power and strength and our ability to reach our goals depend on the people, those whose work remain unseen, who are the soil out of which we grow, the shoulders on which we stand."

"We all share one planet and are one humanity; there is no escaping this reality."

"nobody knows the solution to every problem; rather than blindly following the prescriptions of others, Africans need to think and act for themselves, and learn from their mistakes."

"“Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own … Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come.”"

". “African women in general need to know that it’s OK for them to be the way they are — to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence.”"

"No matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for. The silver lining will come, if not to us then to next generation or the generation after that. And maybe with that generation the lining will no longer be thin."

"“You don't need a diploma to plant a tree.”"

"“You would see me there now, cultivating the earth and carrying firewood on my back up the hills to my home, where I would light a fire and cook the evening meal. I would not tell stories, because they have been replaced by books, the radio, and television”"

"“Hallowed landscapes lost their sacredness and were exploited as the local people became insensitive to the destruction, accepting it as a sign of progress.”"

"“What people see as fearlessness is really persistence.”"

"“In trying to explain this linkage, I was inspired by a traditional African tool that has three legs and a basin to sit on. To me the three legs represent three critical pillars of just and stable societies. The first leg stands for democratic space, where rights are respected, whether they are human rights, women's rights, children's rights, or environmental rights. The second represents sustainable and equitable management and resources. And the third stands for cultures of peace that are deliberately cultivated within communities and nations. The basin, or seat, represents society and its prospects for development. Unless all three legs are in place, supporting the seat, no society can thrive. Neither can its citizens develop their skills and creativity. When one leg is missing, the seat is unstable; when two legs are missing, it is impossible to keep any state alive; and when no legs are available, the state is as good as a failed state. No development can take place in such a state either. Instead, conflict ensues.”"

"Education, if it means anything, should not take people away from the land, but instill in them even more respect for it, because educated people are in a position to understand what is being lost. The future of the planet concerns all of us, and all of us should do what we can to protect it. As I told the foresters, and the women, you don't need a diploma to plant a tree."

"I think what the Nobel committee is doing is going beyond war and looking at what humanity can do to prevent war. Sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace."

"(WHAT'S THE PLANET'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE?) The environment. We are sharing our resources in a very inequitable way. We have parts of the world that are very deprived and parts of the world that are very rich. And that is partly the reason why we have conflict."

"As I conclude I reflect on my childhood experience when I would visit a stream next to our home to fetch water for my mother. I would drink water straight from the stream. Playing among the arrowroot leaves I tried in vain to pick up the strands of frogs’ eggs, believing they were beads. But every time I put my little fingers under them they would break. Later, I saw thousands of tadpoles: black, energetic and wriggling through the clear water against the background of the brown earth. This is the world I inherited from my parents. Today, over 50 years later, the stream has dried up, women walk long distances for water, which is not always clean, and children will never know what they have lost. The challenge is to restore the home of the tadpoles and give back to our children a world of beauty and wonder."

"Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking."

"In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground- a time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now."