Change in the 10th Week

Last Monday, I went to a diversity event lectured by Anne Clifford. The event was about Wangari Maathai and her role in the Green Belt Movement. Wangari was a Kenyan woman who was an environmentalist and won the Nobel Prize for her work in sustainable development and promoting democracy and peace. I didn’t stay for the whole event, but I did learn quite a bit about Wangari. I learned that she was one of the first scientists to identify the problem of climate change. I also learned that she sought to eliminate discrimination not just in Kenya but in Sub-Saharan Africa as well. She did this by having women help with her projects to show that they were important as well.

Overall, I thought that this event had too much of an emphasis on religion. However, considering that Wangari was a Catholic, and because the event was sponsored by the St. Thomas Aquinas Church, this was probably unavoidable. In addition, I thought that Wangari’s actions are something that we can all learn from. Finally, I felt that Wangari is an example of one person having a great impact on the world. She is proof that you do not need to be powerful to make changes.

One of the things I learned about and that I can apply to being a peer mentor is Wangari’s idea of the African Stool. She argued that the African Stool can be applied to life in that it has three important components: A need for democracy, sustainable management of resources, and formation of “cultures of peace.” I can apply democracy to being a peer mentor by allowing recitations and planning with co-leaders to be a place where everyone can have a voice. Sustainable management of resources is something that Chapter 10 in Students Helping Students mentioned as well. It is important because it promotes a better future. Finally, with the formation of “cultures of peace,” I, as a peer mentor, can make recitations be filled with compassion, tolerance, and justice.

One final thing I can apply as peer mentor is the idea of Catholic Social Thought (or common sense to the non-relgious). As a peer mentor, I can promote respect for the dignity of every person in my classes. In addition, my co-leader and I can work for solidarity and the common good in order to see development in the classroom. Finally, it is important to promote peacemaking not only to be a good role model but also to solve conflicts as well.