Cora Weiss worked for the organization that brought Wangari Maathai to the United States fifty-one years ago, an event that changed both of their lives. The following is an excerpt. You can read her full remembrance at the Green Belt Movement website's commiserations page.

I loved Wangari. I admired her brilliance, her dedication to making this a safer, saner, more peaceful, and healthier world. I loved her laughter, and her wardrobe! Wangari worked with women who had more in common than conflict. They needed to prevent erosion so they could grow crops and also needed to be heard at decision-making tables . . . Wangari was a role model for all young women and men alike who refuse to be victims of violence or other abuses of human rights and want a safer saner world. The world needs Wangaris in every country. Thank you, sister. Yours was a life beautifully and courageously lived.